Spurgeon Bell
Dean of the School of Business Administration
1922 to 1926
In 1912 UT President Sydney E. Mezes formally created the Department of Business Training. He recruited Spurgeon Bell, a native Texan and UT alumnus, to develop and promote the curriculum of the new department which opened in the Fall of 1912. From the beginning, Dean Bell and UT President Mezes worked to involve business leaders at every level of the business curriculum and consciously geared it to meet the evolving needs of commercial life.
With limited resources and crowded conditions in the “Speedway Shacks” classrooms, the first BBA was awarded in 1917 and the first MBA in 1920. The recognition and respect of University administrators followed and the department became a separate school in 1922. Dean Bell, with 5 additional full time teachers, worked to identify future business issues and implemented the “Coordination Program,” which allowed students to gain practical experience by working in the field. Dean Bell tirelessly promoted the CBA and the University to business organizations throughout Texas and the nation. He was also influential in the establishment of the Bureau of Business Research (BBR). Formed in 1926, the BBR’s purpose was to promote the economic development of Texas and communicate the school’s value.
Those hard years — battling for recognition and respect, facing crowded conditions with limited resources, enduring the impact of world events — had brought out the best in professors and students alike. Together they had created something special: caring faculty, dedicated leadership, a valued connection to the Texas business community and a real can-do attitude.
Spurgeon Bell provided the initiative, enthusiasm, and vision 90 years ago that we see today in the leaders of the McCombs School of Business. Dean Bell is highlighted in the new McCombs School History Wall located on the second floor of the GSB.
