UTSA has acquired a Rice University professor to lead its top-ranked business school through the next decade of San Antonio.
Dr. William Gerard Sanders has been named Bodenstedt Chair of the College of Business. Sanders launched a PhD program in strategic management at Rice University, where he has served for the last 5 years, and in the previous 12 years served as a department chair and faculty member at Brigham Young University.
Sanders said he’s coming at a time when UTSA is ready to take advantage of some serious opportunities, and he said the community and student body are uniquely positioned to work toward a monumental shift at UTSA that will literally be seen as a model for the nation.
"Geographically, the situation and the institution I think are perfectly positioned. You know, San Antonio today - socioeconomically and demographically - mirrors, or rather foreshadows, the country in the future. And if we're to get the country on the right economic path, I think it's critical that we sort of pave that way with the rising generation in San Antonio," Sanders said.
UTSA’s search committee called Sanders "the right person to build on the college’s shared vision, growing reputation and national rankings."
The Bodenstadt chair is one of 13 newly-endowed positions established by an H-E-B donation and matching funds designated to support the recruitment and retention of leading scholars and researchers.
Sanders' appointment marks the university's first dean’s appointment announced under the Tier One endowment program. Sanders begins on July 1.
