::Dr. Earle Traynham to resume teaching in 2003
::Compass Bank to donate $100,000 for endowed scholarship
::The 2003 Faculty/Staff Drive kicks off next month
::UNF is offering a residential aspect of the Freshman Interest Groups program

October 2002

Business dean announces plans to resign

Earle Traynham

"My years as dean have been the most rewarding professional experience of my life and I have mixed emotions about this decision. However, I believe it is in the best interest of the college and my own best interest.”

With those words, Dr. Earle Traynham, dean of UNF’s Coggin College of Business Administration, announced plans to resign from the position he has held for 10 years. Traynham said he will resign from the post effective Aug. 6, 2003 to return to a full-time faculty position at UNF teaching economics.

UNF Interim President David Kline said the rise to prominence of the CCOBA has occurred with Traynham’s leadership. "His ability to gain community support for his programs and his focus on three important areas (technology, international business and logistics) have been central in his and the College's success," Kline said.

Dr. Hank Camp, interim vice president for Academic Affairs, will appoint a search committee to begin the selection process. The plan is to have a replacement selected by the time Traynham’s resignation becomes effective.

During his tenure as dean, Traynham oversaw the construction of a new state-of-the-art business building and led the college through reaccredidation and separate accreditation for the accounting programs. “However, I am most proud of the overall improvement in the quality of our undergraduate and graduate programs, the transformation of the faculty and academic programs within the college to emphasize international business and the growth of our logistics faculty and program,” he said.
Traynham said the accomplishments were the result of the collective effort by a core of dedicated and committed faculty, support from the UNF administration, and the strong support of the college’s Business Advisory Council and the Jacksonville business community.

Traynham received both his bachelor’s degree and his MBA from the University of South Carolina. He returned to graduate school, became the assistant to the director of graduate students in USC’s College of Business Administration and received his Ph.D. in 1973.

Traynham accepted a job as an assistant professor at the University in 1973. He became associate dean and director of graduate studies in 1983 and chairperson of the Department of Economics in 1987. He served in that post until he became interim dean in August 1993, following the resignation of then Dean Ed Johnson. Traynham was appointed dean in May 1994.