Spring Break
Dean will continue leadership
Mays emeritus takes interim Bush post
By: Jilll Beathard
Issue date: 1/28/09 Section: News
At the end of the 2008 fall semester, Richard "Dick" A. Chilcoat, retired Lt. Gen., U.S. Army stepped down from his position as Dean of the Bush School after battling cancer for some time.
Benton Cocanougher, dean emeritus of the Mays Business School, will serve as interim dean until a permanent successor can be found. Cocanougher's appointment was effective Jan. 1.
"I will definitely support the programs already ongoing," Cocanougher said. "There's a lot of good people in leadership roles here. I'm doing everything I can to support what they're doing… Academic units are shared governments. The dean just helped set the direction…In my limited time I want to keep things moving forward."
Cocanougher served as dean of Mays Business School from 1987 to 2001.
"A lot of the students don't know too much about him [Cocanougher]," said Lyndsey Morales, a student in the Master of Public Service and Administration program at the Bush School. "We know how well ranked the Mays School is, so there's got to be something going on that's going well."
The Bush School was ranked in the U.S. News and World Report's top 100 graduate schools for public affairs programs.
"It's a very young school, we just had our 11th anniversary this past fall. These are milestones, they want to be out there, they want to be ranked among the top schools in the nation, and we are. We're growing to that capacity with the programs that we're offering," Morales said.
She said Chilcoat's goal was to get the students out there and show that the school has a small community with a great academic plan.
Chilcoat encouraged town hall meetings in which the students and faculty could communicate their concerns and hopes for the school to the administration and Student Government Association.
Chilcoat was able to communicate the needs of the Bush School and enact revision, Morales said.
"Dean Chilcoat was really special to the students. He really instilled a passion for serving the nation, and that really convinced me to come here, I know it convinced a lot of my colleagues to come here. That's something… the students want to see in the new dean," Morales said.
Benton Cocanougher, dean emeritus of the Mays Business School, will serve as interim dean until a permanent successor can be found. Cocanougher's appointment was effective Jan. 1.
"I will definitely support the programs already ongoing," Cocanougher said. "There's a lot of good people in leadership roles here. I'm doing everything I can to support what they're doing… Academic units are shared governments. The dean just helped set the direction…In my limited time I want to keep things moving forward."
Cocanougher served as dean of Mays Business School from 1987 to 2001.
"A lot of the students don't know too much about him [Cocanougher]," said Lyndsey Morales, a student in the Master of Public Service and Administration program at the Bush School. "We know how well ranked the Mays School is, so there's got to be something going on that's going well."
The Bush School was ranked in the U.S. News and World Report's top 100 graduate schools for public affairs programs.
"It's a very young school, we just had our 11th anniversary this past fall. These are milestones, they want to be out there, they want to be ranked among the top schools in the nation, and we are. We're growing to that capacity with the programs that we're offering," Morales said.
She said Chilcoat's goal was to get the students out there and show that the school has a small community with a great academic plan.
Chilcoat encouraged town hall meetings in which the students and faculty could communicate their concerns and hopes for the school to the administration and Student Government Association.
Chilcoat was able to communicate the needs of the Bush School and enact revision, Morales said.
"Dean Chilcoat was really special to the students. He really instilled a passion for serving the nation, and that really convinced me to come here, I know it convinced a lot of my colleagues to come here. That's something… the students want to see in the new dean," Morales said.
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