Alumnae News & Highlights

“I love connecting and reconnecting with HB alumnae through social media and other channels. I truly value all the ways that I can celebrate with my HB sisters. I value this more and more as the years progress.”

Laquita Blockson, Ph.D. ’88 has utilized her strengths to be successful in every stage of her career as an educator, business owner, non-profit administrator, and leader. She has not allowed the lack of diverse representation in academia to deter her goals and achievements. Her myriad of experiences is distinguished by her current role as the inaugural Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Moravian University (MU) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

About Dr. Blockson

Dr. Blockson's formative years at Hathaway Brown School helped establish a strong foundation for her continued rise through business and academia. She received her B.S. and M.B.A. from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Business Ethics and Public Policy from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to her current position at MU, Dr. Blockson has also served on the faculty at Florida International University, the University of Northern Iowa, the College of Charleston, Saint Leo University, The University of Alabama, and Agnes Scott College. In tandem with her academic career, Dr. Blockson founded Blockson Management Advising in 2005 and leads workshops and seminars as the “Business Renaissance Guru” with a focus on providing guidance to businesses experiencing economic hardships or organizational change. She left academia for a short time to serve as the Director of the South Carolina Women’s Business Center and reflects on how grateful she is that she was provided with an opportunity to return to academia in a leadership capacity. 

Describe a challenge in your professional career that turned out to be a positive learning experience?

“It has always been a goal of mine to be a leader in a university setting.  To be honest, I was not sure exactly what leadership role that would be or exactly what path I would take to get there.  Typically, to become an academic administrator at a college or university, one must be a longstanding professor who has worked their way up the tenure-track ladder by teaching students and conducting research.  I earned my doctorate after first working in the corporate world; and, unlike most of my fellow business school deans, I took a short break after serving as a professor for several years to lead a non-profit organization and to work with my consulting clients. It has not been the norm for a person to be able to come back to a university setting and to assume a role like the one that I hold now.  I am happy, nonetheless, to see that this norm is evolving. I was not sure if an institution would find my varied experiences within and outside academia to be an asset or a liability; so, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that MU has openly welcomed my background and experience. This has taught me that resilience is key and that timing is everything!  Be prepared for opportunities that arise! In my thirty years of working in both corporate and academic environments, I gained an appreciation for developing the different communication and emotional intelligence skills that has allowed me to be innovative, to think creatively, to be resilient and to persevere.” 

Dr. Blockson has not taken one moment of her career for granted and continues to be excited every day when she is on campus.

Best advice to students today?

As an educator herself, Dr. Blockson has a unique view on how students can best prepare themselves for the years to come. She shared, “For young people, try and use your current academic experiences as one of the last opportunities to fail. I do not mean in a literal sense, but try and take as many chances now. Use both high school and college to push your personal and professional boundaries. Calculate the risk and look at the pros and cons. It’s okay if something does not work out now because you have adults in your life that can be there to help you through it. When you enter the career path of your choice, you will be prepared with a roadmap on how to manage the bad times that will arrive. You will be in a better position to handle the not-so-great times. You can rebound from a pitfall or any challenges that come your way.”

What do you value most about your HB experience?

“I value the friendships that I formed, especially with Dr. Stephanie Sims Brown ’88. We met as new students in 7th grade at HB in 1982 and have experienced over 40 years of friendship. She is an excellent physician and full-time life coach. The greatest friend through and through! We learn so much from each other; and, I am in awe of the career and the life she has crafted for herself. I am very excited to be with her and our classmates during Alumnae Weekend in May to create new memories and treasure HB more and more.”

What is your favorite memory while attending HB?

"One of my fondest memories was during my freshman year when the performing arts department presented the musical, “Godspell”. It was wonderful, not only because I love musicals, but because the production consisted of students from the surrounding communities including University School and Shaker Heights Public Schools. Young men and ladies from across the city came together to put on the show. Given the plot of the musical having a religious center, it was inspirational to experience the production with a cast and crew that included people from different faiths. I learned so much about different faiths and cultures during my time at HB and it was a full circle moment during this production. It gave me a firm sense of the goodness of my peers. It was a grounding moment and allowed everyone to get to know each other in a new way. I still have a close connection with the students from the production. It was one of the more pivotal moments in my time at HB.”