UA Business School Names New M.B.A. Program Director

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. David Funk, a specialist in business and university administration, has been named the new director of the master of business administration program at The University of Alabama.

Funk comes to the Capstone from the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, where he was director of graduate programs and coordinator of the M.B.A. program.

“David Funk brings a combination of business and university administration, university service, teaching and program development,” said Dr. Robert McLeod, executive director of graduate programs and executive education. “He has experience in academic affairs administration, advising, program promotion and recruiting. We think he will be an excellent fit with our mission.”

Funk earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Ohio University, as well as his master’s degree in public administration. He received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Funk join us,” said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of the College and Thomas D. Russell Professor of Business Administration. “His experience and background make him a good fit for the M.B.A. program, especially his background in web-based education and international high education.”

Funk said he is looking forward to the opportunity. “The University of Alabama and the Manderson Graduate School has a national reputation for producing business leaders and entrepreneurs of the first rank. The faculty here has established itself as one of the premier faculties in the world, and the techno-M.B.A. program is among the elite. I am looking forward to working with them, and I look forward to meeting the challenges ahead.”

Prior to his position in West Virginia, Funk was director of the program on management of nonprofit organizations at Salem International University. He also served as international program coordinator and professor at the University of Maryland/Vladivostok University, which included a joint appointment within the Russian-American program of international business and management faculty at Far Eastern State University in Russia.

He was a member of the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught several doctoral courses in research methodology and developed and taught a graduate seminar on international programming in higher education.

Funk also has an extensive background in academic service and outreach, grant writing and fund raising, and has contributed to or written several books and articles.