Senior Director of Development
Loyola Marymount University, College of Business Administration

Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D.
Dean of the LMU College of Business Administration

Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D., is dean of the LMU College of Business Administration where she leads strategy, operations and fundraising for executive, graduate and undergraduate programs. Her vision and strategic plan for the college prioritizes three key goals: embracing business as a force for good; ensuring an entrepreneurial and agile perspective; and building a global, transdisciplinary and inclusive mindset. Smith led CBA’s efforts to become a signatory to the United Nations PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) initiative as well as the implementation of the university strategic spotlight initiative related to interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Smith currently serves as president elect for the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS) and is on the Board of Trustees for the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI). She also serves on the Innovation Committee for the Association to Advance Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB), participating in strategic dialogue around DEI, technology and the impact of business education on society. Smith is a founding member of Women in Business Education (WiBE) and former chair of the AACSB’s Women in Management Education (WAME) affinity group. She was named to the LA 500 “Most Influential People in Los Angeles” in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (LA Business Journal). 

Prior to joining LMU in 2018, Smith served as dean of the David D. Reh School of Business at Clarkson University where she held the Elmer D. Gates Endowed Professor of Innovative Business Culture. At Clarkson, Smith was instrumental in growing a diverse faculty; developing new programs; merging two business schools; naming the business school; and funding student start-ups, two endowed faculty chairs, and co-leading the design and development of a boundary-spanning Innovation Initiative with the dean of engineering. 

Before Clarkson, Smith served on the faculty at Georgetown University and University of San Francisco. In her 20-year career at USF as professor of leadership and organizational behavior, Smith took on administrative roles as department chair, associate dean and director of the Business Honors Program. In 2010-11, Smith was selected as a Fulbright Scholar, joining an interdisciplinary team of scholars on a multi-year initiative with seven Hong Kong public universities to reform Hong Kong’s General Education Curriculum.

Smith has taught internationally throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, working with executives, MBAs and undergraduates across a variety of programs. She has been active in the role of service learning in an academic environment and received numerous awards including the nationally prestigious Top 10 finalist Ehrlich Award. At LMU, Smith has grown the portfolio of graduate business programs from three to nine including the M.S. in Business Analytics, M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation, and joint, interdisciplinary degrees with other colleges on campus.

As author of over 25 books and numerous articles, Smith’s research has focused primarily on leadership, communication and organizational behavior. She is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship and the emerging role of B-Corps on a global scale. Smith has given dozens of presentations around the world on topics related to higher education, entrepreneurship and women in leadership. As an active consultant on design thinking, developing innovation cultures and leadership development, she has served as a principal for a consulting firm working with organizations in the areas of strategy, innovation culture, leadership, team development, and executive coaching. Smith also co-founded an entrepreneurial start-up, Lexingford Publishing, and led the company as CEO before stepping down to an advisory role.

Smith earned a Ph.D. in organizational communication from USC and a B.A. in communication studies from the University of Texas, Arlington. Her personal interests include traveling, kayaking, golfing, playing tennis, and spending time with her husband and grandchildren.

Peter Wilch
Senior Vice President, University Advancement

Peter Wilch became senior vice president for university advancement at Loyola Marymount University in 2021. He provides leadership for advancement programs and initiatives across the university and is responsible for planning and directing LMU’s largest comprehensive fundraising campaign, currently in the quiet phase. Wilch works with university and school, college, and unit leadership to identify campaign priorities and define fundraising strategies that support LMU’s mission of encouraging learning, educating the whole person, and facilitating a service of faith and the promotion of justice. Reporting directly to the president, he manages the Campaign Committee and partners with the Board of Trustees and Board of Regents on fundraising and engagement initiatives.

Wilch served as vice president for development at the University of San Francisco from 2012 to 2021. In this role he led USF’s development operation, managed a team of 70 development officers and staff, and guided the university to a two-fold increase in fundraising revenue during his tenure through the Changing the World from Here campaign. Prior to joining USF, he served as the vice president for alumni and college advancement at Cornell College in Iowa where he designed, led, and exceeded the target for the Extraordinary Opportunities comprehensive campaign, the largest campaign in the institution’s history. He has also held leadership development roles at the University of Iowa Foundation and at Grinnell College.

Additionally, Wilch has held leadership positions in several professional and community organizations, notably the boards of Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo Counties, where he chairs the Programs Committee and serves on the Executive Committee, and the Jesuit Advancement Administrators organization where he is the past national chair. He is an alumnus of the AJCU Ignatian Colleagues Program.

Born and raised in Iowa, Wilch earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and philosophy from Cornell College in Iowa. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in philanthropy from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. He has four Jesuit-educated children ranging in age from 28 to 20.