Dean John Delaney of Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration announced on Thursday that he plans to step down from his position.

Delaney is stepping down because he believes organizations need new leadership to remain “fresh and vital.”

“In light of the arrival of the new chancellor and all of the inevitable changes that will follow, the timing for change at Katz/CBA is appropriate,” Delaney said in a statement. 

Delaney will remain dean until Pitt selects a successor and will then return to Pitt’s business faculty. University spokesperson Cara Masset said the person who will be filling the position has yet to be determined. 

Delaney became the sixth dean of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration in 2006. Delaney was instrumental in opening Pitt’s financial analysis lab in 2008.

Delaney earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from LeMoyne College in 1977 and his master’s and doctorate in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois in 1980 and 1983. He previously worked at Columbia University Graduate School of Business, University of Iowa and Michigan State University.

The University will form a search committee in the coming weeks to replace Delaney by spring. Masset said the University has not determined who will sit on the committee, if the search will be open or closed and if the University will hire a search firm. 

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia Beeson said she is pleased Delaney will remain at the University following his resignation.

“It has been my pleasure to work with John Delaney, both in his role as dean and in his participation in the activities of our Council of Deans,” Beeson said in a statement.