Steele Resigns Post as USC Business School Dean; Friction Cited

Jack D. Steele, who guided the USC School of Business Administration to national prominence during his controversial 11-year tenure, has abruptly resigned as dean of the school, apparently over unhappiness with his fund-raising efforts and disagreements over future priorities.

Doyle Z. Williams, dean of the School of Accounting within the business school, will replace Steele on an interim basis until a permanent successor is found, USC officials said.

The unexpected resignation, which took effect last Saturday, was quietly announced by Steele to his faculty and staff last Thursday. Steele, 62, also resigned as a member of the university’s faculty.

It was not immediately clear whether Steele’s resignation would result in any major changes in the general direction of the business school. Under Steele’s guidance, the business school has greatly upgraded the quality of its faculty and students and now is regarded as one of the best on the West Coast.

However, Steele has been criticized by some faculty members for playing down traditional theoretical academic research--what he once called “mental masturbation”--while stressing practical skills and job placement.

Much of Steele’s day-to-day responsibility for supervising the faculty was given about a year ago to Steven Kerr, dean of faculty at the business school, allowing Steele to spend more time on fund-raising and other long-term matters.

Steele said Tuesday in a telephone interview that he was asked to resign by Cornelius J. Pings, USC’s provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.

The request that he resign did not stem from unhappiness over his achievements at the business school, Steele said, but instead from his fund-raising efforts and “a whole plethora of things” that he refused to discuss further.

Pings Denies Statement

However, Pings denied in an interview that he or other administrators, trustees or benefactors had asked Steele to resign. Instead, Pings said, Steele voluntarily offered his resignation after a recent discussion with Pings concerning changes the university wants implemented at the business school.

Those changes include increased efforts in fund-raising, growth of the graduate program, restructuring of the faculty and changes in “ongoing operations,” Pings said.

The university recently announced a campaign to raise $557 million by 1990 in what is believed to be the largest fund-raising effort in the history of American higher education. Of the total, the business school’s goal was to raise $65 million.

“If there is one thing, it’s that I haven’t done as well in fund-raising,” Steele said, adding that he resigned “in the best interests of the school” and that “perhaps it was time for a change in leadership.”

Steele Not Bitter

He said he is not bitter about leaving and “hasn’t yet thought” of what he will do next. No timetable has been set on the naming of a successor.

Pings said the university wants “to build a larger research program” at the business school. He also said the pace of fund-raising “needs to be considerably picked up,” contending that the business school “is lagging somewhat,” compared to other USC schools in the new fund-raising drive.

Steele became dean of the USC business school in 1975 after serving in the same position at Texas Tech University for five years. He has also taught at Stanford University, the University of Kansas, Harvard University and Texas A&M; University.