Rich Lyons, a former dean of the Berkeley Haas School of Business, will be UC Berkeley's new innovation chief. (UC Berkeley photo by Noah Berger)
Dean Rich Lyons, who for 11 years has led the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley through a defining culture initiative, construction of a state-of-the-art academic building and the creation of two new degree programs, will step down at the end of his second term in June 2018.
Noting that it’s customary for deans to transition out after two five-year terms, Lyons — who also served one year as interim dean — said it’s the right time to welcome new leadership and return to his faculty role, Laura Counts writes on the Berkeley-Haas website.
“Serving as your dean has been the most fulfilling job of my career, and I plan to remain engaged with Haas for years to come,” he wrote in a message to the community. “And we still have a lot to accomplish together this coming year!”
Lyons will leave the school on strong footing. Its academic programs are in the top 10 in all major rankings: the new Connie & Kevin Chou Hall will open for classes this summer; the first class of students will start this fall in the Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology (M.E.T.) program — a unique dual-degree offering from Haas and Berkeley Engineering. And the four defining principles — Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always and Beyond Yourself — have become deeply embedded in all aspects of the school and alumni experience.
A campus search committee, made up of Berkeley-Haas board members, faculty, staff and students along with UC Berkeley representatives, has begun work earlier than usual to ensure that a new dean is in place when Lyons wraps up his term.
When he returns to the faculty in July 2018, he is interested in exploring opportunities in the digital education or financial tech areas.