TAMPA – As the University of South Florida embarks on a national search to name a permanent dean for the Muma College of Business, university leaders have announced some important and strategic appointments to ensure the college’s continued upward trajectory.
The reshuffling is the result of Lynn Pippenger Dean Moez Limayem being named president-elect of the University of North Florida, who is set to depart USF after a decade at the helm at the business college. In the coming months, the USF Muma College of Business leadership roles will have some familiar faces on all three of its campuses.
GJ de Vreede will serve as interim dean for the Muma College of Business starting Aug. 1. Currently he is the associate dean for research and professional programs and a professor in the School of Information Systems and Management. He has been recognized by Stanford University as a top 2% researcher worldwide. He has previously served as interim dean at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus and associate chair for his department.
Jacqueline Reck is stepping down from her role as associate dean for financial management and academic affairs. Reck will remain a faculty member and divide her time between teaching and serving on the independent accounting organization that establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments. She will start a five-year term on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board on July 1.
Reck's associate dean role will be divided into two positions.
Jean Kabongo will serve as associate dean for academic affairs and accreditation and as chief diversity officer. Kabongo has been the campus dean for the Muma College of Business in Sarasota-Manatee since July 2020. He is a professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship in the School of Marketing and Innovation and students have chosen Kabongo to receive the campus’ Outstanding Professor Award four times since 2015.
As Kabongo moves to the Tampa campus, Joni Jones was selected to serve as the campus dean for the Muma College of Business in Sarasota-Manatee. Jones is an associate professor in the School of Information Systems and Management who teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in systems analysis and design, business honors professional development, and research methods.
On the St. Petersburg campus, Gary Patterson will become campus dean and serve as dean of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance. Patterson, who is the Tiedemann-Cotton Endowed Professor of Finance, served in the interim dean role during the past year.
Also on the St. Petersburg side, Christian Hardigree was selected as the new regional chancellor of USF’s St. Petersburg campus. Hardigree recently served as the founding dean of the School of Hospitality at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her home college will be the Muma College of Business.
Cainas, Kabongo, Jones, Patterson, and Hardigree begin their new roles on July 1.
Meanwhile, Eric Eisenberg, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will begin serving as USF’s interim provost when Provost and Executive Vice President Ralph Wilcox steps down on Aug. 6.