Steven Manaster, dean of the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business since 1999, today announced his decision not to seek reappointment when his current contract as dean expires on June 30.
Manaster informed University of Colorado at Boulder Provost Phil DiStefano of his decision last week and began meeting with faculty members throughout the day yesterday. Manaster said his announcement comes at a time when the school needs to develop broader support to advance and secure its future.
"The three key initiatives that I have implemented as the focus of my assignment from the campus administration when I was hired were improving faculty quality, fund raising and promoting executive education initiatives," said Manaster.
"However, while focusing on those goals, some areas of interest have not received the attention I would have liked," he said.
Upon the completion of his term, Manaster will return to the Leeds School faculty as a professor of finance.
"Our school has made great strides in the last five years and implemented many significant changes through the establishment of the Leeds endowment in 2001. Now is a good time to consolidate the school's direction and focus," Manaster said.
DiStefano praised Manaster's contributions to the Leeds School during his tenure and said Manaster had taken "a leadership role in building the school's reputation on a number of fronts."
"Dean Manaster has been instrumental in fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within the school, with a focus on innovative approaches to academics and curriculum, professional development initiatives, and securing crucial private support," DiStefano said.
Under Manaster's leadership, Leeds was ranked nationally by a number of publications. The MBA entrepreneurship program has been ranked among the top 20 for four consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes ranked the Leeds MBA program 51st, Leeds was among the "runners-up" list for the Wall Street Journal's top MBA programs, the undergraduate program was ranked 25th among public universities by U.S. News & World Report and Grey Pinstripes ranked the MBA program among the top 36 worldwide for social and environmental management programs.
Manaster's other accomplishments include the $35 million Leeds family commitment in 2001, the largest philanthropic commitment in the history of the Boulder campus. It also was the seventh largest gift ever to a U.S. business school.
During Manaster's tenure, the school also established an evening MBA program and the Center for Business Education, providing professional development programs for executives. Manaster also increased the school's commitment to diversity by creating the Office of Diversity Affairs in 2001 and hiring a diversity director and a retention manager.
Manaster launched the business and society initiative, which focuses on the interconnectedness between business and society. The initiative includes programs such as the Leeds Summit Award for Social Impact and the Japha Symposium in Business and Professional Ethics.
He is currently spearheading a strategic planning process and a branding project to better communicate the school's priorities to internal and external constituencies.
Manaster was a professor of finance and director of the Financial Risk Management Center at Virginia Tech University when he accepted the position of dean in 1999.
He was chief economist for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and brought professional and academic experience and a strong track record in administration and business outreach to his position as Leeds School dean. Prior to his faculty position at Virginia Tech, Manaster was a professor at the University of Utah for 13 years.
He also taught finance at New York University, the University of Chicago, the University of Florida and the University of Illinois, Chicago. Manaster earned his doctorate and MBA at the University of Chicago and has a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College.