Former College of Business Administration Deans Charles E. Hoffman, Keith Womer and Robert Nauss attended a Dean’s Mixer event last Saturday at Glen Echo Country Club to celebrate the history of the college. (Photos by Wendy Todd)
As part of a campuswide celebration of the 60th anniversary of the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the College of Business Administration celebrated its own long history of educating business students at a Dean’s Mixer event at Glen Echo Country Club last Saturday.
Nearly 100 people attended the elegant program, where former deans, alumni and faculty and staff highlighted the establishment of the college, its growth and its achievements over the past six decades. Digital photos of past eras were on display, chronicling the evolution of the college as attendees caught up with each other and reminisced about its journey and progression.
Associate Dean Emeritus David R. Ganz was among the featured speakers at the Dean’s Mixer event at Glen Echo Country Club.
“It is wonderful to celebrate CoBA’s long-term leadership during our 60th anniversary as, in many ways, CoBA has led the way in the successful development and evolution of our university as we have risen to be a Tier 1 national leader in educational relevancy, student success and social mobility,” Chancellor Kristin Sobolik said while sharing remarks at the start of the event. “I join our colleagues as we celebrate and thank the astute leadership of the college that has truly set our pathway to success.”
Other speakers included Interim Dean Michael Elliott, Chancellor Emerita Blanche Touhill, and former deans Charles E. Hoffman, Robert Nauss and Keith Womer. All of them reflected on the college’s mission and successes.
“Similar to the entire university, the college has grown,” Elliott said. “Over time, we reached a peak enrollment of 2,500 business students. Currently, we have 10 degree programs, and we’ve generated quite a few very innovative programs. We’ve been very responsive to the market and have programs like cybersecurity, fintech and supply chain.”
Associate Dean Emeritus David R. Ganz, who began his career at UMSL in 1966 as an accounting professor and went on to hold several administrative positions, lent his historical perspective to the development of the college, which was formally established in 1967.
“It’s just been exciting to see it happen, and then to be a part of it,” Ganz said. “It started out almost as a department in the College of Arts and Sciences because we only had one college in the inception of the campus. Then we ultimately became a division and then a school and now a college. As I look back on it now some 57 years later, I take a great deal of pride in and gratitude for having been a part of it.”
