September 4, 2001
Dean of McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin Announces Retirement
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Austin, Texas -- Robert G. May, dean of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, has announced that he will not seek reappointment at the end of his term in August 2002. May, who has been dean of the school since 1996, will remain at UT as a member of the accounting department, where he plans to cap off his academic career.
Over his six-year term as dean, May has seen the school through the successful implementation of a capital campaign raising more than $122 million. The watershed event was the $50 million gift from San Antonio entrepreneur Red McCombs. Thanks to the McCombs gift and other donations, the school is expected to complete its capital campaign at least two and a half years ahead of schedule.
“Dean May has brought excellence and excitement to our business school,” said school patron McCombs. “He is leaving us with the foundation to become the outstanding business school in the country. We are fortunate that he will continue to teach.”
“Bob May has been an outstanding dean of the McCombs School of Business,” added UT President Larry R. Faulkner. “His service has been distinguished by an unparalleled commitment to the quality of the student experience and to building a strong foundation for continued excellence.”
May has been a member of the McCombs faculty since June 1979, serving as chair of the Department of Accounting (1980-84 and 1988-92), senior associate dean for academic affairs (1992-95), and interim dean (1995-96). Prior to joining the school he held appointments at the University of Washington as an assistant and associate professor of accounting (1970-79) and as the director of the Ph.D. Program in Business (1974-77).
After thirty-one years in academia, twenty-one of them as an administrator, May is looking forward to returning to the classroom full-time, he said, “possibly capping that part of my career with some significant additional
accomplishments.”
Seeking the best interests of the school, May cited two reasons for announcing now that he plans to step down next August. By giving advance notice, he hopes that the school can avoid the potential disruption of hiring an interim dean. Furthermore, noted May, for a variety of reasons this is a propitious time to hire a new dean.
“We are about to embark on a new strategic plan and to achieve it we have a significant portion of the McCombs matching money still in play,” said May. “This creates an attractive situation for job candidates, who will have the chance to influence the strategic plan, work with the power of the McCombs matching money, and help take the school to the next level.”
In reviewing May’s accomplishments, David Lotz, assistant dean for resource development, emphasized both the size and quality of May’s fundraising efforts. “Through the McCombs matching program, he has raised a whole reserve of funds that can be leveraged to match future gifts from other donors,” said Lotz. “As a result, our supporters can literally double the impact of their gifts. This is a fantastic legacy that helps ensure the quality of the school for future generations and all Texans.”
University Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson will begin the process of electing faculty representatives and appointing other members to form the Dean Search Committee by mid-September 2001.
The McCombs School of Business is perennially ranked one of the top business schools in the country and world according to leading business publications such as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and U.S. News & World Report. With strength across the board in all major business disciplines, McCombs is especially known for innovative collaborations with industry and for leading programs in technology, entrepreneurship, finance, and accounting. McCombs offers a full range of business education programs, from BBA and full-time MBA to Part-time MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education, PhD, and graduate accounting (PPA/MPA). Under new dean George W. Gau, the school has set a goal of becoming the top public business school in the nation.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
