Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Boston, MA, September 22, 2009: In anticipation of a multi-year capital campaign to begin at Boston University in fall 2010, Louis E. Lataif, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean of the Boston University School of Management, will retire after nineteen years in the position.
Boston University President Robert A. Brown says that under Lataif’s leadership, the School of Management has become “one of the best business schools anywhere.”
Dean Lataif’s superlative career has been marked by records and firsts: the longest serving dean of the School over the past seven decades, Lou Lataif came to BU after twenty-seven years with Ford Motor Company, where he was Ford’s youngest corporate vice president when named an officer in 1982. He then went on to become president of Ford Europe.
In his time at the School of Management, Lataif oversaw the largest-ever building project for a school of business: the funding, design, and construction of the Rafik B. Hariri building; he obtained the School’s first named professorship (there are now nine endowed chairs); he led a lengthy multi-year comprehensive plan to transform the School’s curriculum—which has included emphases on cross-functional and team learning, the birth of the School’s signature MS·MBA, an award-winning undergraduate core curriculum, and the building and expansion of the School’s Executive Learning Programs, which now serve over 2,000 executives annually.
“I am thrilled to have been a part of the School’s transformation,” said Dean Lataif. “Well-run business is an enormous force for good; hopefully, the 18,000-plus graduates of our programs during my tenure are making a positive difference in the world as a result of our unique approach to management education. That’s the source of my greatest satisfaction.”
Lataif’s vision for management education can be best summed up by the School’s trademarked positioning line: “Fusing the art, science, and technology of business®,” and this innovative focus has shepherded the School to the top tier of several national rankings surveys, including BusinessWeek, Financial Times, and US News & World Report.
“He came with a keen understanding of the business world and challenged us to think about the relevance of management research to the practice of business management,” said Senior Associate Dean Michael Lawson. “The next chapter of the School will rest squarely on his achievements.”
“In my retirement years, as a committed and grateful alumnus,” Lataif said, “I hope to continue involving key alumni, friends, and benefactors in the life and work of our great University.”
About Boston University School of Management
Founded as the College of Business Administration in 1913, Boston University School of Management educates builders and leaders, uniquely fusing the art, science, and technology of business. The School is the global pioneer of the MS·MBA program, a rigorous dual-degree, next generation MBA integrating traditional management education with expertise in the information technologies that are transforming every business. The School also offers executive programs along with its undergraduate degree and a full range of graduate degrees, such as the top-ranked MBA in Health Sector Management and the MBA in Public & Nonprofit Management. For more information, visit http://management.bu.edu.
Media Contact
Jennifer M. Ivers
Boston University School of Management
617-358-0234
ivers@bu.edu
