After 10 years as dean of the University of Maryland?s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Howard Frank will step down at the end of the this academic year, having been instrumental in expanding the curriculum and Van Munching Hall, where the school is located.
Before coming to College Park, Frank, 66, had a long career in information technology in public service and the private sector, including stints as director of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency?s Information Technology Office and as founder, chairman and CEO of Network Management Inc.
Q Why did you decide to step down?
A I will not be leaving the university. I?ll still be a professor of management sciences. [But] I?d been thinking about it for the last few years. I think 10 years is enough for a dean ? you want someone with new ideas. The school is in phenomenal shape. It seemed like the right time.
Q What has changed in your 10 years?
A Inside the school this has been an unmitigated roll. We?vedoubled the size of the facility, achieved an unparalleled role in the region, we?re certainly in anyone?s Top 25, and we?ve become a powerhouse. We?ve really had a wonderful run.
Business education is now one of the most popular undergrad or graduate majors.
Last year, we conferred 19 percent of the degrees in the entire university.
At the same time, there has been a shift from business education being local to being global. A large percentage of our students engage in some global program.
Q The school?s faculty was recently named No. 5 in the world for research output. What have you done to attract top professors?
A First, when we started the process, we had a vision to build a technologically advanced research institution. The word ?technology? was key.
Second, the school itself is very collaborative.
The third reason is, we decided we really had to invest in our faculty and compete with the best schools.
We went out and raised private dollars, so we could supplement the faculty stipend. For example, when I got to this school, it had about 70 faculty, one chair and two or three full professors.
Now we have 140 faculty with 20 full professorships.
We?re getting it into the competitive range.
Q Last year, you introduced the Smith Fellows Program for undergraduates. What does it add to the school?
A We did an analysis of what we thought were the top programs in the country and found two interesting things.
One, the top ones were very wealthy; second, they were small ? 600 students across all years.
What we?d like to do is invest in our students, as if we were a private institution; we?d like to create special opportunities for our 1,800 students. It?s a monumental effort.
Bob Smith made another major gift about 2 1/2 years ago, and we decided to devote all of that gift to the Smith Fellows Program.
There are 30 programs altogether, and we?re adding another four or five next year. It?s amazing.
As far as we can tell, nothing has ever been done at this speed at a school of our size.
Q What qualifications do students need?
A Our average SAT score is 1360 on the 1600 basis, that?s up about 150 points from about 10 years ago. Our average high school GPA is about 4.0. They?ve been either leaders or musicians or athletes while they were in school.They?re multidimensional; they?re really wonderful people. We bring in about 400 freshmen, and we get 3,000 applications. And we bring in about the same number of juniors from the same number of applications.
Q What sets you apart from other business schools?
A With the Smith Fellows Program, we will have the best set of curricula in any business school within three years. Our students love it, and student satisfaction is sky-high.
Course evaluations average 4.3 in the undergraduate program on a 5-point basis. That?s phenomenal.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
» Carly Fiorina, former CEO, Hewlett-Packard, 1980.
» Robert H. Smith, chairman, Charles E. Smith Co. Commercial Realty, 1950.
» Kevin Plank, founder and CEO, Under Armour, 1996.
» Robert Basham, founder and vice chairman, Outback Steakhouse, 1970.
» Jim O?Brien, head coach, Indiana Pacers, 1981.
» Gary Williams, head coach, University of Maryland men?s basketball team, 1968.
» David Trone, senior vice president and senior analyst, Fox-Pitt, Kelton, 1995.
» Paul Norris, non-executive chairman, W.R. Grace, 1971.
FAST FACTS
» Enrollment: 2,849 undergraduates; 1,497 graduate students
» Student breakdown: 62.5 percent male; 37.5 percent female
» Tuition: $6,566 for in-state; $20,005 for out-of-state
» Room and board: $8,562
» Undergraduate business students receiving scholarships: 34 percent for 2006-07
Source: Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland College Park
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