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Thomas to step down as SOM dean
Head of management school to continue work with global business programs
By JOHN DELLACONTRADA
Contributing Editor
John M. Thomas announced today that he will step down as dean of the School of Management, after five years in the post, to devote more time to the school's global business programs as a member of the faculty.
THOMAS
Thomas was named dean of the School of Management in 2002 after helping to establish the school as a leader in international business education. During his tenure, the School of Management rose steadily in The Wall Street Journal's ranking of the best business schools, recently achieving a No. 9 ranking among business schools with a strong regional recruiting base. The school also was named by BusinessWeek as one of the country's top five business schools for the fastest return on MBA investment.
Thomas led the School of Management through a strategic planning process in conjunction with UB 2020, UB's comprehensive strategic plan, and guided the school to reaccreditation by AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He also created an office of corporate and community relations to strengthen the school's many corporate relationships and to focus the public-service and community-outreach efforts of the faculty, staff and students as they share their expertise throughout the region.
"It has been a great pleasure to serve as dean of one of the nation's best business schools," Thomas said. "My objective was to serve five years as dean and help guide the school into the 21st century. I am very grateful to the school's faculty, staff, students and alumni with whom I've worked so closely. Together, we've accomplished many great things.
"I've enjoyed working with President John Simpson and Provost Satish Tripathi on major university initiatives, particularly UB 2020," Thomas added. "UB is poised for great things and I hope to continue to lend my support to the president and provost as they implement UB's ambitious plan for the future."
Simpson praised Thomas' leadership of the School of Management and said he was pleased Thomas will continue to work with the school's global business programs.
"Under John Thomas, the School of Management grew in prestige, while remaining true to the vision of academic excellence and responsive to the needs of students and businesspeople," Simpson said. "John skillfully blended a focus on global business, while emphasizing bringing value to employers across our region. Though we will miss him as dean, and I will miss him personally as a valuable counselor and supporter of UB 2020, John is, and will continue to be, a most able and valued global ambassador for UB and for the School of Management."
Tripathi said the School of Management's rise in reputation regionally and nationally was a testament to Thomas' leadership and "belief in recruiting and retaining excellent faculty and ensuring that students benefit from a rigorous and relevant education."
"Institutionally, our university has benefited tremendously from Dean Thomas' wise counsel and leadership," Tripathi added. "He has been such an integral force in helping to align our institutional perspective with our overarching goal of excellence throughout our tripartite mission. John has been a terrific dean and university citizen; I know the School of Management and our university will continue to benefit from his expertise, wisdom and genuine passion for educational and scholarly excellence."
Thomas will continue to serve as dean of the School of Management until a successor is hired, Tripathi said. A national search for a new dean will begin this fall.
When he returns to the school's faculty as a professor of operations management and strategy, Thomas said he intends to develop new ways to bring into the classroom the school's extensive international expertise and connections.
"I look forward to again concentrating my attention on enhancing the school's global business focus," he said. "The global economic landscape has changed enormously in the five years I've served as dean. I am excited about bringing to our students and area firms new insights from the international business community."
Among his accomplishments as dean, Thomas strengthened the School of Management's entrepreneurial programs and support for the commercialization of local technologies. He launched the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, which awards start-up capital and services for creation of new technology-focused businesses. He strongly supported the growth and development of the school's innovative Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which provides educational programs and support for entrepreneurs and local businesses. Thomas also championed the continued growth of School of Management programs abroad, particularly in Asia. Most recently, in June, he created a new master's degree program in IT-enabled services, in partnership with Amrita University and Hewlett Packard in Bangalore, India.
Prior to becoming dean, Thomas served several years as the school's associate dean for international programs and significantly expanded the school's international programming. In 1996, he established the school's first Asian Executive MBA in Singapore, followed by similar programs in China with Renmin University and Motorola. In the early 1990s, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, he also was instrumental in the development of the school's U.S. government-sponsored business programs in Latvia and Hungary.
Thomas has been a member of the UB faculty since 1968.