Leon Robertson Named Professor Emeritus

Release Date: Mar 25, 2009

Robertson

MARCH 31 -- Kansas City, Mo. -- After nearly 20 years of service to the Bloch School, Leon H. Robertson, professor of strategic and international management, has retired from full-time professorship and earned the title of Professor Emeritus.

Prior to his time at UMKC, Robertson was professor of management at Georgia State University and a visiting professor at the University of Applied Science in Augsburg, Germany. He also has been a lecturer at the University of Applied Science in Bremen Germany, EUROMED Business School in Marseille France, Westminster University in London, INTI College in Malaysia and the University of Monterrey in Mexico.

He received a BS and an MS from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a PhD in Business Administration from Georgia State University. Robertson studied in the PhD program in Economics at the University of Oklahoma and has done post-graduate study in Operations Research at the University of Michigan and International Business at the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).  

In addition to his academic career, Robertson has 20 years experience in the corporate world as a manager with Andersen Consulting, senior vice president at Texas Gas Resources, and chairman, president and CEO of American Carriers. He also has served on the boards of directors of several Missouri and Kansas-based corporations

Robertson’s research interests include applied research in international business strategy, the internationalization of Kansas City public corporations, corporate governance and international entrepreneurship. He was also responsible for the development of IBIRD, a comprehensive Internet directory for international business research.

“Leon Robertson is remembered by faculty and students as a wonderful colleague and professor,” notes Lee Bolman, interim dean of the Bloch School. “In a remarkable career as both scholar and business executive, he has contributed in many ways over the years – as chair of the business administration division, as director of our center for international business, and as a beloved professor of strategy and international business.”

Over the course of his career, Robertson has received numerous awards in recognition for his teaching, consulting and applied research, including: the Gray Award for Innovative Teaching and the Pierson Award for Outstanding University Teaching at UMKC and a Senate Resolution from the State of Georgia for consulting on the reorganization of state government.

He has developed executive programs for General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Southern Company, Oxford Industries, Texas Gas Resources, U.S. Civil Service Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and others, and his publications include a series of articles on corporate business leaders in the Atlanta Economic Review, A Study of Boards of Directors in Kansas City and the Strategic Management Handbook.

“I intend to continue teaching courses at Bloch in strategy and international management," says Robertson. "I also plan to continue my applied research, writing and teaching at European business schools. The intellectual stimulation from academic pursuits remains a driving force for my future endeavors.”