Southern Methodist University will begin its search for a new dean of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business after Matthew B. Myers, the ninth dean of the business school, announced he will step down from that role by the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

Myers called serving as dean “the highlight of my career” and expressed appreciation for the honor.

“During this time, SMU and Cox have achieved remarkable successes,” Myers said in a statement. “With so many accomplishments over recent years for the school to build upon, 2025 will be the perfect time to bring in new leadership for Cox. A new dean with fresh ideas and experiences will enable Cox to continue its steep ascent in the national dialogue of business education.”

SMU said that after a sabbatical, Myers will return to the Cox School as the David B. Miller Endowed Professor in Business.

SMU Cox achievements during Myer’s time at the helm

“When Dean Myers joined the Cox School, we knew that the external skills and energy he brought to the table would be valuable during an important period in the school’s development,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said in a statement. “His leadership helped launch a new era for the Cox School, well-demonstrated by the dramatic re-imagining of the David B. Miller Quadrangle.”

SMU said that when Myers joined the Cox School as dean in 2017, the school synthesized its goals into four major categories: building the SMU Cox brand, building new academic programs, building new facilities, and building the school’s endowment.

“We set an aggressive target to meet these goals in 10 years, and instead we have met them in seven,” Myers said.

In addition to meeting those goals, the Cox school achieved many new milestones, including record-setting enrollment in the BBA program in both class size and quality, as well as record-setting enrollment and quality in graduate programs, doubling the size of its graduate student class, the school said.

The school also launched its Online MBA program, its MBA Direct program, rebuilt its MBA curriculum, and will launch a new MS in Real Estate program in the fall.

“Dean Myers’ emphasis on innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology has been important during a period of dynamic change in international business operations,” Elizabeth G. Loboa, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the legacy he leaves of connecting students and alumni to exciting business opportunities both in the DFW region and across the globe.”

Since 2017, SMU said the Cox School has expanded its brand, as indicated by the dramatic increase in BBA applications nationwide, with Cox’s BBA program now ranked No. 26 in the nation by Poets&Quants. In addition, the school has seen a dramatic rise in US News & World Report Fulltime MBA rankings from the low 50s to No. 34, and to No. 27 in Bloomberg Businessweek, among other metrics.

A new dean for ‘the next era of the Cox School’

The Cox School also has seen notable success in fundraising since Myers’ arrival, the university said.

Since the launch of the SMU Ignited fundraising campaign in 2017, the Cox School has received more than $300 million in donations, including the largest single donation in school history, a $50 million gift from David and Carolyn Miller. That gift led to the successful navigation of the conceptual stage, design stage, fundraising stage, and completion of the David B. Miller Quadrangle, a 260,000-square-foot, $140 million renovation and expansion of the Cox School of Business.

“It is my belief that, with the opening of the new Miller Business Quadrangle, it is an ideal time to bring a new dean in to lead the next era of the Cox School,” Myers said.

Loboa said that a search for the next dean will begin immediately with the formation of a search committee. SMU said its goal is to conduct interviews in late fall and announce the new dean in the spring of 2025.

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