After 4 years, Teegen plans yearlong sabbatical
Hildy Teegen, dean of USC’s Darla Moore School of Business, is stepping down, saying she wants to take some time to explore her field.
Teegen, who has been dean of the Moore School since 2007, will take a one-year sabbatical beginning in Fall 2013 and, in the meantime, continue to carry out her duties until a new dean is found.
Teegen will continue at the university as a professor after her sabbatical. Last year, she received $277,250 in pay.
USC President Harris Pastides said Teegen assured him that she was not leaving for a position at another university in a joint meeting with him and Provost Michael Amiridis.
“She decided for personal and professional reasons that she’s had a good, long stint as the dean ... It was a very personal decision on her part to continue her scholarship and to take a sabbatical next year, but to stay on as a highly valued professor,” Pastides said. “It’s not something we wished for, but it is something we have to accept.”
Pastides said the search for a new dean would reach across the country and that he expected the Moore School’s reputation to make the process easier.
“She’s a great leader, but with the great school we have and the great building going up, we’re going to do a national search,” he said.
The university has not yet begun considering specific candidates, but Pastides said the process would be very thorough.
“I have no idea and nobody in mind at this point in time,” he said. “She promised us that she would stay on for as long as it took for us to find a great and worthy successor.
“It could be as late as next fall. If we find someone earlier, there could be a good transition. I’m almost certain she’ll be the dean through the whole semester and probably well into next semester, but we have to take our time and find the right person.”
During Teegen’s tenure, the Moore School’s undergraduate international business program has continued to be ranked No. 1 nationally.
Teegen was key in financial planning for the new business building on the corner of Assembly and Greene streets and in developing new academic programs, including an accelerated master’s of business administration program.
She also helped secure almost $50 million in private funding for the school and helped facilitate partnerships with Polycom, Cisco Systems Inc. and AT&T.
Last August, the Moore School launched a telepresence program that uses Cisco and Polycom technology to electronically connect classrooms worldwide.
Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed to this report.