Personal Summary

Dr. Neu holds a Ph.D. from The University of Minnesota (1973) and teaches courses in Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship. He is married to his wonderful spouse and partner, Judi, and has three sons, all graduates of The University of Montana.

Born in Butte, Montana, and raised 50 miles west in Philipsburg, Dr. Neu holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a Master's in Agricultural Economics. After several years in consulting, he returned to school to obtain a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. He joined The University of Montana in 1973 as a Visiting Associate Professor at Malmstrom Air Force Base where he initiated development of the Small Business Institute and the MBA Computer Center at that location.

In 1977, Dr. Neu left the University to start the first of four businesses that he pursued in Montana over the next eleven years, eventually selling each. Two of his firms were funded with venture capital and involved cutting-edge technology protected by U. S. and foreign patents. His interest in teaching, however, never vanished, and in 1980 he co-authored a college textbook in Small Business Management. He returned to The University of Montana in 1988 as Director of the Off-Campus MBA Program when the University offered its first distance education courses by interactive TV to Billings. In 2003, he assumed the role of MBA Program Director for all MBA programs at UM.

Dr. Neu's professional interests are concentrated in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. As an active "student" of Business Strategy, he continues to "learn" as well as teach, drawing from his business experience as well as from his ongoing consulting activities. He has developed several short courses at UM in the areas of business planning and the management of technology and innovation. Through his contact with students, whether in the classroom or otherwise, he tries to stimulate their intellectual curiosity and make them life-long learners, capable of adapting to the increasing pace of change that they will encounter in their careers.