Leeds School of Business

Business Field, Outside the Koelbel Building, September 2014

What is today known as the Leeds School of Business began in 1906 as the College of Comm, a division of the College of Liberal Arts. The University of Colorado was one of the leaders in establishing a college of commerce, according to the Biennial Report of 1906-1908. The report noted that the distinction between the College of Commerce and the ordinary business college. "The man who is to be a leader in business must know something of law, economics, the markets of the world, and the location of available power and labor."

In 1922, the business program became the School of Business Administration and relocated to the basement of Guggenheim, the former law school building. The faculty was enlarged to a total of 15, and the school was on its way to become one of the university's first principal professional schools.

The business program was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the accrediting body of business schools, in 1937. The AACSB recognition is only given to those schools that achieve and maintain established standards of excellence with respect to curriculum, faculty, library resources, and financial support. At this point the business school was still without a real home. Classes were being held in several buildings across campus.

In 1960, the school began offering doctoral degrees in business, and by 1965 the success of the program prompted the University of Colorado Board of Regents to establish the Graduate School of Business to administer master's degrees. The school moved to its present location in 1970.

In October 2001, the Leeds family of New York made a $35 million commitment to the University of Colorado Boulder's business school, the country's seventh largest endowment to a business school. The school was renamed the Leeds School of Business in recognition of the gift.

From 2009- 2011 Manuel Laguna served as interim dean after Dennis Ahlburg accepted the presidency of Trinity University in San Antonio.

In January 2011 it was announced that David L. Ikenberry had been appointed dean of the Leeds School of Business. He had previously held the position of Associate Dean at the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He stepped down as Dean in 2016. Sharon Matusik, a Leeds School professor of strategy and entrepreneurship now serves as the Dean.

In 2019 the school has: more than 55 tenure track faculty and 28 instructors; more than 3,400 undergraduates; over 200 full-time MBA students and 115 evening MBA students; and over 40 PhD students.

• The Richard M. Burridge Center for Finance (The Burridge Center)
• The Robert H. and Beverley A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship (The Deming Center)
• CU Real Estate Center (CUREC)
• Business Research Division (BRD)
• Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR)
• Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making (CFDM)

The newly expanded and renovated building for CU-Boulder’s school of business is named in honor of the Koelbel family, leaders[5] in Colorado real estate development, construction and sales, in recognition of their long-time support of CU and the business school. In August 2007, the newly renovated and expanded Koelbel building opened for classes. The old building was designed to hold 800 students, and had not been renovated in 38 years.

Field outside Leeds School of Business

The Leeds School of Business offers only one undergraduate degree, a Bachelor's in Science of Business Administration, or a BSBA. A BSBA is offered with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Management and Real Estate. The four-year degree requires a combination of Arts and Sciences core classes, a set of Business Core classes, concentration specific classes and upper division business electives.

The Leeds School of Business graduate program offers graduate degrees in several areas. The largest graduate area is the Leeds Masters in Business Administration, or MBA, program. Leeds also offers Masters in Science, or MS, degrees in several business areas including accounting and finance. The MS program in Accounting has an exceptional job placement record and has recently placed graduates in top accounting firms and businesses in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Houston, and So California. Leeds also provides students with ample international experiences, such as through visits to China, Chile, etc.

The Leeds School of Business, originally known as the College of Commerce and later as the School of Business Administration, is currently led by Dean Sharon Matusik. Sharon is the 14th Dean and the first woman to be Dean at the school.

1. 1915-1932     Director Frederick A. Bushee    College of Commerce
2. 1932-1953     Dean Elmore Petersen    School of Business Administration
3. 1953-1957     Delbert J. Duncan    School of Business Administration
4. 1957-1964     Dean Lawrence D. Coolidge    School of Business Administration
5. 1964-1984     Dean William H. Baughn    School of Business Administration
6. 1984-1986     Dean Charles M. Lillis    School of Business Administration
7. 1986-1989     Dean Edward A. Johnson    School of Business Administration
8. 1989-1992     Dean J. Russell Nelson    School of Business Administration
9. 1992-1993     Dean Ralph “Bud” Sorenson    School of Business Administration
10. 1993-1999     Dean Larry D. Singell    School of Business Administration
11. 1999-2005     Dean Steven Manaster    School of Business Administration
12. 2005-2009     Dean Dennis A. Ahlburg    Leeds School of Business
13. 2011-2017     Dean David L. Ikenberry    Leeds School of Business
14. 2017-current Dean Sharon F. Matusik    Leeds School of Business

• List of United States business school rankings
• List of business schools in the United States

• Leeds School of Business
• The University of Colorado Boulder