UNLV College of Business director resigns

The much-touted MBA program at UNLV's College of Business is losing its first director only months after he accepted the position.

His departure will come on the heels of the loss of the college's dean, who recently resigned after less than two years at the helm of the struggling business school.

Lou Trankiem, who was hired in October 1998 to lead the newly revamped Master's in Business Administration program, will be leaving UNLV in March amid rumors that he was allegedly fired by the university. Neither Trankiem nor UNLV Provost Douglas Ferraro would comment on the nature or circumstances surrounding his departure.

The staff losses come as the college faces re-accreditation problems related to a "lack of faculty productivity," according to former dean Elvin Lashbrooke.

In the course of an accrediting review, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business sent at letter to the school identifying more than a dozen faculty members who are not producing quality research. The college has until the fall to correct its problems or faces losing AACSB accreditation, which it originally got in 1991.

Without a permanent dean or director of the MBA program, the college will rely on interim dean Richard Morgan, who also serves as the dean of the new law school, to coordinate the efforts to maintain accreditation until the positions are filled.

The MBA program has been touted by UNLV administrators as a flagship program in business college. The program underwent a change in curriculum last year, and currently, plans are under way to create MBAs with emphases on engineering, law and health care administration. Additionally, a faculty group is discussing the creation of an executive MBA.

UNLV Provost Douglas Ferraro credits former dean Lashbrooke with "completely revising the MBA program."

"He very much enhanced the program. We're very proud of the MBA program," Ferraro said.

The loss of director Trankiem, who was recruited from California State College in Los Angeles, is inconsequential, Ferraro said.

"It has absolutely no implications," said Ferraro. "This director was brought in after the program was designed. He didn't have a hand in forming the program...The fundamental curriculum is in place."

The College of Business currently has 18 faculty job openings and 2,800 students, Ferraro said.

The university is currently conducting nationwide searches for the professors and administrators.

"We are excited about the future of the school," Ferraro said.

"We look to the College of Business to be one of our premiere professional schools," Ferraro said.

"We will continuously improve across time."

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