Moore Business: Cover Story
James F. Kane Retires
Dean Emeritus Jim Kane Retires;
He Was "One of a Kind"
By Jan Collins
When James F. Kane took over as dean of the University of South Carolina's business school on May 1, 1967, he was a young man in a hurry. Not yet 35, he was charming, dynamic, and ambitious.
For the next 26 years - one of the longest deanship tenures in the United States - Jim Kane worked his magic.
He led a successful campaign to construct new facilities, created the now renowned Master of International Business (MIBS) program and MBA-ETV program (now the Professional MBA) along with many other academic programs, upgraded the Daniel Management Center for Management Education, hired scores of world-class faculty, came up with the idea of bringing in experienced business people as adjunct professors, and established the Business Partnership Foundation -- the school's all-important liaison with the business community -- before returning to teaching in 1993.
Now at age 73, Jim Kane is retiring. The former semi-pro baseball player (second base) logged his last official day at the Moore School on May 31.
"As dean, he was one of a kind," says Jeanette Ross, who was Kane's executive secretary for more than 15 years. "He had such a vision for the school."
Dr. Terence A. Shimp, chairman and professor of the marketing department, agrees. "Jim was a wonderful dean. He was wonderful because he had high goals for this place, and he really moved the College of Business into one of the top business schools in the South and certainly beyond.
"When Jim came to the business school, it was a sleepy institution. Now we're a major player. Jim's administration set the tone and got the ball rolling."
The Moore School's current dean, Joel A. Smith III, considers Kane a "transformational dean." He "took our business school and decided to make it international. That served to make us different, and over a period of time, it allowed us to be something we otherwise never would have become -- nationally competitive."
William F. Putnam, a close friend of Kane's and his longtime associate dean, puts it this way: "I like to say that Jim was 'handicapped.' He didn't know what he couldn't do. As a consequence, he did a lot of things."
Midwest Born
Jim Kane was born in Minneapolis, taught by Catholic nuns in elementary school, and graduated from St. Thomas Military Academy in 1950.
Short stints at Creighton University in Omaha and the University of Minnesota were unsuccessful for the outgoing and "very social" Kane. "I got terrible grades" before dropping out, he admits. "But then the Korean War saved me."
Kane joined the Air Force, attended navigation school, and was a navigation instructor in Harlingen, Texas, from 1953 to 1957.
Enrolling at Indiana State University upon his discharge in 1957, Kane finished his bachelor's degree in short order, graduating in 1958. Student teaching at a local public school convinced Kane he wasn't cut out to teach high school. He earned a master's degree in marketing at Indiana State instead, then a doctorate in business administration at Washington University in St. Louis.
In 1964, Kane was hired as the first full-time director of the AACSB, the organization that accredits all U.S. business schools and is now known as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. "It was fascinating," he remembers. "I got to know every dean in the country."
One of those deans was Dr. James A. Morris, then dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina. At the time, it was the only accredited business school in the state. A restructuring plan was in the works, and Morris and other USC administrators were looking for a new dean.
"I had worked for all these other deans when I was with the AACSB," Kane remembers, "and I said, 'Hell, I can do this.'" He had never before been to South Carolina.
Two Early Goals
The neophyte dean had two early goals: to get a new building constructed, and to forge a
closer relationship between the school and the business community. The old building, over near the
Russell House, was "in terrible shape," Kane remembers. And there had been little previous contact
with the movers and shakers of the South Carolina business world.
The new dean was determined to change that. "My theme was to pull the business people in and get the faculty out [to a new building]," he says.
Kane persuaded James Bradley, then president of The Springs Company in Lancaster, South Carolina, to head up a capital fundraising campaign.
In the campaign's early days, Bradley remembers walking with Kane, Francis M. Hipp of The Liberty Corporation, and James C. Self of Greenwood Mills into the office of James G. Lindley, then president and CEO of South Carolina National Bank, to secure a financial commitment for a new building. "When Lindley looked up and saw the four of us," Bradley recalls, "he said, 'I don't know what the question is, but the answer is yes.'"
Kane had "the ability to get people to help him," says Bradley. "It was hard to say no to him. He was such a confident leader."
Janice DeLozier, who worked for Kane for more than two decades as an assistant dean and then associate dean, agrees. "Jim was an absolute master at raising funds for the business school. We used to say that he could get blood out of a turnip. He began making the rounds in South Carolina upon his arrival, driving his little yellow Volkswagen convertible. He would come up with the most audacious plans that none of us thought would have any chance of success; but, of course, they did. But the success was mostly due to his enthusiasm and drive, along with his absolute belief that anything was possible for the school."
But for that to happen, Kane knew that he needed the strong support of the business community. "He was so wise to build this support base from the very beginning, and that base withstood any moves against it," says DeLozier.
In the fall of 1969, the Business Partnership Foundation (BPF) was established. Its members
were the most influential business leaders of the day, and they joined because Jim Kane asked them
to. The BPF exists still, and many consider it Kane's crowning achievement. "We wouldn't be near
where we are today without the BPF's leadership and capital," says Bill Putnam. Having the BPF
"started to improve the college's reputation with the business community and they became
interested, and they brought financial support and they brought advice. So the BPF was key."
The MIBS program (now called the International MBA), which put the school in the national
limelight, was launched in 1974. It was Kane's idea, and it was a high-risk "very costly program at
the time," remembers Bill Putnam. "Many people would not have had the guts to have undertaken
that."
Kane also established the first MBA program using television in 1970, the Frank L. Roddey Small Business Development Center of South Carolina in 1979, the Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center in 1982, the Master of Personnel and Employee Relations degree program (now called Master of Human Resources) in 1983, and the Master of Taxation in 1986.
The School of Accounting was created in 1990, as was the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). In 1993, the IMBA Vienna program (now called IMBA Europe) was launched.
"Those were exciting times," remembers Jeanette Ross. "It was a growth time, and it was fun to watch. You could see it happening, and you wanted to come to work every day because there was so much going on."
Janice DeLozier muses that "in the days of so-called 'inside deans' and 'outside deans,' Jim Kane somehow managed to be both. I guess it was because he worked at it all of the time. It was not just a job - it was his life."
What astounds Dr. Stanley J. Fryer, who first met Kane in 1970 and then signed on as a professor of management science in 1971, is that Kane retained his enthusiasm and hustle from his first day as dean to his last. "He always had a lot of ideas about things to do, things to be pushing on. It was never dull," says Fryer, who later served as director of the school's Division of Research and then associate dean for development. "Jim was constantly seeking to grow and improve the business school. He never reached the point of being satisfied. And I think that's the amazing thing - that he never really lost his drive over all those years."
Most of the faculty liked and respected Kane. "He made the faculty feel like they were appreciated beyond just their professional accomplishments," remembers Fryer. And Kane was "gender-blind long before it became popular," says DeLozier, "His door was always open to faculty; he encouraged personal interaction. He frequently went wandering all over the building just to chat and see what was going on."
Some were critical of what they called his "autocratic" style, says Terry Shimp. "But there are times in any institution when different leadership styles are called for, and certainly in his early years, a strong leadership style was what this place needed. There is no question that the college made major, major, major advances during his tenure."
Kane had "incredible instincts on what direction to go and how to take us there," says James G. Hilton, who was associate dean for academic affairs during the Kane era. Furthermore, Kane made it "exciting and a lot of fun," despite the "many cynics" who said that he "dreamed dreams that were not realistic for South Carolina," says Hilton.
Kane's personal charisma helped. "People liked him, and he liked people," says Ross. "He had excellent people skills. He knew everybody in the building, and if he saw a good thing somebody was doing, he made it a point to let them know by sending them a hand-written note."
Dr. Olin Pugh, distinguished professor emeritus of finance and acting dean of the business school from 1966 to 1967, notes that Kane was "especially good at breaking personality barriers." He made the college "a somewhat sociable place" and led people to have "a personal feeling for one another. And that helped get things done in the college."
Jim Kane "got us visibility," says Dean Smith. "And we wouldn't otherwise have it."
For his part, Kane explains that his modus operandi was simple. "I always had one motto: Surround yourself with good people, and they make you look good."
A Team Player
In 1993, Kane quietly stepped down from the deanship and returned to the teaching of marketing to USC undergraduates. "I enjoyed it," he says.
Terry Shimp, who is retiring this spring as chairman of the marketing department, says that Kane was "a true team player" during the past 13 years. "He never lorded it over the faculty that he had been dean, but nicely meshed with his colleagues and treated others as colleagues."
As he faces retirement, Jim Kane says he is "going to miss the relationship with the business community and the involvement with the faculty." In retrospect, he says he is probably most proud during his tenure of "building such a good faculty. We were competing with the big boys."
He and his wife, D'Ann, plan to continue to travel, including a trip on a "working barge" down the rivers of France. He's also discussing doing the marketing for a small company that a friend wants to start.
In any case, he expects to stay busy and out of the house. "My wife says, 'For better or worse, but not for lunch,' " he jokes.
He Was "One of a Kind"
By Jan Collins
When James F. Kane took over as dean of the University of South Carolina's business school on May 1, 1967, he was a young man in a hurry. Not yet 35, he was charming, dynamic, and ambitious.
For the next 26 years - one of the longest deanship tenures in the United States - Jim Kane worked his magic.
He led a successful campaign to construct new facilities, created the now renowned Master of International Business (MIBS) program and MBA-ETV program (now the Professional MBA) along with many other academic programs, upgraded the Daniel Management Center for Management Education, hired scores of world-class faculty, came up with the idea of bringing in experienced business people as adjunct professors, and established the Business Partnership Foundation -- the school's all-important liaison with the business community -- before returning to teaching in 1993.
Now at age 73, Jim Kane is retiring. The former semi-pro baseball player (second base) logged his last official day at the Moore School on May 31.
"As dean, he was one of a kind," says Jeanette Ross, who was Kane's executive secretary for more than 15 years. "He had such a vision for the school."
Dr. Terence A. Shimp, chairman and professor of the marketing department, agrees. "Jim was a wonderful dean. He was wonderful because he had high goals for this place, and he really moved the College of Business into one of the top business schools in the South and certainly beyond.
"When Jim came to the business school, it was a sleepy institution. Now we're a major player. Jim's administration set the tone and got the ball rolling."
The Moore School's current dean, Joel A. Smith III, considers Kane a "transformational dean." He "took our business school and decided to make it international. That served to make us different, and over a period of time, it allowed us to be something we otherwise never would have become -- nationally competitive."
William F. Putnam, a close friend of Kane's and his longtime associate dean, puts it this way: "I like to say that Jim was 'handicapped.' He didn't know what he couldn't do. As a consequence, he did a lot of things."
Midwest Born
Jim Kane in 1967 |
Jim Kane was born in Minneapolis, taught by Catholic nuns in elementary school, and graduated from St. Thomas Military Academy in 1950.
Short stints at Creighton University in Omaha and the University of Minnesota were unsuccessful for the outgoing and "very social" Kane. "I got terrible grades" before dropping out, he admits. "But then the Korean War saved me."
Kane joined the Air Force, attended navigation school, and was a navigation instructor in Harlingen, Texas, from 1953 to 1957.
Enrolling at Indiana State University upon his discharge in 1957, Kane finished his bachelor's degree in short order, graduating in 1958. Student teaching at a local public school convinced Kane he wasn't cut out to teach high school. He earned a master's degree in marketing at Indiana State instead, then a doctorate in business administration at Washington University in St. Louis.
In 1964, Kane was hired as the first full-time director of the AACSB, the organization that accredits all U.S. business schools and is now known as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. "It was fascinating," he remembers. "I got to know every dean in the country."
One of those deans was Dr. James A. Morris, then dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina. At the time, it was the only accredited business school in the state. A restructuring plan was in the works, and Morris and other USC administrators were looking for a new dean.
"I had worked for all these other deans when I was with the AACSB," Kane remembers, "and I said, 'Hell, I can do this.'" He had never before been to South Carolina.
Two Early Goals
|
| USC President Thomas F. Jones (second from left) with ETV Chairman Henry J. Cauthen (third from left) and Kane (second from right) at announcement of the new MBA-ETV program. |
The new dean was determined to change that. "My theme was to pull the business people in and get the faculty out [to a new building]," he says.
Kane persuaded James Bradley, then president of The Springs Company in Lancaster, South Carolina, to head up a capital fundraising campaign.
In the campaign's early days, Bradley remembers walking with Kane, Francis M. Hipp of The Liberty Corporation, and James C. Self of Greenwood Mills into the office of James G. Lindley, then president and CEO of South Carolina National Bank, to secure a financial commitment for a new building. "When Lindley looked up and saw the four of us," Bradley recalls, "he said, 'I don't know what the question is, but the answer is yes.'"
|
| The Hipp Building in 1973 before construction of the Close Building to complete the college. |
Kane had "the ability to get people to help him," says Bradley. "It was hard to say no to him. He was such a confident leader."
Janice DeLozier, who worked for Kane for more than two decades as an assistant dean and then associate dean, agrees. "Jim was an absolute master at raising funds for the business school. We used to say that he could get blood out of a turnip. He began making the rounds in South Carolina upon his arrival, driving his little yellow Volkswagen convertible. He would come up with the most audacious plans that none of us thought would have any chance of success; but, of course, they did. But the success was mostly due to his enthusiasm and drive, along with his absolute belief that anything was possible for the school."
But for that to happen, Kane knew that he needed the strong support of the business community. "He was so wise to build this support base from the very beginning, and that base withstood any moves against it," says DeLozier.
|
| USC President Thomas Jones (far left) reviews plans of the new business school. |
Four years later, in September 1973, a new $10 million, 8-story College of Business
Administration facility was dedicated. Ten years later, a second tower, costing $20 million, was
added.
Other Highlights
Kane was a hands-on administrator, juggling academics, personnel issues, and fundraising with
aplomb. He established the Ph.D. program in economics in 1967 and then quickly hired rising faculty
stars, nearly quadrupling the number of professors from 40 to about 150 between 1967 and 1972.
"He empowered the faculty to think of itself differently, act differently, and build a
curriculum that was different," says Dean Smith.
|
| Long-time friend and colleague Bill Putnam with Kane celebrating Kane's 20th anniversary as dean in 1987. |
Kane also established the first MBA program using television in 1970, the Frank L. Roddey Small Business Development Center of South Carolina in 1979, the Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center in 1982, the Master of Personnel and Employee Relations degree program (now called Master of Human Resources) in 1983, and the Master of Taxation in 1986.
The School of Accounting was created in 1990, as was the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). In 1993, the IMBA Vienna program (now called IMBA Europe) was launched.
"Those were exciting times," remembers Jeanette Ross. "It was a growth time, and it was fun to watch. You could see it happening, and you wanted to come to work every day because there was so much going on."
Janice DeLozier muses that "in the days of so-called 'inside deans' and 'outside deans,' Jim Kane somehow managed to be both. I guess it was because he worked at it all of the time. It was not just a job - it was his life."
What astounds Dr. Stanley J. Fryer, who first met Kane in 1970 and then signed on as a professor of management science in 1971, is that Kane retained his enthusiasm and hustle from his first day as dean to his last. "He always had a lot of ideas about things to do, things to be pushing on. It was never dull," says Fryer, who later served as director of the school's Division of Research and then associate dean for development. "Jim was constantly seeking to grow and improve the business school. He never reached the point of being satisfied. And I think that's the amazing thing - that he never really lost his drive over all those years."
Most of the faculty liked and respected Kane. "He made the faculty feel like they were appreciated beyond just their professional accomplishments," remembers Fryer. And Kane was "gender-blind long before it became popular," says DeLozier, "His door was always open to faculty; he encouraged personal interaction. He frequently went wandering all over the building just to chat and see what was going on."
|
| Kane with his favorite Cocky. |
Some were critical of what they called his "autocratic" style, says Terry Shimp. "But there are times in any institution when different leadership styles are called for, and certainly in his early years, a strong leadership style was what this place needed. There is no question that the college made major, major, major advances during his tenure."
Kane had "incredible instincts on what direction to go and how to take us there," says James G. Hilton, who was associate dean for academic affairs during the Kane era. Furthermore, Kane made it "exciting and a lot of fun," despite the "many cynics" who said that he "dreamed dreams that were not realistic for South Carolina," says Hilton.
Kane's personal charisma helped. "People liked him, and he liked people," says Ross. "He had excellent people skills. He knew everybody in the building, and if he saw a good thing somebody was doing, he made it a point to let them know by sending them a hand-written note."
|
| Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Self Computer Center in 1985. |
Dr. Olin Pugh, distinguished professor emeritus of finance and acting dean of the business school from 1966 to 1967, notes that Kane was "especially good at breaking personality barriers." He made the college "a somewhat sociable place" and led people to have "a personal feeling for one another. And that helped get things done in the college."
Jim Kane "got us visibility," says Dean Smith. "And we wouldn't otherwise have it."
For his part, Kane explains that his modus operandi was simple. "I always had one motto: Surround yourself with good people, and they make you look good."
A Team Player
In 1993, Kane quietly stepped down from the deanship and returned to the teaching of marketing to USC undergraduates. "I enjoyed it," he says.
Terry Shimp, who is retiring this spring as chairman of the marketing department, says that Kane was "a true team player" during the past 13 years. "He never lorded it over the faculty that he had been dean, but nicely meshed with his colleagues and treated others as colleagues."
|
| Kane with son, Michael, at graduation. |
As he faces retirement, Jim Kane says he is "going to miss the relationship with the business community and the involvement with the faculty." In retrospect, he says he is probably most proud during his tenure of "building such a good faculty. We were competing with the big boys."
He and his wife, D'Ann, plan to continue to travel, including a trip on a "working barge" down the rivers of France. He's also discussing doing the marketing for a small company that a friend wants to start.
|
| Jim and D'Ann at western-themed party. |
In any case, he expects to stay busy and out of the house. "My wife says, 'For better or worse, but not for lunch,' " he jokes.