Dean Taylor Randall has led The University of Utah David Eccles School of Business since 2009. Under his leadership the Eccles School has gained a national reputation as a place of innovation, garnering top 10 entrepreneurship rankings for both undergraduate and graduate programs. In 2019-20 alone, eight of the school’s programs were ranked Top 25. Additionally, the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute has continued to grow with the opening of Lassonde Studios, a unique living and learning space that includes 400 beds and a 20,000-square-foot fully equipped makerspace for students to launch their dreams.
During his time as Dean the value of an Eccles School education has increased dramatically. Experiential learning opportunities have expanded along with the institutes and centers that offer invaluable experience to students in fields ranging from finance to social impact to policy creation. The Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis, the Sorenson Impact Center, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and the Goff Strategic Leadership Center all have opened under Randall’s direction. The Eccles School campus now includes six buildings, including the Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Building, which welcomed students in the MBA and Executive Education programs in Fall 2018.
In 2017, Randall served as the President of the Southwest Dean’s Association. He has been actively engaged in AACSB, serving on numerous Continuous Improvement Review site visits, and on the AACSB Continuous Improvement Review Committee in 2016-2019. In 2000, Randall founded the Utah Winter Operations Conference, an international conference for operations scholars.
Before assuming the role of dean, Randall served as a professor of accounting for 11 years, earning accolades throughout his teaching career. He has received awards for the best teacher in the MBA, Executive MBA, and undergraduate programs as well as the Brady Superior Teaching Award, which is a career achievement award. Under his guidance as faculty director, the University Venture Fund became the largest student-run venture fund in the country.
In addition to his service at the David Eccles School of Business, Randall has served as a visiting faculty at the Wharton School, Washington University-St. Louis, and INSEAD.
Randall graduated from the University of Utah with honors in accounting and then earned an MBA and Ph.D. in operations and information management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the economic impact of operational strategies.