UA News

Mark Zupan, dean of the Eller College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Arizona, announced that he will be leaving the University in January to become dean of the University of Rochester's William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration.

UA Provost George Davis said, "Mark is excited about the opportunity that the University of Rochester presents for him, and thus I am happy for him. He has served six years as dean, and has advanced the Eller College substantively, for example: developing a whole new way of serving undergraduate majors; extending the influence and impact of outstanding programs, such as the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program and the MIS program, throughout the college: and achieving tremendous success in Campaign Arizona through his leadership and partnership with the College's National Board of Advisors."

Zupan came to the University in 1997 from the University of Southern California, where he had been a member of the economics faculty and associate dean for USC's MBA programs. Zupan will be achieving a type of homecoming with a move to Rochester, where he was born and where his mother earned her doctorate.

UA President Pete Likins said, "Mark has been a superb dean for the Eller College, and a valued friend and colleague. I wish him every success at the University of Rochester, which made him an offer he could not easily refuse."

Zupan announced his decision in the following email to the faculty and staff:

June 16, 2003

Dear Eller College faculty, staff, and students:

Seven years ago when I was being interviewed for my present job by the search committee I relayed to them the personal belief that the ideal length of time to stay in one academic administrative position is five to ten years. Less than five years is insufficient time to have a meaningful impact. More than ten years and the institution needs new blood while the individual needs to find new challenges to tackle.

After a great deal of soul-searching, I have decided that January 1, 2004 will be the right time for me to move to a new challenge. Since formally starting as the Dean of the Eller College in January of 1997, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to work with you to improve our College. I am immensely proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. These accomplishments include:

• A successful fundraising campaign. With a little bit of luck, we will surpass the $100 million target for our Campaign for the New Century sometime this fall
• Becoming the Eller College in 1999. We can all take great pride in the example that Karl and Stevie Eller have set for us, their steadfast support of our efforts to date, and their ongoing enthusiasm and commitment to helping us become an even stronger institution in the years to come
• Implementing differential tuition. These additional resources, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, will enable the College to enhance faculty, staff, and program quality
• A dramatic revamping of our Undergraduate Program. Among other things, we continue to be the only undergraduate management program in the country to require a personal interview as part of the admissions process
• Similar recent efforts to improve our MBA Program. Our revamped marketing materials, more personalized approach to student recruitment, enhanced scholarship support, and more comprehensive caring for our students' placement success will, I believe, give us a significant up- tick in the next set of national rankings
• Developing the College's first ever strategic plan
• Attaining re-accreditation for both our business and public administration programs and accreditation for our accounting department
• Beginning to reverse the "brain drain" that we have suffered since 1989. This coming academic year will represent the first year in many that will show a net increase in faculty. We have been able to make some marvelous additions to our ranks thanks to a combination of fundraising, differential fees, and a new institutional commitment to rebuilding those ranks through University tuition increases. This progress should continue with some appropriate execution. For example, our strategic plan laid out the specific objective of moving from 1 to at least 14 endowed chairs by the fall of 2007. To date, we have commitments/gifts toward 8 new endowed chairs
• Regularly meeting with relevant College constituency groups and thereby developing a means, over time, for more effective input and channels of communication
• Promoting a greater sense of community within the College
• Pioneering a state-of-the-art distance learning technology in partnership with the TeleSuite Corporation that has garnered us some prominent national media attention
• Building stronger partnerships with other campus units and our surrounding community
• Broadening the base of alumni and friends who are interested in supporting our improvement efforts through both financial and non-financial means(serving on advisory boards, mentoring current students, advocating publicly on the University's behalf, etc.)

I thank you for all that you have done to make the foregoing possible and for bestowing upon me the great honor to have been part of the endeavor.

This coming January I will take the helm of the Simon School at the University of Rochester. While I feel strongly that this is the right next opportunity, the Eller College will remain near and dear to my heart. I look forward to staying actively involved in the months between now and January to sustain our positive momentum and to work with you and the University administration to ensure a productive and seamless transition.

Mark Zupan