People and Places: June 2025

Article

Friday, June 20, 2025

By AACSB Staff

HKUST, Griffith University, KPMG partner to launch Asia's first MS concentration, and the University of Utah announces gift to advance entrepreneurship.

Transitions

The Ohio State University in Columbus has appointed Aravind Chandrasekaran as the new interim dean of the Max M. Fisher College of Business for a two-year term. Chandrasekaran, who joined Ohio State in 2009, most recently was the Fisher Distinguished Professor of Operations and senior associate dean. In the latter role, he was responsible for leading faculty life, research, and nondegree executive education. Chandrasekaran began his new role on June 1, taking over from Trevor Brown, who has led the college over the past academic year in addition to his appointment as dean of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

On July 1, Raj Agnihotri will become the next Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University in Ames. Agnihotri has served as the founding director of the Ivy Sales Forum and the college's inaugural assistant dean for industry engagement. He has also taught at The University of Texas at Arlington and Ohio University. Agnihotri follows David Spalding, who is retiring after 11 years of service in the role.

Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge has announced that Russell Crook will be the new dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business. Crook comes to LSU after serving as the First Horizon Foundation Distinguished Business Professor, Cheryl Massingale Business Faculty Scholar, and head of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville's Haslam College of Business. Under his leadership, the department saw a 40 percent increase in academic disciplines and added a student success program, which provides targeted guidance to first-generation students. He also has corporate experience in strategic planning and global procurement for organizations such as American Airlines and IBM. Crook officially joins the LSU community on July 28, following Jared Llorens, who has served as dean since 2020.

Dawn Conway has been named interim dean of the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She served on Wright State’s board of trustees for three years before becoming vice chair in 2024. Conway most recently was the president and CEO of Boost Engagement, a brand engagement agency. In addition, she served as chief operating officer of Cision and held key leadership positions at LexisNexis, where she specialized in corporate responsibility, global licensing, business development, sales, and marketing. Conway takes on the interim role upon the departure of Donald Hopkins, who was interim dean for two years and announced his retirement. Hopkins was a long-serving faculty member and administrator at the Raj Soin College of Business. His roles included appointments as director of the Master of Information Systems and Logistics and Supply Chain Management programs.

On May 27, David Szymanski became the William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. Szymanski comes to Baylor from the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, where he has held roles as president and professor of marketing at UNF’s Coggin College of Business. During his nearly 40 years in higher education, Szymanski has also served as dean at the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University in College Station. This announcement comes after the central Texas university announced that the school’s current dean, Sandeep Mazumder, had accepted a new position as president of Berry College in Georgia, previously featured in our December 2024 People and Places posting.

Economics and finance professor and associate dean Patrick O’Neill will become the interim dean of the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He has been a member of the Nistler College faculty since 1987, achieving promotion to full professor and chair of the Department of Economics in 2001, and accepting the position as associate dean in 2018. The new appointment is effective July 1. O’Neill assumes the interim role upon the departure of Amy Henley, who has accepted the dean position at the University of Louisville College of Business in Kentucky.

Asia School of Business (ASB) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has appointed Joseph Cherian as the institution’s chief executive officer, president, dean, and distinguished professor. He was an executive-in-residence and most recently served as a visiting professor of finance in partnership with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. At ASB, Cherian will succeed Sanjay Sarma, who is stepping down and plans to return to his professorship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ernest Yaw Tweneboah-Koduah has been announced as dean of the University of Ghana Business School in Africa. He is an alum of the university. Since 2007, Tweneboah-Koduah has served as head of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. In that role, he expanded the department’s research capacity and oversaw the development of new programs, including a master’s degree in marketing strategy and an executive MBA. He will be the first marketing and entrepreneurship faculty member to become the campus’ top leader. Tweneboah-Koduah assumes the role from Nyigmah Bawole, who has served as dean since 2019.

New Programs

This fall, Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Beedie School of Business in Canada will begin offering three distinct learning modes for learners enrolled in the school’s MBA program. The new offerings can be tailored to accommodate professionals balancing different work and educational needs, without interrupting their careers. MBA students can elect to complete the program in person with evening sessions at Beedie’s downtown Vancouver campus, to attend fully online, or to choose the format that works best for each course under the hybrid delivery path. SFU Beedie also announced new specialized coursework designed to help students deepen their expertise in key areas of business and earn additional credentials. Students will have the option to study five new concentrations: digital transformation and analytics, innovation and value creation, sustainable futures, global management, and financial analysis, the latter of which the university plans to launch in fall 2026.

The Sykes College of Business at the University of Tampa (UTampa) in Florida and EDHEC Business School in France are teaming up to launch a dual degree program for graduate business students who want to pursue an international career. Accepted students will have the opportunity to pursue specialized MS programs in areas including business analytics, cybersecurity, marketing, and information and technology management at UTampa, and global and sustainable business, finance and accounting, or creative business and social innovation at EDHEC. Participants are expected to complete coursework at both campuses, a thesis project, and, where applicable, an internship. Enrollment is limited to six students from each university per academic year.

The University of Sydney Business School will offer a new MBA in technology and digital strategy beginning in the fall 2026 semester. The new degree will equip professionals to lead at the intersection of technology and business strategy for productivity and value creation. Delivered entirely online, the program integrates business leadership and technological capability into a single curriculum, including emerging technologies such as generative AI, without additional elective courses. Core courses cover topics including digital collaboration; emerging technologies, disruption, and foresight; data-driven decision-making; AI and digital ethics; and integrated supply chain management. The degree program can be completed in a year and a half on a full-time basis.

Durham University Business School in the U.K. is launching an Executive MSc in accounting analytics and sustainability focused on fostering a deeper understanding in sustainability reporting and wider ESG issues. Combining academic research with practitioner-led instruction, the curriculum prioritizes high-demand areas of digitalization and sustainability and increases participants’ technology and sustainability literacy as well as their confidence. The module-based program, which begins in October, is tailored for working professionals and incorporates a three-month break to accommodate the peak workload within the accounting profession. Students can also choose to complete the full four-year program for the MSc qualification, or, depending on individual circumstances, exit earlier with a postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma.

The College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno, is launching an online general business degree developed with assistance from Nevada Online, the university’s digital education team. The new degree will provide students with basic business skills, including analytical thinking, effective communication, use of business technology, recognition and resolution of ethical issues, and the ability to succeed in a global business environment. Classes will begin in the fall 2025 semester.

Collaborations

Cranfield University in the U.K. has partnered with Bristol Business School at the University of West England (UWE) to offer business students a smooth pathway to postgraduate study at Cranfield School of Management. Undergraduate students enrolled in a business degree program at UWE can apply for guaranteed placement in any of Cranfield’s one-year, full-time MSc courses. Applicants will also be automatically considered for one of three 10,000 GBP (roughly 13,000 USD) scholarships that are dedicated to incoming UWE students.

This fall, the School of Business and Management at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Griffith University in Australia, and KPMG will launch Asia’s first Master of Science in Accounting (MSAC) concentration in financial crimes and forensic accounting. HKUST faculty are designing the curriculum for the elective courses with the help of Griffith Business School’s expertise in financial crime investigation and compliance, and KPMG professionals will deliver the courses, integrating theoretical knowledge with practical applications to equip students with industry-ready skills. The concentration aims to prepare students for careers in financial crime investigation, forensic accounting, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism financing. The new concentration will be open to all MSAC students.

Binghamton University in New York has partnered with United Health Services (UHS) physicians with the goal of sharing resources to produce new research for mental health care. The collaboration began in May with a series of workshops led by Sumantra Sarkar, associate professor at Binghamton’s School of Management, and Melissa Zeynep Ertem, assistant professor at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science’s School of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering. The workshops are designed to give medical staff an overview of potential research subjects and an understanding of best practices and data collection methods. Both organizations anticipate that they will expand their partnership to host an annual research workshop series for new resident physicians at UHS.

ESSEC Business School in France has announced a new partnership with French AI startup Mistral AI to advance research, innovation, and teaching at the institution. The strategic collaboration will include joint research initiatives and the development of academic content to help students and faculty better understand and engage with generative AI tools. Mistral AI’s platform will provide ESSEC’s researchers, professors, and staff with access to suitable tools, concrete use cases, and a secure framework to guide responsible AI use.

Grants and Donations

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, is receiving 25 million USD from the Lassonde Family Foundation, which is led by founder and alumnus Pierre Lassonde and his children. The gift also comes as the institute anticipates the 25-year anniversary of its first program and the 10-year anniversary of opening of Lassonde Studios, a five-story innovation space and housing facility, both occurring in 2026. The current gift brings the Lassonde family’s total support for the school to 50 million USD.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has received a 1.5 million USD commitment from Andy Murray and his wife, Mary. Their gift will create the Andy and Mary Murray Endowed Chair in the Future of Commerce. Once appointed, the new chair will support industry-focused research at Walton College, attend and host events on the future of commerce, and develop programs that encourage students to embrace emerging technologies and industry trends. Andy Murray was senior vice president of marketing at Walmart U.S. and transitioned to chief customer officer for Walmart’s Asda grocery retailer in the U.K. before founding bigQUEST Advisory, Inc., a strategic advisory company. In partnership with former dean Matt Waller, Andy also launched the Customer Centric Leadership Initiative at Walton College in 2020, where he still serves as executive chair.

The University of Chicago has received a 14 million USD gift from university trustee and Booth School of Business alumnus John Edwardson and his wife, Fran, to support its Civic Scholars Program. In honor of their generosity, the program will be renamed the Edwardson Civic Scholars Program, and its students will collectively be known as Edwardson Civic Scholars. The program offers full-tuition scholarships for evening and weekend MBA students, provides access to dedicated faculty advisors, and allows students to participate in specialized retreats and roundtable discussions. The couple’s gift will offer matching funds to inspire other donors to provide scholarships for the program’s incoming students. Established in 2016, the newly renamed Edwardson Civic Scholars Program currently has 29 students and 49 alumni.

Centers and Facilities

On May 26, the University of Liverpool received approval to open its first international campus in Bengaluru, India. The campus will welcome the inaugural group of undergraduate and postgraduate students in August 2026. Initial subject options will include business management, accounting and finance, computer science, biomedical sciences, and game design, with a wider range to follow.  The new campus will also provide a new study abroad opportunity for the university’s U.K.-based students.

This month, the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London broke ground on a six-story building to support students who don’t have access to ideal study environments. Designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, the new structure will include flexible study spaces, quiet zones, and collaborative learning areas, with additional improvements planned for public spaces around the site. The facility will also be home to the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre, a partnership with the School of Law that offers students hands-on experience while providing essential legal advice to underserved communities. The project is scheduled to open in early 2027.

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AACSB Staff

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