'You Can't Not Like The Guy'

Cash's teaching excellence stems in part fromhis friendly ease with students, colleagues said.

"[Cash] is very effective in helping to workthings out with people who have had problems withprofessors," McFarlan said, citing Cash's"sensitivity" in handling "difficult incidents."

"He has a very good understanding of the schooland [of] people," said Hayes.

"He's quite personal. You can't not like theguy," McKenney said.

Cash's willingness to participate in a widerange of activities has also made him respectedand well-liked, professors said.

"[Cash] is not at all someone who goes into hisown little specialty and is invisible. He's taughtin the MBA program, the executive program andinterfunctional programs," Hayes said.

Technological Know-How

As the sole computer buff among the fourrumored leading inside candidates for thedeanship, Cash would bring technological expertiseto an institution which many say needs to bringitself up to date.

"The [Business] School is behind in technologyfor a number of reasons. Jim will probably get usup to where we should be," McKenney said. "Heknows how to do it."

Multimedia systems promise to be an essentialpart of future business activities, BusinessSchool faculty said.

"A background in information technology issomething which is becoming increasingly importantin the world, particularly the business world,"Hayes said.

"We have to include it in the teaching processand get students and faculty communicatingelectronically with each other," he added.

"We have a big technology agenda that we'llhave to execute over the next two to three years,"McFarlan said.

As a consultant to various large corporations,Cash has helped others learn to manage the latestin information technology, McKenney said.