Before the beginning of the Spring 2022 Semester at the College of William and Mary, Dean of the Raymond A. Mason School of Business Lawrence B. Pulley ’74 announced that this would be his last full semester in his position. In an email sent to students and faculty of the College on Tuesday, Jan. 11, Provost Peggy Agouris announced that Pulley would be retiring from his position effective June 30, 2022, after serving as the Dean of the Business school for 24 years.
Pulley’s connection to the College runs deep, from family ties to academic connections.
“I have a lot of family connections to William and Mary,” Pulley said. “My father and four of his brothers and sisters went here from our farm family in Ivor, Virginia in Southampton County across the James, and my brother and sister and I went here. I graduated in 1974 and was an economics and math major here, got a PhD in economics at UVA then taught at Brandeis for several years before taking a leave at UVA and then coming down and joining the business school faculty in ‘85 and was an associate dean.”
“I have a lot of family connections to William and Mary,” Pulley said. “My father and four of his brothers and sisters went here from our farm family in Ivor, Virginia in Southampton County across the James, and my brother and sister and I went here. I graduated in 1974 and was an economics and math major here, got a PhD in economics at UVA then taught at Brandeis for several years before taking a leave at UVA and then coming down and joining the business school faculty in ‘85 and was an associate dean.”
When he joined the faculty of the business school in 1985, Pulley’s coursework and research focused on banking industry regulations and structure, international business and managing portfolios. After taking over the dean position in 1998, Pulley changed his focus to the administrative side of the business school. One of the main projects he oversaw during his tenure was the construction of Alan B. Miller Hall to house the entirety of the business school within the same building for the first time since its inception.
“The university, with an MOU [memorandum of understanding] that our foundation created, appointed our foundation as the developer of Miller Hall and the university would be the owner, but we did it in partnership with the university and in partnership with a lot of private alumni and donors,” Pulley said. “Two thirds of the funding for the building came privately, and we had folks on our board and a couple of our faculty members who oversaw the design and programming so we could save expenses, and the building actually came in a little bit under budget. We moved in in July of 2009, and it has been a remarkable facility for us ever since.”
Another project that was accomplished during Pulley’s tenure was the expansion of the academic programs offered by the school. In particular, the school has expanded its online graduate programs to include online master’s degrees. Additionally, Pulley has greatly increased offerings within the business analytics program.
Courtesy Photo / RAYMOND A. MASON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FACEBOOK
“We have also expanded what we’re doing in analytics, data science with a business analytics undergraduate major, our residential masters, a very successful master of science in business analytics, very successful online master of science and business analytics and off we go, you know,” Pulley said.
One unique aspect of the business school that Pulley is especially proud of is its recent growth in the executive partners program. Executive partners are a group of local business executive experts from a variety of industries who offer support, guidance, networking and career advice to business school students. Students enrolled in the full-time MBA program will be assigned with an executive coach to help them focus on leadership development.
“They do all kinds of mock interviews and activities with our undergraduate students,” Pulley said. “They sit in on our student-managed fun and often times entrepreneurial courses, and other courses, and that’s just a remarkable asset.”
Reflecting on his time at the College, Pulley expressed gratitude for the connections he formed with students, faculty and staff.
“I don’t think much about legacy, quite frankly,” Pulley said. “You know the Mason School is in a great place now. There are 15 folks in the Mason school on our administration and staff that I work with most closely. When I announced to them a couple weeks ago, I also wrote them personal notes in appreciation to our board and a similar note to our alumni.”
“I don’t think much about legacy, quite frankly,” Pulley said. “You know the Mason School is in a great place now. There are 15 folks in the Mason school on our administration and staff that I work with most closely. When I announced to them a couple weeks ago, I also wrote them personal notes in appreciation to our board and a similar note to our alumni.”
The College plans on conducting a national search for the next dean of the business school, and Agouris is working with other administrators to develop a search committee that will include faculty, students and staff members.
“What just keeps washing over me again and again, is gratitude,” Pulley said. “Gratitude for the opportunity to be in this role so long at my alma mater, and also for the overwhelming support and engagement and contributions of others to Mason school and to William and Mary.”