Proceeds from Rob Hoskin’s 75th Anniversary Manuscript to Fund Scholarships

While delving into his family’s genealogy in 2010, UConn Accounting Associate Professor Emeritus Rob Hoskin realized the value of keeping track of one’s history, both big and small. For the next five years, in addition to tracing his own roots, Hoskin explored the vast and ever-changing 75-year history of the School of Business.

Hoskin perused volumes of faculty minutes, dug through archived photographs, and even tapped the memories of long-time School employees to produce the book titled, “History of the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration: 75 years on the road to excellence: 1940-2015.’’

Organized by deanship, one of the most interesting things Hoskin discovered is that some of the greatest successes came from the deans who served the longest. The combination of faculty, staff and administrative experience, Hoskin believes, is instrumental in growth and success. Yet, today, at universities across the country, the typical tenure for a dean is a mere three years—barely time to get acclimated, he noted. Many of his discoveries were more light-hearted, however, and reflected the changing times. During his exploration of faculty meeting minutes from the 1950s, he noted, there was much discussion about whether male students should wear suit coats and ties to class. A similarly charged debate erupted in 1970s about whether faculty should be allowed to continue smoking during meetings.

All proceeds from the sale of his book will benefit the Hoskin/Helman “If We Rest We Rust” scholarship fund for UConn business students, established by Rob and his wife, Mary. To order a copy, please visit Dog Ear Publishing’s bookstore or Amazon, which also has a version available for the Kindle.