Lindner College Announces New Leadership for Lindner Honors-PLUS Program

University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business Dean David Szymanski announced on Thursday that Professor Daniel Gruber, associate dean of Innovation and New Ventures, will also assume leadership of the College’s

Carl H. Lindner Honors-PLUS program

(LHP).

Gruber joined the College in July 2017, with a mandate to elevate the levels of academic excellence throughout Lindner and build collaborative partnerships with other UC colleges and the Cincinnati business community.  He will now add director of Lindner Honors-PLUS to his crucial responsibilities. In his associate dean role, Gruber is collaboratively reinventing the student experience and shaping the future of business education as the College prepares to move into a new state-of-the-art building in fall 2019. 

Current LHP Executive Director, Professor Jeri Ricketts, will transition the leadership of the program to Gruber during the spring semester. Ricketts has led the program for the last 15 years and has been deeply involved with the program from its creation in 1995.

“I am very pleased that Jeri will be passing the leadership baton of the Lindner Honors-PLUS program to Dan. LHP has been and continues to be an incredibly important asset of our College and the City of Cincinnati.  Mr. Lindner’s legacy and the entire Lindner family is vibrant throughout our College and are integrally woven into LHP," said Szymanksi  "Jeri Ricketts has done a tremendous job leading the program and will continue to be involved with its future. Dan’s focus on educational innovation provides an excellent fit that will ensure the program continues to be a leader in business education.”

Added Ricketts, “I am delighted that Dan will be the new leader of LHP. This program has been my life’s work and the students, alumni, and supporters are my extended family. LHP has helped to elevate many initiatives throughout the College, the University, and the City of Cincinnati, and that will continue under Dan’s leadership. All of our students have met Dan as well as many of our alums, and they share my excitement for what he will bring to the program.”

Gruber was an interdisciplinary faculty member and award-winning teacher at Northwestern University where he taught at both the Medill School of Journalism and the Kellogg School of Management before joining UC. He received multiple grants to support his academic innovation at Northwestern, including one from the Procter and Gamble Higher Education Grant Fund to launch a Mentoring Program.

Additionally, Gruber co-created an Innovation in Teaching Series at The Garage, Northwestern’s student hub for innovation. He earned an undergraduate degree in business from Washington University, a dual master’s degree in business and industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, and a PhD in Management and Organizations from the University of Michigan.

“I am inspired to have the honor to lead the LHP program at this important time," he said. "The opportunity to bring innovative approaches and ideas to the program is tremendous given the extraordinary students, alumni, and supporters of the program and the amazing things happening here in Cincinnati.  I look forward to bringing the three honors programs in the Lindner College (Lindner Honors-PLUS, Marvin P. Kolodzik Business Scholars, and Circle of Excellence) together on a consistent basis and building new initiatives with other colleges here at UC and with the City of Cincinnati."

The Lindner Honors-PLUS program was created by former UC Provost and Lindner College faculty member Professor Norman Baker and Carl H. Lindner Jr., to retain the best and brightest students in Cincinnati. Students in the program receive a full-tuition scholarship and have opportunities to study together in a cohort program that brings them to organizations in the city and around the world.