Hotel and ILR deans will step down when their terms end in '05

Butler

Lawler

By Susan Lang and Roger Segelken

The deans of two of Cornell's colleges have announced that they will be stepping down at the completion of their current terms. David W. Butler, who has served as dean of the School of Hotel Administration since 2000, has announced that he will not seek reappointment when his term ends June 30, 2005. Edward J. Lawler, dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) since 1997, has announced that he also will step down effective June 30, 2005, to devote more time to teaching and research.

Butler, who also served as associate dean of executive education at the Hotel School from 1993 to 2000, has announced he plans to go into "semi-retirement" to enjoy time with his wife and to undertake targeted professional projects.

"What I find most rewarding about my term is the dedication shown to the educational goals of the school and the university by so many people," Butler said. "Students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and university leaders have all made impressive and measurable contributions. Cornell generates an enthusiasm, loyalty and affection unrivaled in my experience."

Provost Biddy Martin said: "We are indebted to Dean Butler for the vision that he brought to the School of Hotel Administration and for his leadership in the construction of Statler Hall's expansion, the Beck Center, a 36,000-square-foot teaching facility that is planned for completion later this year. Under Dean Butler's helm, the Hotel School continues to excel as a leading research and teaching center for the hospitality industry."

Martin and Vice Provost John Siliciano will co-chair the search committee for a new dean; Michael Matier, Cornell director of Institutional Research and Planning, will serve as the search manager. They plan to have a new dean in place by the beginning of the 2005-06 academic year.

Under Butler's leadership, the Hotel School funded and launched the construction of the Beck Center and made steady progress in pursuing strategic alliances to enhance the global impact of the school in Asia, Europe and the United States. During his tenure, the Center for Hospitality Research, which conducts practical research to enhance industry operating practices, has grown dramatically, and the Statler Hotel has become a stronger component of the school's educational mission and a first-class operating property serving as a gateway to the Cornell community.

Before joining the Cornell faculty, Butler served as president of Menlo College in Atherton, Calif., from 1988 to 1992, and as dean of that college's School of Business Administration in 1988. Butler also served as executive director of the Graduate Management Center of the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, Calif., from 1977 to 1986, and as director of undergraduate studies in the Department of English at the University of Kentucky from 1972 to 1977.

A native of San Francisco, Butler earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1972; an MBA from the Claremont Graduate School in 1980; a master of arts degree from California State University at Hayward in 1966; and a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University in 1965.

Lawler, a sociologist who also serves as a professor of organizational behavior in the ILR School, joined the Cornell faculty in 1994. In a May 12 announcement to ILR students, alumni, faculty and staff members, he said: "Being dean of the ILR School is one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences that I have had in my academic career. I have been very fortunate to have strong and consistent support from the ILR community over the last seven years, and I deeply appreciate this. Because of your support, this has not been an easy or quick decision for me to make."

A search committee, led by Martin and Siliciano, is being formed to begin seeking candidates for the ILR deanship in the late summer or early fall of this year. Matier also will manage that search.

Martin said: "Dean Lawler has made significant contributions not only to his school but also to the entire university. He further enhanced Cornell ILR's standing as the nation's premier institution for the study of labor and workplace issues with major initiatives in education, research and outreach." She noted that Lawler helped establish the ILR School's Institute for Workplace Studies and Master of Professional Studies program in New York City, strengthened the school's Master of Professional Studies program and launched Union Days, a yearly series of on-campus workshops and seminars for union leaders, ILR students and faculty members.

Lawler came to Cornell after 22 years on the faculty of the University of Iowa, where he had served as chairman of the department of sociology. His association with the ILR School began in 1978 and 1981, when he was a visiting professor, and continued in 1990, when he was a visiting fellow. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology (1972) from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is the editor or sole or joint author of more than a dozen books -- among them Power and Politics in Organizations and Bargaining: Power, Tactics and Outcomes, co-authored with Samuel B. Bacharach, also a professor of organizational behavior at the ILR School. Lawler edited the 10-volume series, Advances in Group Processes, and in 2001 was the recipient of the American Sociological Association's Cooley-Mead Award for scholarship in social psychology.

Lawler expressed the hope that he might find more time for research and teaching, adding, "I am eager to have more classroom contact with our students." He said he originally came to Cornell "because of the wonderful intellectual opportunities and colleagues available here and because of the superb students with whom I would have contact. These remain strong attractions, and I intend to take full advantage of them in the years ahead."