President Emeritus Tapped for New U.K. Business School
William G. Durden '71
By Christine M. Dugan
William G. Durden ’71, Dickinson president emeritus, has been named dean of the new School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) at Bath Spa University in England. The SBE, which will offer a bachelor of business administration degree, was founded in partnership with Massachusetts-based Shorelight Education and Bath Spa University.
As dean of SBE, Durden will oversee a degree program with four distinct concentrations: enterprise innovation, design management, social entrepreneurship and emerging technology. The inaugural class will enroll in the fall of 2015.
"Bath Spa University has a strong reputation for excellence across their many disciplines, and I am thrilled at this extraordinary opportunity to continue that proud tradition, working with aspiring business students from all over the world at the new School of Business and Entrepreneurship," said Durden, who served as Dickinson’s president from 1999 to 2013. "By combining strong academics with a practical business education that embraces innovation and entrepreneurship, we will prepare the leaders of tomorrow to make an impact on the global economy."
Prior to serving as president of Dickinson, Durden was a member of the German department at The Johns Hopkins University for 16 years and executive director of the Center for Talented Youth. During his Hopkins engagement, Durden also served for 11 years as a senior education consultant to the U.S. Department of State and chaired the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth. In 2001, Durden served as a tutor to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, regarding education in the United States. He studied internationally as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the University of Münster and the University of Freiburg in Germany.
He currently holds a joint appointment as research professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins and chair of the advisory board of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars.
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Published November 14, 2014