Pretzels and comedy.
Ask Brian Klaas, the new College of Business dean, to talk about himself, and both are bound to come up.
"I grew up in a little town called Freeport, Illinois," Dr. Klaas said. "Great place, but not a place known for much, except maybe one thing: The mascot for the high school team is a pretzel. The team is known as the Fighting Freeport Pretzels, and as far as I know, it's the only town in America with a pretzel mascot."
Growing up a pretzel might explain his long fascination with comedy.
"I remember growing up and going to the library and coming across these old comedy albums, like 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,'" Klaas said. "I remember getting all his albums and thinking this was so amazing."
As dean of the College of Business since July 1, succeeding Harry Dombroski, Klaas takes charge of one of North Texas' largest business schools, with an enrollment of more than 6,500 students. He joined UTA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he served as dean of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management for nine years. He was previously at the University of South Carolina as senior associate dean for research and academics and director of the Riegel & Emory Human Resource Center at the Darla Moore School of Business.
Despite his extensive higher education background, Klaas never saw himself becoming a dean, or even a professor. It took, perhaps appropriately, a few twists in his career path to get him here.
"I didn't think about it very much until the end of my initial college experience," Klaas said. "Growing up, at certain points I thought I would be a journalist or a lawyer. Sometimes I wanted to be a high school teacher and sometimes I wanted to go into business. Ultimately, I landed in higher ed a bit by accident."
Klaas initially planned to work in a corporate setting. He only applied to a doctoral program on a whim after a conversation with a program director ultimately changed his decision.
"He was a labor negotiator, and he knew how to negotiate," Klaas said with a laugh. "His skill at getting me to see things in a certain way and not letting me get off the phone without getting the answer he wanted led me to say, 'OK, I'm going.'"
That decision has shaped a career focused on understanding how organizations create environments where people and businesses can thrive. Klaas' research has focused on human resources, labor relations and dispute resolution, with his work published in leading peer-reviewed journals. He earned his doctorate in industrial relations from the University of Wisconsin and holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Illinois State University.
"We can't prepare students for the workplace that existed five years ago," Klass said. "We need to prepare them for the workplace that is going to emerge over the next several years."
To help students navigate that changing landscape, Klaas said the college will leverage resources like the new Career Services Center while ensuring students become effective and ethical users of artificial intelligence.
As he begins the third month of his tenure, Klaas said his leadership approach will remain rooted in listening, collaboration and thoughtful decision-making.
"I tend to be very analytical, and I pride myself on listening carefully and hearing many different viewpoints," Klaas said. "Some may think that I study things to death. But I do meet my deadlines."
Klaas said every decision he makes will be guided by one question: How does it position the College of Business for the futured?
"When I took this role, I was 100% in on every decision being about what's going to get the institution to where it needs to be in five years and in 10 years," Klaas said. "Not every decision I make will be popular, but it will be driven by what's going to help us better serve our students, our community and our stakeholders."
— Written by Chloe Moore
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation's top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 300,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.
