Today marks the end of my tenure as interim dean of Mays Business School. As you may recall, in June 2007 Jerry Strawser, dean of Mays Business School, was asked to serve Texas A&M University as interim executive vice president and provost. Jerry, in turn, asked me to serve as interim dean.

The last 15 months have been both challenging and exciting. Our primary accrediting agency, the AACSB, strongly reaffirmed our accreditation (this review is done every five years). We laid the framework for launching an executive MBA program in Dubai (with a planned start date of September 2009). We also received approval from the board of regents to assess a differential tuition charge for upper division business majors. While this was a painful step, it will allow us to substantially increase the number of sections we provide for our business majors, thereby lowering their average class sizes. Our Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Disabled Veterans also got off to a rousing start. And external rankings of our various programs continue to reflect our progress and our reputation for academic excellence.

I’d like to thank Jerry Strawser for having the confidence to entrust me with this important position. I’d also like to express my sincere appreciation to the faculty, staff, and students of Mays Business School for the dedication and enthusiasm they bring to Mays each and every day. Our former students, individual donors, and corporate supporters also provide valuable support in many different ways.

As for me, Monday I’ll walk into Wehner for the first time in 12 twelve years as a full-time faculty member with no administrative responsibilities. I look forward to getting back to full-time teaching and research. After all, it was these activities that first attracted me to this profession. Again, thinks to everyone for their support and encouragement throughout my administrative tenure, and especially the last 15 months.

I know that with Jerry’s return to the Office of the Dean, and with the top-notch leadership team that we have in Mays, the best is yet to come!

Ricky Griffin
Distinguished Professor of Management and Blocker Chair in Business