Richard Cosier

In August of 2009, Richard Cosier, the Dean of Krannert School of Management, announced that he will be stepping down.  “It’s been an honor to lead our world-class faculty and be a part of the energy and dedication that surrounds Krannert,” Cosier stated. “My plan was to do this job for 10 years, and it will be 11 years next summer. It’s time. I look forward to returning to the classroom and reconnecting with the students who drive this university.” Cosier’s commitment to the fundamental academic lifeblood of any successful university, the classroom, was made clear through his descent from the ranks of dean while continuing to serve as Krannert’s Leeds Professor of Management.

On March 4, 2010, Cosier was appointed the Joyce Gray Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Discovery Park. Effective in January 2011, Cosier will serve as the chief head of the center. Cosier, who originally directed the center in 2004 at its inception, will be replacing Kenneth Kahn, who left the university last fall. The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship serves as an interdisciplinary hub for entrepreneurship at Purdue. It provides much needed business development for budding technologies and concepts that have been developed in University research.   

Earl Dowell served as the dean of engineering at Duke University for sixteen years. When asked to explain the role of a dean in the most simplified way possible, he responded with just two main jobs: “Hiring and raising money. If you do both of those well, all the others come a lot easier, but if you’re not able to do those, it’s a lot harder.” As explained by the veteran Dean, amongst the meetings, the paper work, the thorough planning, and various other meticulous tasks, a proficient dean must be able to hire effective faculty and raise money for the school. Richard Cosier has not failed to meet any of these scrupulous requirements.

In his eleven year tenure as Dean of Krannert School of Management, several strides have been made to financially advance the program. Cosier is in large part responsible for the creation of Rawls Hall in 2003. This project was funded partially by a gift of $10 million from alumnus Jerry S. Rawls. Dean Cosier also administered an $18 million endowment from fund manager Michael F. Price and an additional $12 million from the State of Oklahoma in recognition of the accomplishments of the Oklahoma native. During Cosier’s tenure, Krannert also started an annual Leadership Speaker Series which serves as a successful fundraiser for the school. In its nine year existence, the series has hosted such notable keynote speakers as former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and actor/economist Ben Stein. In total, Dean Cosier’s fund raising efforts added more than $130 million to the Krannert endowment and fund raising effort.  

While Dean Cosier has served at Krannert, both the faculty as well as the reputation of the program has increased. Krannert currently has 114 faculty members and an additional 100 staff members. There are currently 2,647 undergraduate students, 686 masters students, and 109 doctoral students enrolled in the school.  The quality of the staff is reflected clearly through the world wide rankings of the prestigious program. Krannert is extensively recognized as a leading business school. The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek , and U.S. News & World Report consistently rank Krannert amongst the world’s elite business programs.  

As Dean, Cosier reports directly to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Provost, Randy Woodson. Woodson, the provost of 25 years who will be leaving Purdue at the end of the academic year, had only praise for the work of Richard Cosier. “Krannert has enjoyed major strides under Dean Cosier’s watch,” Woodson said. “Rawls Hall was built, the number of endowed professorships increased, an international MBA was launched in Germany, and Krannert’s national and international rankings continued to reflect the school’s outstanding academic programs. While Purdue will miss his academic leadership, our students will continue to benefit from his teaching and mentorship.” 

A nationwide search for a dean was launched early in the academic year. While the school has yet to release any information on potential candidates, it is likely to make a statement soon. Finding an individual who to fill the shoes that Richard Cosier has been wearing for the last eleven years as Dean of Krannert may prove to be a very difficult task.