Monday, July 28, 1997FACULTY:
Anderson School dean named
Professor Mamer will preside as interim head for a yearBy
Gregory Mena
and Hannah Miller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
He only has one year, but the new interim dean of the Anderson
Graduate School of Management has big plans.
John Mamer, an Anderson School professor for the past 16 years,
will take over Aug. 31 when Dean William Pierskalla leaves.
"I’m delighted to be in this position," Mamer said. "This year
is going to be very good." He will run the ship for one year, then
a permanent dean will be chosen by new UCLA Chancellor Albert
Carnesale.
Mamer plans to improve the curriculum and further "technologize"
the Anderson School.
In changing the curriculum, Mamer plans to make the school
 in true business fashion  more market-oriented. "We
must pay close attention to the needs of students," Mamer said. "We
are striving also to raise the level of academic rigor."
One trend that must be more integrated into Anderson’s
curriculum is the globalization of the marketplace, already a focus
for Anderson’s highly international approach to business
education.
"Barriers between countries are falling," Mamer said. "For
example, look at NAFTA. We are becoming a global economy."
Mamer wants to improve Anderson’s computer resources. He said
the school is overcoming some "initial problems" in developing its
computer networks.
"We want to continue integrating information technology into the
curriculum," Mamer said.
In striving towards these aims, Mamer will be keeping his
experience as a professor in mind.
Accomplishing these changes "is a matter of working with the
administration to bring about really interesting faculty
innovation," he said.
On the subject of admissions, Mamer sees Anderson as relatively
independent of the Regents’ decision to ban affirmative action. The
ban took effect for the Fall 1997 incoming class.
Anderson school admissions have not seen much of a drop in
ethnic minority enrollment, since it did not have a "lot of
programs" in place before, Mamer said. The student body is
diversified by a high enrollment of international students.
"No major change is predicted," Mamer said.
Educated at UC Davis and UC Berkeley, Mamer is a professor in
decision sciences, a field related to mathematics and statistical
analysis.
Dean William Pierskalla, who oversaw the school’s move into a
new building complex, announced his resignation in May.
His resignation came as a surprise to many Anderson faculty,
including those who hired him.
"I’m just flabbergasted," James A. Collins told The Outlook in
May. Collins, a $5 million donor to the school, served on the
search committee that recruited Pierskalla. "That’s a real
surprise," he said.
Pierskalla, 62, said he wanted to spend more time with his
family. He plans to return to teaching after a one-year
sabbatical.
In the end, the promise of such a short term does not appear to
daunt Mamer.
"The average tenure of deans is not very long in this country
anyways," he said. His predecessor Pierskalla lasted four years in
the job.
The Anderson School
Former Dean William PierskallaThe Anderson School
New Dean John Mamer