The Terry College of Business’ new dean, Robert T. Sumichrast, said he plans to find ways to improve the school when he takes office Monday.

“My first goal as dean is to learn as much as I can about the Terry College of Business and the University of Georgia,” Sumichrast said. “I want to talk with students and alumni . and develop a strategy with everyone’s help.”

Sumichrast was a faculty member at Virginia Tech University from 1984 to 2003 and the dean of Louisiana State University’s E. J. Ourso College of Business from 2003 to 2007 before accepting his new position as the dean of the Terry College, according to a May 10 news release.

There were several reasons he decided to take this position, Sumichrast said, but Terry’s potential for progress ranked highest on his list.

“One of the first reasons I wanted to come was because I saw tremendous potential for improvement in the Terry College,” Sumichrast said. “We can take what’s already a great college and really make it outstanding.”

He said both the University and the state of Georgia consider education a top priority, which is encouraging to him.

“Education is one of those tools society has to improve itself.”

He said he hasn’t met any students yet, but the faculty and staff he’s met have been welcoming.

Sumichrast said he wants to keep the lines of communication open between himself and Terry’s students.

Students also have expectations for their new dean.

“I hope that he is able to keep Terry on the rise so that it stays as one of the top business schools in the country,” said Will Linthicum, a junior from John’s Creek.

A new dean has also been selected for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. According to a June 26 news release, Laura Dunn Jolly will join the FACS faculty and will begin working Aug. 15.