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DeBrock Named College of Business Dean

5/22/2009

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Lawrence DeBrock, a noted economist and longtime University of Illinois professor and administrator, has been named dean of the university’s College of Business, by approval of the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its May 21 meeting in Chicago.

DeBrock has served as interim dean of the nationally ranked business school since 2008, when former dean Avijit Ghosh was named vice president for technology and economic development.

An award-winning professor of economics and business administration, DeBrock joined the U. of I. faculty in 1979, and was associate dean for graduate and professional programs from 2000 to 2007.

“In his role as interim dean he has shown an ability to provide vision and get people to follow him,” said Richard Herman, the chancellor of the Urbana campus. “He is an individual of considerable accomplishment and speaks passionately about the college – its faculty, staff and students and has great support from them. We are delighted to send his name to our board.”

DeBrock, 56, becomes the ninth dean in 95 years for the college, which has the nation’s 12th ranked undergraduate business program and 38th ranked graduate program in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. The college’s accountancy department is ranked second in the U.S., and its information technology program is among the nation’s top 10.

DeBrock says his three decades at the U. of I. will be an advantage in building on recent successes such as faculty hiring, building programs, expanding student facilities and improving external relations.

He plans to build on the college’s legacy of producing both cutting-edge research that advance the nation’s business community and influential graduates that include Samuel Skinner, White House chief of staff and transportation secretary under President George H.W. Bush; best-selling author Sheldon Siegel, and former chairman and CEOs John Zeglis of AT&T Wireless and John Georges of International Paper.

“The College of Business does an extraordinary job generating new knowledge and passing it along to students who need it for today’s competitive workplace,” DeBrock said. “We sit at the heart of a thriving community committed to improving business.”

DeBrock is an education and research fund fellow for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which provides public policy research and education on employee benefits and economic security. He was a health economics consultant to the Kuwaiti government in 1994-95.

His research has been published extensively on topics that focus on health economics, regulatory issues and industrial organization. He also has written articles on salaries and other economic aspects of professional sports.

DeBrock has won a host of teaching awards, including the Campus Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching, the Masters in Business Administration Faculty of the Year Award, and the executive MBA program’s Keith E. Sawyer Memorial Service Award.

“Larry is a dedicated teacher, a respected scholar and a visionary administrator whose considerable skills translate from the classroom to his work on the finishing touches of our new, state-of-the-art Business Instructional Facility,” said Provost Linda Katehi.

DeBrock, a native of Princeton, Ill., earned master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Cornell University. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Bradley University.

Editor’s note: To arrange interviews with Lawrence DeBrock, call Barlow LeVold, assistant director of communications for the U. of I. College of Business, 217-244-8146.