Dean Carl W. Gooding, who led the Georgia Southern University College of Business Administration to unprecedented growth, will become Dean of the Samford University School of Business this summer.
Gooding will succeed Dean Carl J. Bellas, who will retire after five years as head of the Samford business school. During his tenure, Bellas led Samford to its accreditation by the AACSB: The International Association for Management Education.
Gooding, business dean at Georgia Southern since 1986, will join Samford July 1.
"Dean Gooding has led his school at Georgia Southern to consistently higher achievements, both in the size of the program and in its quality," said Dr. Joe O. Lewis, Samford Acting Provost. "He has been instrumental in generating both friends and funds for his school. He is widely sought after as a consultant on accreditation issues--a fact which indicates that he knows how to meet high standards.
"I am delighted he has accepted our invitation to succeed Dean Bellas," he added. "I look forward to working with him."
Under Gooding, Georgia Southern's business faculty increased from 45 to 95 members, enrollment almost doubled (to 3,200 undergraduate and graduate students), the college earned AACSB accreditation and the accounting program earned separate accreditation. In addition, the business college occupied a new 90,000-square foot building.
It was that growth which helped point Gooding toward Samford, where the business school has 525 students and 21 faculty members.
"This is an opportunity to serve in a high quality institution that is selective in its approach," Gooding said. "It's hard to know 95 faculty. I'm looking forward to getting back to a situation in which I can know everybody. I love being in the middle of things with students. I want to interact with students and faculty on a daily basis."
Gooding listed two high priorities at Samford as increasing graduate school enrollment and fund raising for the business school.
"But first, I want to spend some one-on-one time with faculty and get to know the other deans, to see where the business school fits in with the mission of the university," he said.
Gooding, 57, previously served business programs at East Carolina University (1980-86), Clemson University (1975-80) and the University of Georgia (1972-75). At each institution, he held administrative as well as teaching responsibilities.
The Maryland native holds Ph.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Georgia and the B.S. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, which he attended on a Naval ROTC scholarship.
An active participant in AACSB, Gooding serves on the organization's Board of Directors and was a member of its Initial Accreditation Committee and Candidacy Committee. He has visited more than 30 schools as accreditation team chair, member, advisor or consultant.
Gooding also has served as president of the Southern Business Administration Association and for five years was program chairman of the group's summer workshop, "Managing the School of Business." He has written numerous articles for scholarly journals.
Retiring Dean Bellas joined Samford in 1996 after 13 years as business dean at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. In addition to leading Samford's AACSB accreditation effort which culminated in 1999, Bellas stressed incorporating the international aspect into every business course and underscored the need for communication and people skills as well as computer and management expertise for business majors.
"Dean Carl Bellas has done a wonderful job of leading the School of Business to achieve AACSB accreditation," said Dr. Lewis. "He has also contributed significantly to the development of this faculty and to creating a climate of achievement which has served us well. Moreover, Dean Bellas has been a valued colleague to his fellow deans."