John E. Lewis, the founding dean of the college, died on January 24, 2009. Appointed dean of the School of Business and Organizational Sciences on September 18, 1970, he served until 1972. He developed innovative programs, budgets, and industry contacts, recruited a faculty of 46, and presided over budget growth from $75,000 to more than $1,000,000 in that two-year period. Lewis held a PhD in economics from the University of Alabama, and was a professor/university administrator at Georgia State, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Alabama in Birmingham, retiring from Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland in 1991.