Posted on January 19, 2022 by Wendy Frost
UTSA Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy today announced the selection of Jonathon Halbesleben, dean of the College of Continuing Studies at the University of Alabama, as dean of the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, Bodenstedt Chair and Tom C. Frost Distinguished University Chair for Business Excellence. He begins his duties on June 1, 2022.
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Halbesleben to the UTSA academic leadership team,” said Espy. “Jonathon has a demonstrated record of collaboration and leading complex educational enterprises that advance the goals of the university, the impact of our faculty, the needs of the regional and local business community and, most importantly, the aspirations of our students.
“I thank the search advisory committee and co-chairs Lynne Cossman and Melissa Vito for their work in helping to identify a visionary innovator and collaborator who can build upon the college’s achievements to lead it to higher levels of external engagement, academic excellence and research prominence,” said Espy. “I also want to thank Interim Dean Pamela Smith for stepping forward to serve the college and university. Her leadership is deeply appreciated and will be invaluable to the new dean during his transition.”
Halbesleben has served at the University of Alabama since 2010. Prior to his appointment as dean of the College of Continuing Studies, he served as senior associate dean and Russell Professor of Business Administration in the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama.
Before joining Alabama, Halbesleben held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Missouri. Halbesleben earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree from Winona State University.
In addition to his administrative duties at UTSA, Halbesleben will serve as professor of management. He has written or edited 17 books and published over 95 peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as employee well-being, work-family issues and relationships in and out of the workplace. His research has been funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Defense, among others. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
“As a first-generation college student, I was drawn to UTSA largely because of the university and the college’s deep commitment to serving historically underserved communities,” said Halbesleben. “My passion for leveraging the power of higher education to transform underserved communities fits well with those goals. I am thrilled to join with Alvarez faculty, staff and students to build an internationally recognized college that is ambitious, bold and dynamic.”
Nationally ranked and recognized, the Alvarez College of Business enrolls more than 7,900 students. It was named one of the top five undergraduate business programs in Texas by Bloomberg Businessweek and the No. 10 graduate business school in the nation for Hispanics by Hispanic Business. Accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the college is one of the 40 largest business schools in the nation.
In spring 2021, longtime supporters Carlos and Malú Alvarez committed a $20 million gift to the college. In recognition of this gift, the college was renamed the Carlos Alvarez College of Business. It is the first named college in UTSA’s history and the first business school in the UT System named for a Hispanic person. In September 2021, Alvarez committed another $2 million to establish the Tom C. Frost Distinguished University Chair for Business Excellence.
“It’s particularly exciting to join the college at this pivotal point in its trajectory. The Alvarezes’ support is transformational and will provide us sustainable resources to progress toward our broader goals as an urban-serving, Hispanic-thriving discovery enterprise,” said Halbesleben. “We will be able to recruit and retain excellent faculty, expand student services to help make our graduates even more competitive in the marketplace and serve San Antonio and the region through engaging directly downtown and with business and industry. We also should not underestimate the potential, significant impact of the college’s name — our students see that name and imagine that they could be the next Carlos Alvarez.”
— Wendy Frost
