Vol. 19, No. 24

March 16, 2000

Michael J. Ginzberg named
business & economics dean

Michael J. Ginzberg, a professor and associate dean at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, has been named dean of UD’s College of Business and Economics, effective July 1, Provost Mel Schiavelli announced today. Ginzberg, 52,who also will be Chaplin Tyler Professor of Business, has been professor of management information systems at the Weatherhead School since 1987, serving as the school’s associate dean for professional and international programs since 1994. “I’m very pleased that Dr. Ginzberg will be coming to Delaware, and I’m confident that his dynamic leadership abilities will enhance the college and its programs,” Schiavelli said. “His interest and experience in management information systems and the international aspects of business are of particular value in today’s global marketplace. “I also want to take this opportunity to thank Ken Biederman for stepping in and serving as interim dean after the untimely death of Dana J. Johnson, who served as dean from 1996-99,” Schiavelli said. “Ken’s former experience as dean ensured a steady course for the college during the difficult period after Dana’s death.” Ginzberg said he is eager to begin work at UD and the College of Business and Economics. The job attracted him, he said, because of the potential for growth, particularly in his primary fields of interest–international programs and information technology. “There are opportunities within the college, the University and the business community to build the college, and that’s exactly what I want to do,” he said. “I’m really quite excited about the opportunities.” Ginzberg joined the Weatherhead School faculty in 1985 as head of its Management Information and Decision Systems Division, with the goal of building a first-rate information systems department. The MIDS Department was established the next year with a new faculty that, Ginzberg noted, was strongly committed to teaching, research and collegiality. The department faculty has been awarded numerous research grants, including large grants from the National Science Foundation and Digital Equipment Corp. The department today is widely regarded by academic colleagues as one of the top information systems research departments, focusing on behavioral and organizational issues. In 1995, it launched a degree program leading to a master of science in management-information systems. A key step in building the department, Ginzberg said, was developing strong partnerships with information systems practitioners in the Cleveland area. Those partnerships resulted in a $250,000 corporate gift to the school and in numerous project and internship opportunities for students. Ginzberg also worked to establish the Center for Management of Science and Technology, an interdisciplinary center for research and teaching, at the Weatherhead School. Another focus of his work has been in developing international programs. Since 1989, the Weatherhead School has established exchange program with business schools in several European nations, as well as in Israel, Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia and the Philippines. The school also offers short-term study tours in Europe, Asia and Africa. Ginzberg has helped set up collaborative programs with schools in Hungary and Japan and is working to develop educational alliances with other institutions in Asia and Latin America. Ginzberg led the school’s effort to redesign its MBA programs, including the introduction of a new full-time program, a new core for the accelerated program and a revised part-time program. In 1997, he received the Theodore M. Alfred Distinguished Service Award from the Weatherhead School. Ginzberg earned his doctorate in management in 1975 from the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The author of more than 45 articles and books on information systems development and management, information technology strategy and organizational change, he has held leadership positions in various professional organizations, including two terms as chairperson of the executive committee of the International Conference on Information Systems. He and his wife, Rosemary, have two sons, Matthew, a high school senior, and David, a fifth-grader. The College of Business and Economics is UD’s third largest, with 1,900 undergraduate and 600 graduate and executive program students. The college, founded in 1963, offers degrees in accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing and operations. –Ann Manser