Gatton College Enhances Management Programs

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 23, 2012) — While students in the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics are busy with a brand new semester of classes, the college's faculty and administration have been busy fine tuning and enhancing the school's academic structure.  More than a year of study, review and hard work recently culminated

with the restructuring of important units within the college.

What was formerly known as the School of Management is now housed in three departments: the Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods; the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain; and the Department of Management.

A team led by then-interim dean Merl Hackbart, Steve Skinner, associate dean of  graduate programs, and Ken Troske, senior associate dean, performed an extensive assessment of the Gatton College's configuration of faculty, courses, and programs and how best to strengthen the college's competitive position nationally. 

"We assessed trends in high-quality business education," Hackbart said.  "We believe this reorganization helps give clarity to what the Gatton College is all about."

The restructuring proposal received broad support among college faculty and was approved by the UK Board of Trustees at its June meeting this year.

Skinner said, "Having the management programs housed in these three departments enables us to give greater focus to individual disciplines and increases the opportunities for these disciplines to attain national recognition as we move forward.  We are now organized similarly to our peer and competing institutions."

Troske added, "The faculty here in the college worked very well together to initiate the reorganization and insure that it is focused on the future."
 

Gatton College Dean David Blackwell, who began his tenure at UK on March 1, praised the work of his college faculty and administrative colleagues, as well as that of the university's adminstrative leadership.

"This new structure optimizes college resources and provides a governance model that is more appropriate for the function of the various sub-disciplines, thereby enhancing the teaching and research missions," Blackwell said.  "This new structure encourages greater flexibility, accountability, and responsibility in managing these programs."

Blackwell added, "These new departments highlight faculty and program strengths, as well as being very helpful in future curriculum development."

A comprehensive business college with numerous nationally and internationally regarded faculty and alumni, UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics offers undergraduate and graduate students a wide array of choices at the bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. levels.  In addition to the three departments already mentioned, the college houses the highly respected Department of Economics and Von Allmen School of Accountancy.  

The college also is home to several renowned research centers, the innovative Executive Education Center, and strong MBA programs, both full-time and part-time.

 MEDIA CONTACT:  Carl Nathe (859) 257-3200; Michele Sparks (859) 257-0040