Spotlight On: Joseph DiAngelo, Dean, Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph’s University
September 2025 — Joseph DiAngelo, dean of Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University, sat down with Invest: to discuss the role the business school plays in supporting regional economic development, industry specific programs that differentiate it from others in the area, and how the school is revamping its curriculum to keep up with AI and other technological advancements. “One of our main goals is staying ahead of AI and revamping the curriculum accordingly,” DiAngelo said.
What changes over the past year have most impacted the school of business and the university, and in what ways?
People often don’t realize that Philadelphia is driven by Eds and Meds, education and healthcare. Within 25 miles, we have 85 colleges and universities — the highest concentration in the country. Within 100 miles, there are about 125 schools. The region also hosts five medical schools and numerous hospitals. Most of these institutions are private, not public. Additionally, many major pharmaceutical companies have their production facilities or corporate headquarters in the region. Philly is a Life Science hub.
We’ve gone through a major metamorphosis. Saint Joseph’s took over the University of the Sciences — formerly the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy — to expand into the healthcare space. We previously consisted of colleges of Arts & Sciences and Business, but we wanted a more comprehensive set of offerings. We also acquired a large nursing school in Lancaster, 70 miles away, with 1,200–1,300 nursing and allied health students, and we’ve since launched another nursing program here on our Philadelphia campus. Now, we offer almost everything but engineering. We’re a comprehensive university with strong undergraduate and graduate programs. The business school is the largest at Saint Joseph’s, with 3,000 students, doubling our enrollment over the last two decades. Among Jesuit institutions like Boston College and Georgetown, we were once considered small, but we’ve become one of the largest Jesuit business schools in the United States.
What role does the Haub School of Business play in supporting regional economic development?
We do things a bit differently here. Of the 85 colleges in the region, approximately 75 offer similar programs in management, finance, and accounting etc. We’ve set ourselves apart with specialized, industry-related programs. Our food marketing program, which started in the early 1960s, is now the largest in the country. In the mid-1990s, we introduced a pharmaceutical marketing/business program, and in the early 2000s, we launched a program for insurance. Given Philadelphia’s strong insurance industry presence, along with the Food and Pharma/Life Science, these three niche programs doubled our enrollment. The building I work in was built by the food industry. We consider ourselves one of the economic drivers of the mid-Atlantic region.
The University recently added a new graduate certificate in neurodiversity and workforce inclusion. What does the certificate entail?
We host a center at the university focused on autism education and support. Through the School of Education, we offer both credit and non-credit programs for families of children on the spectrum. The center is largely endowed by a single family. It helps neurodiverse students secure jobs, especially in computer-related fields where they often excel. For example, one major bank outsourced a segment of its IT work to a contractor that hired people on the neurodiversity spectrum. But management wasn’t equipped to support them. One such employee, highly effective but prone to wearing a cap, received three write-ups because of a dress code violation. To address these issues, we began training programs for managers to better support neurodiverse employees. We’ve since designed graduate and undergraduate-level HR courses to highlight the benefits of neurodiversity in the workforce and to train HR staff and managers in supporting neurodiverse staff. It’s a point of pride for us, and no other school in Philadelphia has anything like it.
What industry partnerships does the Haub School of Business have, and how do these shape student outcomes and career pipelines?
We build strong relationships through specialty-area advisory boards, which we call academies. We house the Academy of Food Marketing and the Maguire Academy of Insurance and Risk Management. They are fully endowed to support these academic offerings. Executives from over 85 food companies and numerous insurance firms regularly recruit from our programs. These industry leaders also co-teach classes and contribute to program development. We also run graduate programs in areas like the food supply chain, logistics, and insurtech, and have strong partnerships with pharma companies like Pfizer and transportation companies like Penske. These are mutually beneficial relationships: we supply their staff, and they support our students.
How is the school incorporating new and emerging technologies, and how is it shifting the way we learn?
Technology is transforming how we teach and how companies operate. AI is permeating every aspect of education. Predicting its direction is nearly impossible, but we’re adapting. Half of our faculty have completed AI training, the other half will do so this year. It’s changing teaching methods and business practices. Initially, universities resisted AI tools like ChatGPT due to plagiarism concerns, but we now use AI as a learning tool. We teach students to critique and understand AI, acknowledging that its effectiveness depends on data quality. We’ve been through similar changes before — like the transition from slide rules to calculators and then to computers. AI won’t necessarily replace people, but it will replace those who don’t learn how to use AI.
Looking ahead, what are your top priorities for the Haub School of Business over the next few years?
One of our main goals is staying ahead of AI and revamping the curriculum accordingly. We need to prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist, equipping them with critical thinking and foundational skills in technology, science, math, and business so they can continue learning throughout their lives. Intellectual curiosity is essential — we want students who will remain adaptable and capable of ongoing growth. This is especially critical in fast-evolving fields like tech, where knowledge can become obsolete quickly.
We’re also exploring the ethical dilemmas and data challenges posed by AI, ensuring students understand both the power and the responsibility that come with these tools. Our Arrupe Center for Business Ethics is a leader in Artificial Intelligence programming.
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