Scott BresslerGary Hochberg remembers two things about his beginning at Washington University: the Olin Business School was still called the School of Business and Public Administration and he felt like a prospective freshman who fell in love with the campus after meeting it for the first time.
That was in 1982. And after 25 years, 21 years during which he served as associate dean of Olin, Hochberg is stepping down at the end of the semester.
“The University is now in the middle of a strategic planning process for the future,” said Hochberg, a Washington D.C. native. “It’s designed to set the agenda for the next 10-12 years or longer. I looked at that process and looked at myself and realized I’m not going to be here for the end of that.”
With a background in philosophy, Hochberg taught at Bucknell University in eastern Pennsylvania before coming here. He had also performed administrative work, such as writing grant proposals.
His wife thought he was crazy when he thought about applying to Olin after seeing a small ad about the position.
“She pointed out that it was a business school and I was a philosopher,” he said. “I like to think I responded with something clever and said, ‘maybe they won’t notice.'”
After interviewing with former dean Bob Virgil at a coffee shop in a Pittsburgh airport, Hochberg decided to take the job. When he became associate dean in 1986, he concurrently served two shorter terms as interim dean of undergraduate admissions.
He discussed how much he enjoyed this piece of his job, but never meant for it to replace his traditional role.
“Most of my colleagues at other schools don’t play a role in freshman recruitment. It was a privilege.”
With respect to his major roles, Hochberg said he spent most of his time as associate dean on issues related to undergraduate recruitment, curriculum development and study-abroad programs.
There are currently nine study abroad programs in seven countries with more than 40 percent of juniors enrolling in them in some years. There were no such programs when he first arrived.
“I’m really proud of that,” he said. “I think it’s critically important, especially for people who want to be active in business in this globalized environment.”
Hochberg also noted that Olin now has 2,900 applicants for 135 spaces, compared to the 400 applications for 75 spaces when he started.
“The program has changed immensely over time since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’d like to say that I don’t view any of the great things that have happened at Olin and Wash. U. during my time here to be personal achievements of mine. To the contrary, all of it has been a wonderful team effort involving student, faculty and staff.”
And now that he feels a transition period is in the early stages, Hochberg is making room for Jeff Cannon, director of the Kenan-Flagler Business School undergraduate program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.
He says Cannon is largely responsible for UNC’s emergence as a premiere university, adding that he brings a student perspective somewhat different from Hochberg’s faculty perspective.
“He knows student life,” said Hochberg. “He knows student activities in addition to knowing undergraduate business education and knowing it really thoroughly. He can think about the student experience holistically and brings an incredible wealth of experience.”
Cannon has a background in American and business history in addition to professional work in academic student services and teaching undergraduate courses.
He has been at UNC for 22 years, serving as the undergraduate program director for 15 years.
“I just want to say how excited I am to be coming [to Washington University],” said Cannon. “It’s a fine institution and I’m proud to become a part of it.”
Cannon added that he looks forward to building on current strengths, but knows much of his initial time here will be spent getting acclimated to the culture and asking questions.
“I really want to hear what people have to say-what the University is and what it should and could be,” said Cannon. “I’ve always taken full advantage of listening to students and making changes with them in mind.”
After Cannon takes over, Hochberg will continue to work with Olin and Dean Mahendra Gupta as needed.
He plans on staying involved in the Masters programs in accounting and finance, two programs which he helped build and which he feels have much growth potential.