After seven years of service, Dr. Brett Landry will be stepping down from the position of Dean of the Business College at the University of Dallas. This is not a rushed or unexpected decision. Landry made the official announcement in October 2021 and has been planning for a while to step down and return to teaching.
Landry first came to the University of Dallas in 2006 where he taught for nine years in the field of cybersecurity. In 2015, Landry became the interim Dean of the Business College. Before he knew it, in 2015 he was Dean of the Business College. He is the 2nd-longest serving dean in the college’s history. In 2019, Landry was named to the Dallas 500, a list of the top business leaders in the city.
Speaking of his colleague, associate Dean of the Business College Dr. Greg Bell said: “Brett has been very instrumental in helping guide the business school to where it is today. There’s been quite a few other innovations in curriculum that have been as a result of Brett’s tenure here.”
Becoming dean was never really part of the plan. “I left industry twenty-two years ago to teach and really found a passion in teaching. Higher administration was never a part of my career arc here,” said Landry.
While the switch from professor to dean was a successful one for Landry, he’s always wanted to teach. “I’m looking forward to going back and teaching,” Landry said. “In my role as dean, I have not had the time to really teach and be involved with our students. I had a five-year plan to be dean and then return to teaching, which is really where my heart is. And with COVID, that’s now turned into a seven-year plan.”
A love of teaching is not the only reason Landry decided to step down. With President Jonathan Sanford’s new administration, Landry feels the time is right. “I feel it’s a good time to leave my deanship with the leadership of President Sanford,” said Landry. “In my time as dean I’ve had four presidents and four provosts, and I see longevity with President Sanford.”
Landry will remain Dean until June 30. At that time, he will resume teaching at UD and Dr. Susan Rhame will assume the position of interim dean. Rhame served as associate dean with Landry.
“We’ll be searching for a permanent dean for the College of Business in the fall,” said Sanford. If all goes well, Rhame will serve through the 2022-23 academic year, and by that time a successor will have been found.
“I’m really looking forward to Dr. Rhame serving as the interim dean,” said Bell. “She’s a great colleague and a respected leader in our faculty. She served as an associate dean when I first came on board a few years back and I really enjoyed working with her and I look forward to working with her again.”
The process is expected to take time. Bell said, “Looking for the next dean can take a long time. It’s important that we are careful about who we select. Dean of the business school is an important leader to our community and we want to make the right decision.”
Provided all goes well, a new dean will be selected in time to serve for the 2023-24 academic year. For now, Landry will close out the 2021-22 academic year in his last semester as Dean of the Business College.
