Doug Guthrie, who was abruptly ousted from his GW School of Business deanship Thursday, ambitiously led the school with a vision to push it into the top tier of business schools nationally. Although he was criticized early on for not having enough management experience, the University’s top administrators supported his lofty goals and plans for a more well-rounded education in business.
Throughout his tenure he was met with faculty strife, but continued to push his plans forward, sometimes cutting faculty out of the decision-making process. Here’s a look back on Guthrie’s tenure as one of the highest-paid GW administrators:
Lofty goals (May 2010): Guthrie, then a professor of management at the No. 5 New York University Stern School of Business who had overseen its executive education program for two years, was selected as the college’s dean to take over for Susan Phillips. Intending to raise the school’s international prominence, he aimed to raise the college’s ranking. Some faculty criticized the selection because of his lack of management experience, but top administrators praised his vision for the school and supported him by increasing the school’s annual budget.
Undergraduate reforms (September 2011): In one of his earliest reforms as dean, Guthrie reshaped the college’s undergraduate advising system. The revamp put advisers in a teaching role for the first time, hoping to forge better relationships between students and advisers. But the office has seen some turnover in recent years, with some students claiming they have worked with a new adviser every year.
Looking toward China (October 2011): Guthrie took the first steps toward fulfilling his plans for growth in China by launching a Master of Science in finance degree for Chinese students through Renmin University in Suzhou. Students would spend the first year of the program in China and return to Foggy Bottom for the second year. In March of 2012, he secured classroom space at the Chinese university – one of the best in the country.
Rankings slide (March 2012): The business school’s undergraduate program fell seven spots to No. 66 in the Bloomberg Businessweek rankings. Businessweek editors – who GW administrators met with in New York – said student satisfaction about communication with administrators was low.
Administrative merry-go-round (July 2012): Three of the business school’s top administrators – two of which worked directly with undergraduates – announced they were leaving their positions. Murat Tarimcilar, a vice dean, stayed on at GW as a faculty member, but left the school’s administration because he “questioned” whether his views lined up with Guthrie’s. The turnovers delayed a curriculum reform that would have emphasized ethics in business, one of Guthrie’s main goals.
Facing pushback (December 2012): Some of the school’s faculty expressed their doubts about Guthrie’s leadership, claiming he held the reins too close and that he had not earned the trust of faculty members. Others supported his management style of running the school more like a business.
Undergraduate progress (January 2013): The business school announced a specialized degree in finance for undergraduates, which will be available to freshmen starting this fall. The degree – which requires a double major outside of the business school – fit into Guthrie’s vision for a more well-rounded business education.
A new role (April 2013): Less than a month after the school’s undergraduate rankings fell further to No. 71 for the third year in a row, the University named Guthrie its vice president for China operations. University President Steven Knapp and Provost Steven Lerman had leaned on the Chinese economic expert to further the University’s relationship with China, the source of most of GW’s international student population.
