Campus News

UK's Gatton College Has Proud History

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 26, 2015)  As the University of Kentucky looks back over its 150-year history, it is hard to imagine that the Gatton College of Business and Economics once occupied only a single room in the old White Hall on the campus in Lexington. In fact, the thriving business school that today offers high-quality education to several thousand undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in a number of different disciplines did not even become a college until 1925.

The College of Commerce was created out of the Department of Economics in that year and soon earned full accreditation from AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). The college's first dean was Edward Wiest, a professor of economics.

In 1948, Professor Cecil C. Carpenter was named dean and enrollment in the college topped 1,000 students. Four years later, the MBA degree was offered as veterans of the Korean War and World War II returned to attend college on the GI bill.

In 1963-64, the college's new building was completed and was home to two academic departments: the Department of Economics and the Department of Business Administration. Professor Charles Haywood was named dean a year later and his 10 years in the post would be marked by tremendous growth. During Haywood's tenure as dean, the number of students graduating from the college doubled, the Department of Accountancy was created, the entire undergraduate curriculum was revised, and the college began offering a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree.  

In addition, the Bureau of Business Research, now the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), was reorganized and its scope was broadened. Several other programs providing technical and research assistance to businesses, state agencies and local governments were added. 

During a recent telephone interview, Haywood, who will celebrate his 88th birthday in a couple of weeks, said, "It was an exciting time to be dean. There was tremendous support from faculty, staff and the campus administration to enact beneficial change."

Looking at the present Gatton College, Haywood added, "It is gratifying to see how some of the seeds we planted back then are blossoming so fully today."

Dean Haywood was succeeded by William W. Ecton, who helped expand the college's international and continuing education programs while strengthening ties to the local and state business community. It was during this time that the Business Advisory Council was established.

In 1981, Richard W. Furst began what would be a 22-year run as the college's fifth dean. He created the UK Business Partnership Foundation, an affiliated corporation to assist the college in establishing endowed chairs and professorships, and to advise on the college's growth.

Other innovations led by Furst included an enlargement and modernization of the college's building, expansion of international programs, the development of new partnerships in Europe and Asia, and the creation of the Gatton College Alumni Hall of Fame. In 1992, Business Week named the college as one of the "best buys'' in business education in the U.S.

In 1995, the UK Board of Trustees renamed the college in honor of Mr. Carol Martin "Bill" Gatton, Class of 1954, in recognition of his $14 million pledge to the school. Furst also helped secure a $5 million gift to the School of Accountancy from alumnus Douglas J. Von Allmen and the school was renamed in his honor. Later, the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship was established.
 

Upon Furst's return to the faculty in 2003, D. Sudharshan was named dean of the Gatton College. During Sudharshan's eight-year tenure, the accelerated, one-year MBA program was developed and became a success.

Following the interim leadership of longtime UK faculty member and former state budget director Merl Hackbart, David W. Blackwell was recruited from his post as associate dean of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and became dean of the Gatton College on March 1, 2012.

Blackwell has helped spearhead the development and implementation of several new executive education offerings, most notably the new joint Executive MBA program between UK and the University of Louisville. In addition, Blackwell is directing the college through a major expansion and complete renovation of the Gatton College building, scheduled for completion in 2016. Thanks to the efforts of Blackwell and the college’s and university's fundraising team, the school is now at more than 80 percent of its goal of $65 million to pay for the new facility, which is being entirely financed through private philanthropy.

“Gatton College alumni, faculty and students are impacting the Commonwealth and the world every day, as business creators, leaders and philanthropists, as well as through influential research that supports economic growth and sound business decision-making,” says Blackwell. “I’m proud to be building on the firm foundation that is the legacy of our former deans and college leadership, and look forward to our new facilities allowing us to educate more strong and principled business leaders for the Bluegrass and beyond.”

UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics is an important player in the history of the university and a vital part of its present and future.

 

 

MEDIA CONTACTS: Carl Nathe, 859-257-3200/carl.nathe@uky.edu; Ann Mary Quarandillo, 859-257-0750/annmary.q@uky.edu.