Press Release
Kolbe Named Dean of Leighton School
Richard Kolbe
Richard Kolbe has been named the new Dean of the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics at Indiana University South Bend. The announcement was made by Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jann Joseph.
Dr. Kolbe has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, most recently as Dean of the Haile/US Bank College of Business at Northern Kentucky University. He also served as Associate Dean for Faculty at the College of Business at Kent State University and held faculty positions at Washington State University and the University of Missouri.
“I am very excited to be joining a business school where faculty and staff are deeply committed and focused on student success,” said Kolbe. “Given my background as a first generation, commuter student, I can relate to many of the needs and challenges IU South Bend students may face in balancing their educational and personal lives.”
Kolbe earned a Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Marketing, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Science in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Dr. Kolbe replaces Rob Ducoffe who left IU South Bend last year to be Provost and Vice Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside.
Dean Kolbe will start his responsibilities with the Leighton School on January 1, 2017.
