Lawrence Rose, who has led the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino since September 2011, will retire at the end of July, capping a 36-year career in higher education.

CSUSB provost and vice president for academic affairs, Shari McMahan, praised Rose, saying as dean of the college, he “played a central role in our academic administration since joining CSUSB nearly 10 years ago. He has led college initiatives in areas critical to the university’s mission and strategic plan, and enhanced the college’s culture of excellence, collaboration and innovation both across our campus and in the larger community.

“Under his leadership, the college has received numerous top rankings and earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide,” McMahan said.

Rose thanked his colleagues in the college and the university.

“I have been so fortunate to end my 36 years in higher education amongst countless colleagues and mentors with the innate ability to turn ideas into success. I have valued their guidance, inspiration and collaboration,” Rose wrote in a final message in the JHBC blog. “If not for the present circumstances, I would have hoped to personally thank everyone that made my tenure here so worthwhile. So, if I do not get a chance to speak with you personally, please know I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work with and get to know you all.” 

Beyond his permanent posts, Rose provided mentorship and contributions to dozens of Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) universities and industry boards during his tenure. 

Prior to joining CSUSB, Rose was a professor and pro vice chancellor of the College of Business at New Zealand’s Massey University since 2006. He was responsible for the strategic direction and academic programs at Massey’s College of Business, which has five schools over three campus locations, along with a distance-learning program.

Before joining Massey University in 1994, Rose completed a Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. He was a member of the faculty at San Jose State University and Toledo University before moving to New Zealand. 

CSUSB will begin a national search to fill the position this fall.

In the meantime, serving as interim dean of the Jack H. Brown College for a one-year term will be Professor Emerita Shanthi Srinivas, who has served  in various administrative and faculty positions for more than 30 years at Cal Poly Pomona, most recently as presidential fellow for Leadership Excellence for Institutional Development.

Srinivas, who will join the CSUSB campus on Aug. 1, brings extensive experience in leadership training, faculty development, budget management, enrollment management, strategic planning and assessment, and was instrumental in successfully leading the college through the AACSB accreditation process, McMahan said.

Srinivas earned a Ph.D. in business administration from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree in social work from the University of Madras (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India), a diploma in advertising & public relations (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai, India) and a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Madras.

To read Dean Lawrence Rose’s farewell message visit the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration Blog.