Changing of the Guard January 25, 2010, 4:01PM EST

For New Dean, Weaning NYU from Wall Street Won't Be Easy

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Dean Peter Henry

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He seems keen on proving the point that Stern students can do more than finance and that they should consider careers outside of Wall Street—from those in public policy and emerging markets to more traditional roles in sectors such as marketing and media and entertainment. "When most people think of Michael Jordan, they just think about the fact that he scored 30 points per game. People don't realize he made the all-NBA defensive team many times," says Henry. "Just like Michael Jordan was a great defensive player, we at Stern have strengths beyond finance."

No one, however, believes that Stern will simply cut out Wall Street firms altogether. Henry says he will continue to strengthen relationships with Wall Street and the finance sector in general. But, in the past decade, the school has branched out considerably, developing relationships with recruiters in a variety of industries including media and entertainment and entrepreneurship, says Thomas Cooley, former dean of Stern and the Paganelli-Bull Professor of Economics. "Stern will always tilt slightly toward Wall Street, but then again most business schools do," adds Cooley.

This isn't the first time the school has faced such a challenge. At the start of the new century, says Cooley, everyone wanted to be a dot-com millionaire, and Goldman Sachs (GS) of all places was having a tough time filling interview slots. "That time taught us the value of having in-depth career counseling," says Cooley. "People need to have a plan." As a result of the dot-com bust, which left many MBAs without a job, Stern created the Career Center for Working Professionals (CCWP), which helps alumni at any stage of their careers look for new opportunities. The school has been able to help people in the latest financial crisis, too, reminds Henry.

Post-Crisis Economy—and Job Market

So, the world will be watching to see if Stern can still find jobs for graduates in a post-crisis economy, one where investment banking is not the sure thing it once was. Henry says he is an eternal optimist. As the son of two scientists, and himself an economist, he says he is analytical by nature, and his is not a blind faith. "We are at a critical point in the global economy. Our alums are going to be crucial in helping us engage in a way that generates the kind of environment where people move from this reactive kind of stance to a stance that says, 'Let's think about the world as it might yet be,' " says Henry. "Let's imagine what the possibilities are for our students and the kind of world we might create with a broad-based view, and drawing on alumni and faculty and learning to think and act in an integrative kind of way."

Then again, depending on future events, all these ideas could get thrown out the window in favor of something else entirely. "Whatever you think the world is right now," says Cooley, "hold on because it can change very quickly." Students, meanwhile, are holding their collective breath, waiting to see if their half-court shots make it in the basket.

Di Meglio is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in Fort Lee, N.J.