Whitman Dean appointed chair of GMAC board

Whitman Dean appointed chair of GMAC boardJune 20, 2006Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Beginning July 1, Melvin T. Stith, dean of the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, will be appointed to a one-year term as chair of the board of directors of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). He succeeds Dennis R. Reigle, a retired partner with Arthur Andersen LLP. Stith was formerly the vice chair-elect of the GMAC board, and has been a member of the board since 2000.

“Mel’s experience and deep commitment to graduate business education are strengths that will benefit the council and the industry in the coming year and for many years to come,” says David A. Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “We look forward to his leadership role in promoting the value of management education around the world and in continuing the role of the council as the premier provider of assessments, information and services to schools and prospective students.”

“I am immensely pleased to be appointed chair of the GMAC board of directors,” says Stith. “It is an honor to work with such exceptional individuals who are dedicated to excellence in business education. I look forward to continuing my efforts, as dean of Whitman and now as chair of the GMAC board, to raise awareness of the value of management education around the world.”

Stith is the 16th dean of the Whitman School of Management. From 1991 to 2004, he was dean of the College of Business at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the Jim Moran Professor of Business Administration. A Vietnam veteran, Stith served in the United States Army Military Intelligence Command from 1968 to 1971 and achieved the rank of captain during his military tenure. He received his undergraduate education at Norfolk State University and his M.B.A. and Ph.D. in marketing from the Whitman School. He also serves on the boards of Flowers Food, Inc. and Synovus Financial Corp.

GMAC is a non-profit education organization of leading graduate business schools worldwide dedicated to creating access to and disseminating information about graduate management education. The council administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), created in 1954 and taken more than 200,000 times annually.