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U.Va. Names Business School Faculty Member As New Dean

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 2--Robert F. Bruner, a veteran faculty member known for his analysis of corporate mergers, has been named dean of the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration in Charlottesville.

University President John T. Casteen III cited the quality of Bruner's scholarship, his teaching skills and international reputation when announcing the appointment Monday.

A professor of business administration and member of the Darden faculty since 1982, Bruner succeeds Robert S. Harris, who announced last year that he would step down . Harris, Darden's dean for four years, remains on the faculty and will spend the coming year doing research at Oxford University.

Bruner, who received a one-year appointment as dean, said the search committee formed last October will continue with its work. He said he had not yet decided whether he would seek to remain beyond his existing appointment.

One of his goals, Bruner said, is to strengthen Darden's identity in the eyes of the public, potential applicants and the school's stakeholders.

Darden also will expand its reach, Bruner said, by launching an executive MBA program next June. The school now has a full-time master's degree in business administration program with 600 students enrolled, a doctoral program and shorter, non degree programs tailored to corporate executives.

Bruner has written 16 books and more than 270 business case studies. His latest book, "Deals from Hell: M&A Lessons That Rise Above the Ashes," was published in April. Five years ago, he and another member of the Darden faculty wrote a case study lauding the innovations in energy trading at Enron Corp. The authors revised the study after Enron collapsed.

"We know now they engaged in some horrible trading practices that exploited the system," Bruner said. Business schools, he said, must convey a message about the need for ethical behavior but also describe the ways new players enter a field and change the rules.

Bruner, 55, said he was attracted to the field of corporate mergers and acquisitions because of the impact they can have on business and society.

After earning a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University, Bruner earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1974 and a doctorate in business from Harvard in 1982.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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