As Eric P. Jack prepares to step down as dean opens a new website of the UAB Collat School of Business at the end of June, friends, colleagues, students, and business leaders have been reflecting on his tremendous impact and wishing him well in his well-earned retirement.
Several hundred friends, colleagues and family feted Jack at a reception opens a new website in May to honor his accomplishments as dean of the 3,500-student school and his inspirational leadership through the years.
“I have worked with Eric for 22 years now, and there was never one instance when I did not think he was trying to make the best decision for the school,” Karen Kennedy, Ph.D., told the crowd at the reception. “His commitment to students has been unwavering since the beginning. I know that we are a better school because of the work that Eric has done.”
After a 21-year career in the U.S. Air Force, Jack joined UAB’s faculty in 2001 as a management professor, teaching courses in operations and supply chain management. He served as associate dean from 2008 to 2012 before becoming interim dean in 2012. He was named dean of the school in April 2013.
His tenure at UAB has proved transformational.
In September 2013, the Collat School of Business became the first named school at UAB through a $25 million gift from Charles and Patsy Collat. The gift created the Collat Scholars program for students from diverse backgrounds, providing four-year scholarships worth $5,000 annually.
In August 2016, the Collat School broke ground on a new $37.5 million building on University Boulevard after Jack helped raise $15 million from donors and businesses. The state-of-the-art building opened in August 2018.
Jack led the school through accreditation renewal twice with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and partnered with Regions Bank to create the Regions Institute for Financial Education opens a new website within the school.
During his tenure, the school’s endowment increased from $10 million to almost $40 million while student enrollment grew about 42 percent. The school also launched two new majors in human resource management and entrepreneurship during that time.
“Dean Jack has been a true inspiration and leader to all of us students,” said Bernard Lisy, an industrial distribution senior and president of Collat’s Business Student Leaders. “He has been a role model to us, not just as a leader in the business world, but also as a kind, compassionate, and supportive mentor.”
Advocating for the power of partnerships and servant leadership, Jack served the community throughout his time at UAB. He was president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, one of the largest Rotary Clubs in the world, from 2018 to 2019. He also served on several nonprofit boards, including the Innovation Depot, the United Way of Central Alabama, the Civic Club Foundation, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. He plans to continue service work with these local organizations after his retirement.
“What matters to me most is the dedicated time and effort we put into making the right decisions to help move our school forward,” Jack said. “As we look to the future, we see a different set of challenges on the horizon for our school that will require different approaches guided by the new dean and a different team of faculty and staff leaders. I’ll be on the sidelines cheering loudly for the new Collat School of Business dean as he charts a new course and continues to succeed.”
Collat’s new dean, Christopher Shook, Ph.D. opens a new website, will take the helm on July 1.