The dean of the Carlson School of Management is resigning from his post, which he has held for four years.

Lawrence M. Benveniste, who was named dean in December 2001 after serving as interim dean, will leave the University to become dean at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta.

Benveniste announced his resignation last month and will begin his new duties July 1.

Mike Houston, a marketing and logistics management professor and Carlson School international programs associate dean, said the resignation is a serious loss to the business school and the University of Minnesota.

“He brought a lot of energy to the school and put in place some new initiatives that will be good for the school and its students,” Houston said.

He also said Benveniste’s exit is a sign the Carlson School is moving in the right direction.

“Emory University is not going to hire a dean from a school that is not doing well,” Houston said. “So, I think that his success there (Carlson School) is a reflection on the progress that the school’s made. The energy he brought to the school has made a big difference in that progress.”

About this progression, Houston said Benveniste worked hard to establish strong relationships between the business school and local Twin Cities corporations. Benveniste also created the business school’s enterprise program, which gives students practical experience running their own businesses.

Although an interim dean has yet to be named, E. Thomas Sullivan, senior vice president of Academic Affairs and provost, said the University of Minnesota should begin the search quickly and have a permanent replacement by fall 2005.

Sullivan said he is confident the new dean will be able to make the business school more renowned nationally.

“The next dean of Carlson will lead the school into the front ranks of business schools in the country,” Sullivan said.

Benveniste came to the University of Minnesota in 1996 from Boston College and was the business school’s finance department chairman in 1999.