The College of Business made an advancement last week in announcing the new dean, Brian Kench.

Currently the chair of the economics department at the University of Tampa, Kench will start his term as dean of the College of Business June 1, 2015. Recruited by a headhunter, Kench is very excited to come to University of New Haven.

“I came up a few months ago to meet the faculty, and was stricken by the strong sense of community,” said Kench.

At Tampa, Kench grew the economics department from five to 14 fulltime professors. Kench has also headed a student based learning experience at UT, bringing students on trips to Washington DC to meet top tier economists.

“I stressed why I coined an ‘Adam Smith’ society. This concept involves a communal group where experiential education is highly valued,” he said.

“I really have pushed for a more student centered institution at the University of Tampa, and want to do the same at the University of New Haven,” Kench, who believes that all majors are equal and wants to develop each department equally, said.

Kench wants to build the Business school “one department at a time,” providing meaningful faculty-led experiences. “It is very important to equip students with the skills needed to succeed,” he said.

“I also want to grow the graduate program,” said Kench, who wants to grow the Executive MBA program. “I want to keep an open door policy, so that if any students or faculty have any questions, they can ask me.”

Kench is coming in at a time when the College of Business is near the end of the process of becoming accredited AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

“Becoming accredited would really put the College of Business on the map,” Kench said. “That’s why the coming two years will be a very important time to have a solid administration.”

Kench brings along with him Charles Skipton to fill the position of associate dean. Skipton is also a professor in the Economics department at the University of Tampa.

This will be Skipton’s first administrative position.

With the pending AACSB accreditation and a new dean, it is clear that the College of Business is due for a lot of change in the upcoming years.