Arthur Kraft, former business school dean of Georgia Institute of Technology, Rutgers and West Virginia universities, has been named dean of DePaul University’s College of Commerce and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business effective Aug 15. Kraft succeeds Ronald J. Patten, who steps down after a decade as dean of DePaul’s business school.

"Arthur Kraft’s extensive experience in numerous fields of business and his established record as an administrative leader made him an ideal candidate to succeed Ronald Patten in leading the College of Commerce into the next century," said Richard J. Meister, DePaul executive vice president for academic affairs.

The College of Commerce encompasses the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and DePaul’s undergraduate business program. With approximately 2,500 students, Kellstadt offers the seventh largest business master’s degree program in the country. The undergraduate business program enrolls about 2,900 students. Kellstadt’s part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary this year, is ranked fifth in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 1999 graduate school rankings. SUCCESS magazine rated the school’s entrepreneurship program second in the country in its latest rankings.

Kraft, 55, said he is thrilled to accept leadership of DePaul’s business school because of its reputation, dedicated faculty and importance to DePaul’s mission. "The school has accomplished a great deal under my predecessors, Deans Patten and Brother Leo Ryan," he said. "I’m looking forward to working with the faculty and other stakeholders to be as successful as they were and move

the school forward, increasing its visibility in the greater Chicagoland area and worldwide."

In particular, Kraft said he would like to expand the visibility of the school’s international programs, including its full-time MBA program in International Marketing and Finance (MBA/IMF). Launched in 1994, the 18-month program involves extensive contact between international business leaders and students. Students complete 10-week internships with multi-national firms worldwide.

A native of Eden, N.Y., Kraft served as dean of the DuPree School of Management at Georgia Institute of Technology from 1993 to 1997. Since 1997, he has held the position of professor of strategic management and was recently named chair of DuPree’s doctoral program.

Experienced in education and government, Kraft received his Ph.D. in economics in 1970 and master’s degree in economics in 1969 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He joined the faculty of Ohio University in 1969 and was promoted to the rank of professor of quantitative methods in 1975. He served as associate dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was appointed dean of the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University in 1983. He joined Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 1987 as dean of the School of Business and professor of finance and management. He became the first dean of the newly established School of Business at the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers.

Kraft has published several articles in major journals and books, made numerous presentations to professional societies, written many working papers, and published a book, "Statistical Analysis for Decision Making," with Jeffrey E. Jarrett in 1989.

Patten, 64, of Glen Ellyn, will become dean emeritus after 35 years in academic administration. During his tenure as DePaul’s business school dean, he completed two, five-year plans, accomplishing many goals. He led efforts to refocus the college’s curriculum on the global business environment, expand international business learning and research opportunities for faculty and students, increase recognition of faculty and raise the school’s reputation in national rankings. Patten will continue to represent the university at business conferences and speaking engagements and will teach seminars during the next year.