University of Denver

Jim Griesemer is professor and dean emeritus at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business where he teaches graduate courses in business strategy and strategic management. His background includes over 20 years of public sector executive experience and 15 years of experience in higher education. During his career he has taught business strategy and financial management at the University of Denver, the University of Colorado, and Aurora University in Illinois.

From 1994 to 2004 Griesemer served as Dean of the Daniels College of Business. During his tenure the College increased its enrollment by 70 percent, quintupled its endowment, constructed a new state-of-the-art building, saw a major expansion in degree programs and gained a national reputation for excellence. The Daniels College was recognized as one of the top 50 business schools by the Wall Street Journal in 2003; in 2004 the Journal ranked Daniels as one of the top 10 regional schools in the U.S. and ranked its business ethics program one of the top 5 in the world.

Before becoming Dean he served as chief financial officer of the University of Denver where he helped to lead the financial turnaround of the University in the early 1990s.

Prior to joining the University of Denver, Griesemer had extensive experience in public administration serving as city manager of several cities across the U.S. including Aurora, Colorado from 1984 to 1990. During his city management career he was the recipient of a number of national and regional awards for excellence including, among others, the National Innovation Award in public finance from the International City Management Association. He was also named Outstanding Public Administrator in Colorado by the University of Colorado’s Graduate School of Public Affairs.

Griesemer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University and a doctorate in public administration from the University of Colorado.