Business Dean Leaving UE For Butler
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowButler University has named Stephen Standifird dean of its College of Business. He has been serving as the dean of the Schroeder School of Business at the University of Evansville. The current dean at Butler, Chuck Williams, plans to step down at the end of May. March 21, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS—Stephen Standifird, Dean of the Schroeder School of Business at the University of Evansville, will become the Dean of Butler University’s College of Business beginning June 1.
At Butler, he will take over the University’s third-largest college, with approximately 900 undergraduate and 200 graduate students. Butler’s College of Business was ranked 47th in the 2013 Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranking of 124 U.S. undergraduate business programs, and U.S. News and World Report ranked the College 141 out of 342 schools in 2013. Butler University’s part-time MBA program is currently ranked 57th by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and 72nd by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools.
“I am impressed by what the Butler College of Business has been able to accomplish in recent years,”said Standifird. “Butler University and the College of Business specifically are leaders in higher education innovation. I am thrilled with the opportunity to lead the ongoing advancements of the College.”
At Evansville, Standifird was responsible for all aspects of the Schroeder School of Business, including leading the school’s faculty, assuring continued accreditation, and providing oversight of the school’s Institute for Global Enterprise and Institute for Banking and Finance. Standifird also led the revamping of the school’s assurance of learning program and the introduction of a variety of new international offerings including the “Global Virtual Classroom.”
He created a $1.2 million endowment for career services, with commitments to bring the endowment to $2 million. Under his watch, student placement and their starting salaries increased by 24 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Standifird also led the creation of a $100,000 microfinance fund for minority- and women-owned businesses, which is operated by students and in partnership with Old National Bank.
Prior to his time at the University of Evansville, Standifird held positions at the University of San Diego’s School of Business. As Associate Dean from 2009–2011, he helped increase enrollment of the school’s six master of science programs by roughly 34 percent over a two-year period. During his time as Director of Undergraduate Programs from 2006–2009, he created a comprehensive assurance of learning program and positioned the program for its first-ever ranking by Bloomberg BusinessWeek in 2009.
Standifird earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University, his MBA from Northwestern University, and his doctorate in organizational studies from the University of Oregon.
“Steve has the precise combination of experience and expertise to become the next leader of the Butler College of Business,” Provost Kathryn Morris said. “I am very pleased that he will be joining the leadership team at Butler.”
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About Butler University
Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university encompassing six colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Together, these colleges offer more than 60 undergraduate areas of study, eight pre-professional programs, and 19 graduate programs. Around 4,700 students are enrolled at Butler, representing 45 states and 49 countries. Ninety-five percent of Butler students will have participated in some form of internship, student teaching, clinical rotation, research, or service learning by the time they graduate. This community-centered immersion is coupled with classroom learning that nurtures critical thinking, effective communication, cooperative teamwork, and ethical decision making to prepare students for both professional success and to have lasting impact in their communities. Butler’s overall placement rate for the class of 2012 was 94 percent, including 19 percent who went on to graduate or professional school.
Source: Butler Universtiy