Faculty and Staff Members Take on New Roles

The College of Business has familiar faces filling different positions in the college at the beginning of winter semester 2007.  

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research

Al Bluedorn, professor of management, has succeeded Ken Evans as the associate dean for graduate studies and research.  Evans became the dean of the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business on January 1, 2007.

Bluedorn has been teaching for nearly 26 years in the College of Business and is the Emma S. Hibbs Distinguished Professor.  He previously served as chair of the Department of Management.  His research interests include a variety of topics within the areas of organizational culture and time-and-organization studies.  He has published more than 40 journal articles, many in leading academic journals.  Bluedorn is a past member of the Academy of Management’s Board of Governors and a former chair of the Academy’s 4,000-member Organizational Behavior Division.  In fall 2005, he was selected to deliver the University of Missouri-Columbia's 21st Century Corps of Discovery Lecture.  He and his wife, Betty, are members of the college’s Herbert J. Davenport Society.

“I have always tried to put the interests of the university, the College of Business, and the students first in my time here,” says Bluedorn.  “It has been, and is, an exciting time to be part of the college, and I look forward to working with Dean Walker and all the faculty and staff to see our vision of being a top 20 public business school become a reality.”

Chair of the Department of Management

Daniel Turban, a member of the faculty since 1989 and the Stephen A. Furbacher Professor in Organizational Change, has been named the new chair of the Department of Management. 

Turban’s research focuses on mentoring processes, employment interviews, the recruitment process, organizational choice, and supervisor-subordinate relationships.  He has published three dozen articles in various journals.  In addition, Turban is serving or has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Personnel Psychology.  Turban is the recipient of a number of teaching, advising, and research awards, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, the MU Alumni Association Faculty-Alumni Award, two Harry Hall Trice Faculty Research Awards, and an Outstanding Faculty Service Award from the college.  

“I am fortunate to be a part of the college’s faculty during such a time of great progress with regards to providing our students with a high-caliber education, including many opportunities for professional development,” says Turban.  “I am also excited to be in a leadership role for the department as we strive to do more and better in the areas of instruction, research, and service to the college, the campus, and our profession.”

Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Strategic Initiatives

Mary Beth Marrs, previously the assistant dean for undergraduate programs, has agreed to take on the added responsibility of advancing important college initiatives as the assistant dean for undergraduate programs and strategic initiatives.

Marrs, who has three degrees from MU, has been the assistant dean of undergraduate programs in the college since 2003.  She has been involved with many student organizations, and has served as a member of the Strategic Development Board. College of Business students have chosen her as Faculty Member of the Year on three occasions.  Her teaching interests include operations management, organizational behavior, human resources management, organizational change, and ethics in the workplace.  Before coming to MU in 2000, she was a member of the IdahoStateUniversity’s business faculty.  Earlier in her career, Marrs was a director in the U.S. Postal Service.

“From entrepreneurship education to professional development of students to collaboration with the business community, the college has a set of strategic priorities that guide its endeavors.  I am excited to have the opportunity to work with my colleagues in the college and elsewhere on campus as well as with companies in various initiatives that relate to the college’s top priorities,” says Marrs.  “Also, I am pleased I will be able to continue guiding the college’s undergraduate programs as we continue to provide even better opportunities to our students.”