Drury business dean sheds interim title

Photo provided by Drury University

Clifton Petty has been a Drury faculty member since 1993.

Clifton Petty is taking on the Drury University Breech School of Business dean position permanently after a year as its interim leader.

Petty was installed as interim dean in June 2019. He succeeded Jin Wang, who returned to the faculty after two years in the position. At the time, Drury officials said Petty was appointed in the interim for two years, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

A professor of management, Petty has served as a Drury faculty member since 1993, according to a news release.

“Clif is well known for his thoughtful and insightful approach to teaching strategy in the Breech School, as many hundreds of his former students who are now successful leaders in their own right can attest,” Drury President Tim Cloyd said in the release. “He is exactly the right person for this role.”

Since taking over as interim dean, Petty is credited with leading the Breech School of Business toward reaccreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a revamp of its MBA degree program and continued progress of the planned Enterprise Center. The nearly 55,000-square-foot building, part of the school's 25-year master plan, is scheduled for a groundbreaking this fall, according to the release. It will be home to the Breech School of Business.

Petty leads a staff of 19 employees at the Breech School of Business, said Drury spokesperson Mike Brothers.