Ithaca College

Bob Ullrich, who contributed significantly to the advancement of the Ithaca College School of Business as its dean from 1998 to 2004, passed away on January 14 in Newport, Rhode Island, at the age of 75. His survivors include his wife, Portia, and children, Karl and Marie.

Bob took over as dean during a time of nationwide decline in business school enrollments, and while at Ithaca helped both grow enrollment and significantly improve the average SAT scores of incoming students. He established the school’s MBA program and laid the groundwork for its initial accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, considered the hallmark of excellence in business education.

During his tenure, longtime supporter Dorothy Park gave the college one its largest-ever gifts: $10 million to be used toward a new sustainably designed home for the School of Business, the LEED Platinum Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise. He hired the school’s first Internship Coordinator, created the Dean’s Internship Advisory Council and Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series, and served on the committee that developed the college’s current mission and vision statements.

Following his retirement, the Robert A. Ullrich MBA Scholarship was established in his honor to be awarded annually to a graduate of the School of Business entering the MBA program.

Bob's family requests that donations in his name be made to Rhode Island Public Radio, One Union Station, Providence, RI 02903.

His complete obituary can be read in the Newport Daily News.