Leeds School of Business - History

History

What is today known as the Leeds School of Business began in 1906 as the College of Comm, a division of the College of Liberal Arts. The University of Colorado was one of the leaders in establishing a college of commerce, according to the Biennial Report of 1906-1908. The report noted that the distinction between the College of Commerce and the ordinary business college. "The man who is to be a leader in business must know something of law, economics, the markets of the world, and the location of available power and labor."

In 1922, the business program became the School of Business Administration and relocated to the basement of Guggenheim, the former law school building. The faculty was enlarged to a total of 15, and the school was on its way to become one of the university's first principal professional schools.

The business program was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the accrediting body of business schools, in 1937. The AACSB recognition is only given to those schools that achieve and maintain established standards of excellence with respect to curriculum, faculty, library resources, and financial support. At this point the business school was still without a real home. Classes were being held in several buildings across campus.

In 1960, the school began offering doctoral degrees in business, and by 1965 the success of the program prompted the University of Colorado Board of Regents to establish the Graduate School of Business to administer master's degrees. The school moved to its present location in 1970.

In October 2001, the Leeds family of New York made a $35 million commitment to the University of Colorado at Boulder's business school, the country's seventh largest endowment to a business school. The school was renamed the Leeds School of Business in recognition of the gift.

On January 19, 2011 it was announced that David L. Ikenberry had been appointed dean of the Leeds School of Business. Ikenberry replaces Interim Dean Manuel Laguna after a national search. Laguna has served as interim dean of the Leeds School of Business since November 2009, replacing Dennis Ahlburg, who accepted the presidency of Trinity University in San Antonio. Ikenberry had previously held the position of Associate Dean at the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Today the school has 55 tenure track faculty and 28 instructors, more than 3000 undergraduates, 238 full-time MBA students, 115 evening MBA students, and 43 Ph.D students.