Alumni Spotlight on Allan Bailey

Allan Bailey, the longest serving dean of San Diego State’s College of Business Administration and guardian of the university’s philanthropic foundation, passed away Dec. 21, 2008. He had retired last autumn after more than 40 years on campus.

Bailey graduated from SDSU in 1964 with an accounting degree. After completing M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in accounting at UCLA, he joined the SDSU faculty, earning respect for his collegiality, leadership and vision.

In 1979, he became dean of the College of Business Administration, a post he would hold for 18 years as he built a highly regarded undergraduate business program. SDSU’s international business program and its Entrepreneurial Management Center, both nationally renowned, were established during Bailey’s tenure.

As an educator, he was honored with two outstanding professor awards from the California CPA Society, one for contemporary achievements in 1979, and the other, a lifetime achievement award in 1993. While serving as dean, Bailey was also appointed president of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, a distinguished position of national recognition and leadership.

In recent years, Bailey became interim vice president for University Advancement, and then, chief financial officer of The Campanile Foundation (TCF), an auxiliary he helped to establish in 1999 to foster and advance private support for San Diego State. Of Bailey’s many contributions, none was more vital to ensuring the university’s prosperous future than his work with TCF.

Together with the TCF investment committee, he grew the foundation’s assets from $55 million to $170 million. In spite of stock market challenges, the endowment investment pool’s average, five-year return has been 10.4 percent, placing SDSU among the top-earning 23 percent of similar endowments nationwide. This success recently earned Bailey the CFO of the Year Award (for nonprofits) by the San Diego Business Journal.

In recognition of Bailey’s legacy, Mark McMillin, chairman and CEO of The Corky McMillin Companies, donated $500,000 to name the Allan Bailey Library in the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center. McMillin serves on the board of The Campanile Foundation and is an alumnus of the College of Business Administration.

Bailey is survived by his wife, Nancy; two children, Todd and Erin; his sister, Pat; his father, Ace; son-in-law, Brenton; daughter-in-law, Jen; and five grandsons.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the A.R. Bailey Dean’s Endowment Fund at SDSU, and sent to The Campanile Foundation, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-8035.