Douglas Breeden, dean of the Fuqua School of Business, will resign effective June 30, 2007, University administrators announced March 13.
Breeden has led Fuqua since 2001. He will resume teaching and researching after he steps down, retaining his appointment as the William W. Priest Professor of Finance at Fuqua.
Breeden said in a statement that although he has enjoyed his time as dean, next year is the right time for him to step down.
"My major goal during the past year has been raising funds for our new classroom building and library. I am now confident that we will have the building under construction in the near future, well before I step down as dean," Breeden said. "We have also just completed our new strategic plan, and while I will move forward with implementing the plan between now and 2007, I feel like it is a natural time to pass the baton to a new dean."
Breeden will leave his post with several years remaining in his contract. He was reappointed as dean for a second five-year term in February 2005.
"When we discussed reappointment with Dean Breeden at the time, he indicated he might not wish to complete his second term," Provost Peter Lange wrote in an e-mail. "We were not disheartened by that since it is often the case that reappointed administrators are not sure how long they will be able to sustain their enthusiasm and live with the stresses of their positions."
Lange said it is not infrequent for a dean to step down sometime during a second term.
Breeden could not be reached for comment.
During Breeden's tenure, he has overseen increases in the numbers of both faculty members and students at the business school. He also created several research centers, including the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship and the Fuqua/Coach K Center of Leadership and Ethics.
Breeden was forced to close Fuqua's Frankfurt, Germany campus in 2002 because of a lack of interest among European students. In 2003, however, Fuqua partnered with Frankfurt University's School of Business, and the schools created a dual degree in 2004.
"In short, a very successful deanship and much the results we were hoping for when Dean Breeden was selected," Lange wrote of Breeden's tenure.
Despite its achievements, Fuqua recently fell from the list of the nation's top 10 business schools, slipping from seventh to 11th in the 2005 U.S. News and World Report Business School Rankings.
Fuqua did not improve in the 2006 rankings.
A search committee has been created to find Breeden's successor.
It is chaired by Christine Moorman, the T. Austin Finch, Senior Professor of Marketing at Fuqua.
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