Professor Matthew L. O’Connor was officially appointed dean of the School of Business on March 30, the University announced in a press release.

“It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Dr. O’Connor as the new dean of the School of Business,” said Mark Thompson, senior vice president for academic and student affairs in the press realease.

“Having worked as a faculty member for nine years and interim dean during the 2008-2009 academic year, Matt knows Quinnipiac extremely well and has played a key role in shaping the School of Business’ plans for national prominence.”

O’Connor was originally named Interim Dean on July 1, 2008 after Mark Thompson was promoted to Senior Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs. Now the “interim” tag has been removed. When asked how he feels about this change, O’Connor could think of only one word: “excited.”

“Quinnipiac is a great school,” O’Connor said. “The School of Business has a lot of great programs.”

He’s also aware that he faces a lot of challenges. He said that this is an exciting time to take the reins because of all the great opportunities currently available. O’Connor does have certain plans that he wishes to accomplish for the School of Business while dean.

O’Connor said the fact that Quinnipiac is becoming a three-campus university is especially beneficial for his plans to expand the size and reputation of the graduate program. He also said that great graduate programs enhance the reputation for undergraduate programs.

“The most important thing is that you’re the person responsible for helping all the different constituents that make up the business school,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor said students are his No. 1 priority. His job is to make sure that they get “the very best education possible.” His second priority is to help faculty and the departments create the best programs that they can envision. While he admitted that he does not have all of the answers, he said that he would definitely like to help faculty in getting new programs started.

He explained that the School of Business has a continuous quality improvement model, meaning an “ongoing, never-ending approach to managing organization.” O’Connor assured that the School of Business will constantly continue to improve programs and support its students and faculty.

O’Connor first joined the School of Business faculty in 1999. He received an award in 2005 from Quinnipiac University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Service to Students for “Excellence in Teaching.”