After Building Selling A 350 Million Firm David Klock Puts The Same Principles To Work As Fius Business Dean

David Klock has been a leader on both sides of the business world — in the private sector and in academia. Yet he started from humble beginnings as the son of a milkman who grew up, as he puts it, "on the wrong side of the tracks" in a working-class suburb west of Boston.

Today, he leads the College of Business Administration at Florida International University after having done the same at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, among other posts he held at universities from Central Florida to California.

In between, he led a dental and vision benefits company that grew its annual revenue from $20 million to more than $350 million during his tenure as CEO and chairman.

Dr. Klock arrived at FIU just months ago after the school approached him, but there’s already a lot on his plate: hiring more faculty, continuing and growing the emphasis on entrepreneurship, and ensuring that students — many of whom come from humble beginnings as well — develop the knowledge, skills and habits they will need to succeed.

When he’s not overseeing FIU’s 8,000-student business school, you might find him teaching Sunday school to second graders. Or you might find him jogging, or gushing over his young granddaughter being a martial arts black belt.

During an interview with Miami Today’s Scott Blake at FIU’s Tamiami campus, Dr. Klock discussed his life and career.To read the full article and the rest of the Miami Today issue, GO TO e-MIAMI TODAY, an exact replica of the printed edition. To read this profile article in its entirety, subscribe to e-MiamiToday. With the e-MiamiToday you will be able to read the entire contents of Miami Today online exactly as it appears in print. –> Or order this issue, to receive a regular printed copy of this week’s Miami Today. You may also subscribe to the printed edition of Miami Today to receive the newspaper every week by mail. If you are reading this in Miami Today’s “Online Archive” as an archived web page and would like to see the entire article that was published, call Miami Today, 305-358-2663 and ask for the Circulation Department.   Top Front Page About Miami Today Put Your Message in Miami Today Contact Miami Today © Copyright 2013 Miami Today designed and produced by Green Dot Advertising and Marketingvar gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-4990655-1”);pageTracker._initData();pageTracker._trackPageview();