School of Management Names Interim Dean

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- John M. Thomas of Buffalo has been named interim dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, replacing Frederick W. Winter, who has accepted the deanship at the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business.

Thomas, who has served as associate dean of international programs and associate professor of organization and human resources at the UB management school, will assume leadership of the school on Aug. 1.

UB Provost Thomas E. Headrick appointed Thomas to the position after consulting with management school faculty and senior staff. The school will begin a national search for a permanent replacement for Winter, and Thomas will be considered a candidate for the position.

"John Thomas has an excellent record of innovation and success at the management school and strong support from his colleagues," said Headrick. "His appointment assures that the school will progress, even as it searches for a replacement for Dean Winter. With his nearly 30 years' experience at UB, Thomas can step right into the position and keep the school moving forward."

A main consideration for Thomas's appointment, said Headrick, was his commitment to implementing a new strategic plan developed by the management faculty under Winter's leadership. The plan will refocus some of the school's curricula and seek to position it as a leading public business school in the Northeast, particularly in MBA education.

"The faculty support of this plan is very important for the future of the school," said Headrick. "It should attract a number of strong candidates to the dean's position."

A UB faculty member since 1968, Thomas has helped the management school become a leader in the delivery of international management-education programs. He developed the school's Executive MBA program in Singapore, as well as MBA programs in Latvia and Hungary, and is developing a management program in Beijing through the school's China Management Education Project.

Thomas received a bachelor's degree from Yale University, a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a law degree from UB.