Sharon Matusik named dean of Leeds School of Business

Dr. Sharon F. Matusik has been appointed the permanent dean of Leeds by the University of Colorado’s Provost, Russell L. Moore. Dr. Matusik has been serving as the interim dean since January 2017, and she assumes the permanent role Thursday.

Throughout 2017, Matusik has been instrumental in driving strategy and stability within the school. She helped launch several key initiatives to enhance Leeds’ position as a top business school. In alignment with the strategic campus imperatives laid out by Chancellor Phillip DiStefano, Matusik is dedicated to shaping tomorrow’s leaders while prioritizing innovation and entrepreneurship through core curriculum and real-world applications.

“Sharon has demonstrated her ability to move the school forward and bring together faculty, staff, and students around a common mission that embraces innovation and entrepreneurship in both academics and research,” Moore said. “With Sharon at the helm, we are assured that Leeds will continue on its very positive upward trajectory and remain a top business school that positions our students for life-long career success.”

Matusik has already had a hand in shaping the strategic future of Leeds.

• Her latest initiative, Top Choice for Business Talent for High Growth Ventures, works to adapt and enhance curricular and co-curricular offerings to in order to equip students with the innovator’s mindset required to thrive in high-growth ventures.
• She is spearheading a building expansion in partnership with the College of Engineering and Applied Science to enhance collaboration between the schools and provide spaces for additional experiential and entrepreneurial learning.
• In partnership with the Office of Diversity Affairs, Matusik launched the End the Gap by 2020 initiative to encourage more women to pursue business education and increase opportunities for women as they advance from the business classroom to the C-suite.

“I am honored and grateful for this opportunity,” Matusik said. “I have enjoyed working with our students, faculty, staff, and the business community over the past thirteen years as a faculty member and over the last few months in my role as Interim Dean, and I look forward to deepening those relationships to drive Leeds forward.”

In addition to her role and responsibilities as dean, Sharon continues to teach classes on strategy and entrepreneurship and counsels startups along the Front Range. Her previous leadership experience includes serving as the senior associate dean for faculty and research and as a board member for nonprofit organizations – the Strategic Management Society and the MBA Women International (formerly Graduate Women in Business). Her research examines areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, and she is widely cited in the management field with multiple publications in top international academic journals.