The search for the next leader of the Carlson School of Management, a position which paid its former dean the second-highest annual salary at the University of Minnesota, is now underway.
Alison Davis-Blake, who resigned from the Carlson deanship after five years, made $477,000 in 2009 according to salary data âÄî the third-highest salary among business school deans in the Big Ten.
The former dean left her position for one that netted about $75,000 more annually âÄî at the University of MichiganâÄôs Stephen M. Ross School of Business âÄî in August.
A committee of 19 faculty, staff and community members hopes to have the next dean in place by March 2012.
Recent precedent shows the University is willing to pay more to bring in top talent in high-level administrative positions. The Board of Regents signed off on a salary of $610,000 for new president Eric Kaler. It is $155,000 more than the previous contract for Bob Bruininks.
University Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Tom Sullivan, who appointed the committee, said business school deans are typically paid more because of âÄúmarket conditions.âÄù He said deans must compete in the corporate world and in the academic world.
Comparatively, other deans make less. For example, in the 2009-10 academic year College of Liberal Arts dean James Parente earned $245,000, while Veterinary Medicine dean Trevor Ames earned $227,000.
The next Carlson deanâÄôs salary will depend upon the market, he said.
âÄúWeâÄôll have to be competitive âÄî whatever the market for deanâÄôs salaries is at the time,âÄù Sullivan said.
The Ohio State University business dean, hired in 2009, currently earns an annual salary of $496,612.
Other recent hires at Big Ten schools are at the lower end of the spectrum.
The University of Wisconsin, Madison, appointed François Ortalo-Magné as dean of the Wisconsin School of Business in July 2011. He has an annual salary of $410,000. The interim dean of Krannert School of Management at Purdue University for 2010-11 made $203,799.
Sullivan said he has been consulting with faculty, staff and students throughout the spring and summer to build the search team.
Mary Nichols, dean of the College of Continuing Education and committee chairwoman, said the committee will begin recruiting and accepting nominations soon from the âÄúbest of the best.âÄù
âÄúItâÄôs hard to know yet what it will take to get the kind of remarkable leader that weâÄôre going to look for,âÄù said Nichols, who is also a professor in Carlson.
Carlson was ranked 21st in the U.S. News & World Report 2011 list of the best business schools.
She said the committee is looking for someone who will âÄúprovide the next phase of leadershipâÄù for the business school and continue partnerships with the local business community to develop curriculum opportunities.
