Release Date: Thursday, August 17, 2000

MEL CRASK NAMED DIRECTOR OF MBA PROGRAMS IN UGA'S TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

ATHENS, Ga. — Dropping the "interim" from his title, Melvin R. Crask has been named director of MBA programs in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. Crask will be responsible for the one-year and two-year full-time MBA programs, as well as the customized, distance-learning MBA program developed for PricewaterhouseCoopers' management consultants.

Crask succeeds nine-year director Kay Keck, who, curiously enough, had followed Crask into the job in 1991. Though this is Crask's second time around as program director, the job has changed dramatically in a decade. When Crask was director of graduate programs from 1985 to 1991, the position was split part-time with teaching and research responsibilities. Now the MBA director's post is full-time, with additional staff supporting the program.

"MBA programs are the measure of every great business school," said Dean P. George Benson. "Top schools are constantly seeking ways to improve and upgrade their programs. Our own willingness to innovate led us to collaborate two years ago with PricewaterhouseCoopers on a customized, high-tech MBA degree. Under Mel's direction, we are now introducing the best innovations from the PricewaterhouseCoopers program into our full-time and part-time MBA programs. Mel is an experienced leader who brings a fresh perspective on how our MBA programs can better serve our students and the business community."

Crask began serving as interim director in March, when Keck left the university for another job. In his new position, he reports to the associate dean for academic programs. He also retains his rank as an associate professor in the Marketing Department.

After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana University, Crask joined UGA's marketing faculty as an assistant professor in 1974. He moved to the university's Small Business Development Center in 1978 to serve as director of leisure studies and tourism research, then returned to the college's Marketing Department in 1982, where he's taught courses in marketing research and marketing strategy.

"I'm excited about the possibilities for our MBA program," Crask said. "With the college's new strategic plan in place, we are poised to make steady inroads into the Atlanta market with our graduate programs and to modify the on-campus program to align it more closely with our centers of excellence."

The Terry College's master of business administration degree is offered as an accelerated 11-month degree for qualified candidates with undergraduate degrees in business and as a traditional two-year degree for applicants from all undergraduate programs. Graduate rankings published by U.S. News and World Report, Business Week and the Financial Times of London consistently rank the Terry MBA program among the nation's top 20 public business schools.

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