Brockport hires dean for school

SUNY College at Brockport will open its school of business soon--with a dean experienced as a leader in that situation.

The college plans to start its school of business administration and economics in the fall and has selected as its dean Daniel Petree, now dean of the college of business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Petree was the inaugural dean at Embry-Riddle, leading an effort to raise the college's profile and increasing ties with the local business community. He is to start at SUNY

Brockport on July 1.

The creation of the school came as part of an overall restructuring that replaced a three-school structure at SUNY Brockport with five--schools of the arts, humanities and social sciences; sciences and mathematics; health and human performance; education and human services; and business administration and economics.

With more than 1,000 students, the business department has been one of the most popular at the college. The school is set to move into existing space within the business department, but Anne Huot, Brockport provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the school will rehabilitate existing space, create new facilities and increase its downtown presence.

For SUNY Brockport, creating a school of business was considered a logical next step. The department had gained accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a rare accomplishment for a department.

The move also gives the college a chance to increase its visibility in the region, Huot said.

...