2016 Award Winner
Len Jessup
Before becoming the 10th president of the University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Len Jessup was Dean and Halle Chair in Leadership in Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona where he was well known as an innovative, visionary, and transformational leader in higher education. Under Dr. Jessup’s leadership, the Eller College improved its quality, impact, rankings, and reach, and became a completely self-sustaining business school. As a founding board member of the University of Arizona Health Network, he also contributed to the rethinking and restructuring of the university’s academic medical center.
Jessup is a leading researcher in management information systems, with a focus on the use of emerging technology in higher education and business, new venture strategies, and social entrepreneurship. He was instrumental in creating the University of Arizona’s technology transfer and commercialization program, Tech Launch Arizona. He led the development and expansion of online degree and executive education programs at Arizona and helped drive similar innovations in previous positions at Washington State University (2000–2011) and Indiana University (1995–2000).
During more than a decade at Washington State University, Jessup was tapped for a variety of leadership roles. As dean of the WSU College of Business, he led a complete two-year reengineering of the business program, which included university-wide Entrepreneurship and Innovation Initiative that created intra-university pipelines between colleges to make the most of new ideas.
Jessup received his B.A. in information and communication studies in 1983 and his MBA in 1985, both from California State University, Chico. He earned his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and management information systems from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management in 1989, and was awarded the Outstanding Ph.D. Alumnus in 2004.