Purdue News
Purdue News
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June 1999
Oklahoma dean to head Purdue's Krannert SchoolWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Richard A. Cosier, dean of the business school at the University of Oklahoma, will be the next dean of the Purdue University School of Management and the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue President Steven C. Beering announced today (Tuesday, 6/8).
The appointment, effective August 1, is subject to ratification by the Purdue Board of Trustees. "Dean Cosier is one of the most exciting young deans in the country," Beering said. "He has the energy and creativity needed to lead Krannert into the new century and hold it true to its path of excellence." During his six years as dean at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Cosier worked to improve the curriculum and re-structured the MBA program. He established the J.C. Penney Leadership Center, the traveling Oklahoma Business Outlook Panel and the Oklahoma Business Conference, which has featured speakers such as Michael Dell, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Dell Computer Corp., and Ted Turner, vice chairman of Time Warner, Inc. "Dr. Cosier is one of the premier leaders in business education in this country and is ideally suited to lead Krannert, one of the top business schools in the country," said Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs. "He understands the academic and business worlds, and his Midwest experience links him to the work ethic for which our Purdue students are much in demand. "His track record for academic leadership also is complemented by skill in raising support for his program." Under Cosier's leadership, Oklahoma raised more than $10 million in cash each of the past two years. Since coming to Oklahoma, he increased the business college's endowment from $13 million to more than $60 million. In April 1997, $18 million to be paid over five-years was donated by Wall Street fund manager Michael F. Price, for whom the business school is named. The college's endowment finances various efforts that include 19 chaired positions and 10 professorships. Of those, 15 chaired positions and five professorships were added during Cosier's deanship. The endowment also supports more than $4 million in student scholarships, an international scholars program, the recent installation of two computer labs, the Business Communications Center and the AMOCO Business Information Resource Center. Both centers provide direct support for enhancing student learning. While dean, Cosier also continued to teach each year at Oklahoma on topics that included technology transfer, organizational change and management principles. He has published more than 60 articles, is the co-author of a management textbook, and the author of a chapter on conflict that is included in a popular management text. He has been active in many executive development programs and has served as a management education consultant for several organizations. Fall 1998 enrollment at the University of Oklahoma at Norman was 21,068 compared to 36,686 at Purdue West Lafayette. Enrollment at their respective business schools was 300 graduate and 3,600 undergraduate students at Oklahoma and 416 graduate and 2,386 undergraduate students at Purdue. Another 243 people are enrolled in the Purdue's Krannert executive master's programs. Purdue's School of Management offers majors in management, accounting, international management and economics. Cosier, originally from Jackson, Mich., received his doctorate in business administration from the University of Iowa and specialized in organizational behavior and management theory as well as statistical design and analysis. He received his master's in business administration from Loyola University in Chicago and his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University. Weidenaar, a professor of economics, joined the faculty at Krannert in 1966 and received his doctorate from the school in 1969. He was named dean in 1990. He was instrumental in the creation of the Center for International Business Education and Research and the expansion of the Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises. Both centers are teaching, research and service resources for faculty, students and corporations. The school's undergraduate, professional master's and executive education programs have consistently ranked in the top 25 American business schools in annual surveys conducted by national media. "I am deeply grateful that I have had the opportunity to serve as dean at a top-ranked, technologically advanced business school," Weidenaar said. "Krannert is recognized around the globe for its research and teaching. I have been fortunate to work with outstanding faculty and staff, as well as intelligent and highly motivated students. The enthusiastic trust and support of our alumni and many superb businesses and corporations also has been gratifying. I am very enthusiastic about the opportunities advanced teaching technologies present, and I want to cap my career with some good years in the classroom." Cosier was recommended by a committee named by Beering and chaired by School of Agriculture Dean Victor Lechtenberg. The committee, which conducted a national search for new dean, was comprised of 13 Purdue faculty, alumni and students.
Sources: Steven C. Beering, (765) 494-9708 Robert L. Ringel, (765) 494-9709 Richard A. Cosier, (405) 325-3611 Writers: Kate Walker and Jeanne Norberg, (765) 494-2096
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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