Sent June 11, 2024

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Bruce Blonigen has been named Edward Maletis Dean of the Lundquist College of Business, a position he has held since July 2022 on a two-year appointment. He was selected following a national search with feedback from faculty, staff, and students at the college and others on campus who attended the search events.

Bruce has been at the University of Oregon for nearly 30 years and has served in various leadership roles, including department head in economics, associate dean for social sciences, dean for faculty and operations in the College of Arts and Sciences, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Bruce is an internationally recognized scholar and accomplished academic leader, who colleagues trust and admire. He brings to this role a wealth of experience as a dean with an impressive record of accomplishments. Bruce is a values-driven leader who has demonstrated a commitment to belonging, empathy, and active listening in the programs he has created, the community he has cultivated, and the inclusive work and learning environments he has established. Bruce has an excellent record of recruiting and retaining world-class faculty, enhancing student success, and nurturing collaborative partnerships that advance the university’s strategic goals to be a leading center for innovative teaching and research.

We were impressed by Bruce’s accomplishments over the past two years as Lundquist dean. Bruce hired 17 new tenure-track faculty members, more than half of whom are women and/or people of color. He has raised more than $35 million since 2022, outpacing the historic average. He also relaunched the college’s Inclusion Council and instituted annual internal grants for projects to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and he has developed more than 50 action plans to address concerns raised in the college’s climate survey results.

While serving as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in a four-year appointment, Bruce guided the college through the pandemic and served on the president’s senior leadership team to help advise on high-level university matters during those trying times.

Bruce holds master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from University of California at Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, among numerous other professional positions and honors. He also has authored and edited numerous books and journal articles. Bruce joined the University of Oregon faculty in 1995 and was named the Phillip H. Knight Professor of Social Science in 2001.

I want to thank Karen Ford, who served as interim provost during this search, as well as the members of the search committee, chaired by Laura Lee McIntyre, Dean of the College of Education, for their commitment and dedication to this selection process

Please join me in congratulating Bruce on his appointment as dean.

Sincerely,

Christopher P. Long 
Provost and Senior Vice President