Robert J. Swieringa, the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, will step down at the end of his second five-year term on June 30, 2007, the University announced today.
"My years as dean have been both an honor and a pleasure," Swieringa said in a press release. "I have had the good fortune to work with an extremely capable and committed group of faculty, students, alumni and friends. Together, we have created an outstanding program for teaching and research that is closely tied to needs of the global business world."
When Swieringa took the position of dean in July 1997, the business school was preparing to move into the newly renovated Sage Hall.
In the past nine years, the business school has started a series of strategic initiatives to raise its stature, including a five-year plan that will continue until 2009.
"During his tenure as dean, Bob Swieringa has taken the Johnson School into the top ranks of American graduate schools of management through innovations in the curriculum, a strong commitment to diversity, and initiatives that capitalize on the strengths of the larger university," interim President Hunter R. Rawlings III said in a press release. "Thanks to his vision and leadership, the Johnson School is known the world over for distinctive programs of the highest quality."
Additionally, the business school faculty has grown by nearly 30 percent, including seven new faculty members who plan to join the school later this year. The recruitment has tried to emphasize cohesion in leadership, entrepreneurship, technology and globalization.
Swieringa plans to return to the Johnson School as a member of the accounting faculty after a sabbatical.