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UW-Madison selects Knetter as School of Business dean

November 26, 2001

UW–Madison has selected Michael Knetter as the new dean of the School of Business, Chancellor John Wiley announced Monday, Nov. 26.

“Michael’s character, vision and background are the right fit for the School of Business at this time,” Wiley says.

Knetter, a Wisconsin native, grew up in Rhinelander and completed his undergraduate studies in economics and mathematics at UW-Eau Claire. He completed his Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University before joining Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., where he is an international economics professor and associate dean of the Amos Tuck School of Business.

While at Dartmouth, Knetter also served as a senior staff economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors for former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Knetter replaces Andrew J. Policano, who stepped down Sept. 1. R.D. Nair will continue as interim dean until Knetter formally begins July 1.

“Dean Policano has done a tremendous job during the past 10 years,” Wiley says. “He left behind a solid base from which Dean Knetter can continue to enhance the reputation of the UW–Madison School of Business.”

Knetter was among four finalists recommended to Wiley by a 19-member search and screen committee after a nationwide search. The committee was chaired by James M. Johannes, faculty member and associate dean in the School of Business, and made up of faculty, academic staff, non-represented classified staff and students.

The other finalists were:

  • Lawrence Benveniste, associate dean of faculty research and U.S. Bancorp professor of finance in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
  • R.D. Nair, interim dean, executive director of the Center for International Business Education and Research, and PricewaterhouseCoopers professor of accounting and information systems in the School of Business at UW–Madison.
  • Mark Zupan, dean and professor of economics in the Eller College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Arizona.

The dean of the School of Business oversees about 100 faculty, more than 2,000 students and an executive education program that serves more than 15,000 clients each year.

Knetter’s salary will be $245,000.