Leavey School of Business Welcomes Dennis Lanham to Lead the Executive Development Center
The Executive Development Center will advance its executive education programs under the leadership of new executive director Dennis Lanham.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 12, 2017 — Dennis Lanham, an executive-education professional with more than 15 years of experience in business education, nonprofit and student services administration, and program management, has joined the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business (LSB) team as the executive director of the Executive Development Center (EDC).
Lanham comes to LSB from the College of Business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he served as the inaugural director and established the executive education department, which now offers four non-degree certificates, numerous high-impact executive symposia and a growing program portfolio with several companies based in Nebraska.
“The mix of executive education, program operations and nonprofit experience that Dennis brings to our team is invaluable,” said Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of LSB. “We fully expect he will lead the Executive Development Center to the forefront of executive education.”
Among his goals for the Executive Development Center, Lanham aims to:
- Strengthen the link between faculty research and industry practice
- Act as a test ground for potential new academic initiatives and research
- Impact executive and future executive leaders who come to LSB—and the organizations they serve—in a positive way
“The Executive Development Center exists to give busy working professionals the tools and insights that they need to help advance their careers and lead their organizations into the next generation,“ said Lanham. “We also benefit greatly from being uniquely positioned in Silicon Valley—widely recognized as the innovation hub of the world—with world-renowned faculty and an intensely loyal alumni and partner community. I intend to leverage these tremendous assets to create truly valuable and practice-oriented learning for executive and future executive leaders here in Silicon Valley, and in the global market.”
Prior to his work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lanham spent several years at Georgia State University, working to grow both the executive MBA program and the non-degree executive-education portfolio. He previously worked in nonprofit administration as the head of member services for Phi Beta Sigma, a service-based nonprofit fraternal organization based in Washington, D.C., and spent several years in student affairs administration.
A native of Dallas, Lanham holds a B.S. in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Texas, an M.S. in higher education from Florida State University, and an MBA from Georgia State University. His hobbies include a deep love of music, art, history, and travel, and he spends as much quality time with his family as he can.
About Leavey School of Business
The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University began in 1923 and was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. Its undergraduate business, MBA, and M.S. programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation by BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review, and others. The curricula at all levels emphasizes the leadership role of business in creating prosperity within an ethical framework, as well as business responsibilities for social justice and sustainability in the global marketplace. For more information, see www.scu.edu/business.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121