Robert D. Bretz Jr., chair and professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded the inaugural Giovanini Chair in Management in the Mendoza College of Business, according to Nathan O. Hatch, the University’s provost.p. “Bob has developed a well-deserved national reputation for scholarly excellence,” Hatch said. “His contributions in his fields of study, as well as his commitments to teaching and to Notre Dame, make him an ideal candidate for this chaired professorship.”p. A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1997, Bretz specializes in human resource management and the study of job applicant decision processes. He focuses on staffing and selection issues such as how the fit between an individual and organization affects career success, the effectiveness of alternative training philosophies, and the links between individual and organizational effectiveness.p. Bretz was cited last year as one of the 10 most published authors of the 1990s in the two leading journals for the field of industrial and organizational psychology. He is a member of the Academy of Management and a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.p. Bretz is a member of Notre Dame’s Academic Council and Provost Advisory Council. He recently was elected to the coordinating committee for the University’s new strategic planning process.p. A graduate of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., Bretz earned his master’s of business administration degree and his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas. He previously taught and conducted research at the University of Kansas, the University of Iowa, and Cornell University.p. The Giovanini Chair was created in 2000 with a gift of more than $2 million from Notre Dame alumnus Joseph Giovanini and his wife, Jane.p. A native of Rock Springs, Wyo., Giovanini was graduated from Notre Dame in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy. He spent three years in the Navy, worked for another four years with Arthur Anderson in Chicago and Denver and then, with a partner, established his own building and land development business.p. His activities included building homes, apartments, nursing homes, mobile home parks and a shopping center. He also was involved in various investment interests, including an underground coal mine and cable television. He served for many years on the board of directors of United Cable Television Corp.p. Giovanini served on the advisory council of the College of Business from 1985-88 and was reappointed in 1996. Jane Giovanini, also from Rock Springs, received a degree in nursing from St. Joseph Hospital in Denver in 1954. The Giovaninis are the parents of seven children, two of whom earned master’s of business administration degrees from Notre Dame. They make their home in Teton Village, Wyo.
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