People and Places: May 2026
Article
Transitions
 On 20 April, Paul Andon became dean of the UNSW Business School at UNSW Sydney, after serving as interim co-dean of the business school since last November. An alum of the university, Andon has been a member of the UNSW faculty since 2000, achieving promotion to full professor in 2019, and was appointed head of the School of Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation in 2021. Scientia Professor of Economics Richard Holden, who served as interim co-dean alongside Andon, was simultaneously appointed as the vice-chancellor’s professor and chief societal economist. In this new role, Holden will provide senior intellectual leadership on the economic aspects of UNSW’s strategy, with a focus on societal impact, public policy, and evidence-based debate. Chris Styles previously served a 10-year term as dean of the UNSW Business School and, in October 2024, took on a new role as the inaugural pro vice-chancellor of transnational ventures. |
 Ronn Smith will be the new dean of the College of Business at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins. He joins CSU after serving as senior associate dean and professor of marketing at the University of Wyoming’s College of Business. In that role, he successfully led AACSB accreditation reviews, facilitated the launch of undergraduate and graduate programs, and oversaw a 100 million USD endowment to the college. Smith previously served as chair of the Department of Marketing at the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business. He begins his new role at CSU on 1 July, succeeding Beth A. Walker, who was dean for 11 years. |
 The University of Texas at Austin (UT) has named alum Bradley Staats as the next dean of the McCombs School of Business. Staats, who currently serves as the Ellison Distinguished Professor of Operations and senior associate dean for strategy and academics at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, will begin his appointment at UT on 1 July. Before serving as senior associate dean, he was associate dean of MBA programs, where he helped lead significant curricular and programmatic transformations, including the launch of the Charlotte Executive MBA Program, and the expansion of industry partnerships. Staats also has industry experience in corporate strategy for organizations such as Goldman Sachs and Dell Technologies. He will succeed Lillian Mills, who has served as dean since 2020 and will return to the Shulkin Department of Accounting as a distinguished faculty member. As a dean who prioritized philanthropy, Mills secured funding to expand program endowments and establish a 17-story future undergraduate hub—a 425 million USD project. The announcement for the new facility was previously featured in our June 2024 People and Places posting. |
 Jacqueline “Jacquie” Mozrall has announced that she will step down as dean of the Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. She will conclude her deanship at the end of the 2026–27 academic year before taking a sabbatical and returning to the faculty. Mozrall started her professional career at RIT as an assistant professor in industrial and systems engineering (ISE) in 1994. She then served as ISE department head from 2000 to 2010, guiding significant growth in enrollment and corporate engagement, including the establishment of the Toyota Production Systems Lab. After four years as associate dean of Kate Gleason College of Engineering, Mozrall joined Saunders College of Business as interim dean in 2014 and assumed the permanent position less than a year later. As dean, she led the development of a full portfolio of STEM-designed graduate degrees, undergraduate and graduate degrees in supply chain management, a PhD program in business administration, and integration of the International Hospitality and Service Innovation Department into the business school. Mozrall also championed alumni and business engagement efforts, including expanded funding to support Saunders’ research infrastructure and student enrichment activities. |
New ProgramsThe University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management is enhancing its investment in undergraduate programs with the launch of two new minors. The new programs, led by adjunct accounting professor Gonzalo Freixes, will give students more opportunities to pair their academic major with a secondary area of study. The programs are built on UCLA Anderson’s existing minors in accounting and entrepreneurship—bringing the total number of undergraduate minors to four—and aim to extend the school’s approach to applied learning by offering structured pathways into industry. The new Real Estate minor blends conceptual learning with hands-on, applied experiences to show students how the industry overlaps with economic development, urban planning, and public policy. The Sports Leadership and Management minor will provide students with a systems view of the global sports ecosystem, discussing how different segments operate, innovate, and relate with one another. The curriculum emphasizes core management disciplines of strategy, finance, marketing, leadership, and analytics, and was designed to provide students with a robust understanding of foundational concepts and contemporary industry practices. Vlerick Business School in Belgium is expanding its partnership with the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT Ghaziabad) in India, to launch a new Global Executive MBA that will address two “global megatrends”—sustainability and technology. The Global Executive MBA, designed specifically for the Indian market, will equip graduates with a global mindset and the tools and approaches to navigate technological change and environmental impact. Each institution will deliver around half of the curriculum. IMT Ghaziabad faculty will focus on areas where understanding the Indian business context is especially important, including organizational behavior, negotiation, marketing, and operations. Meanwhile, Vlerick faculty will teach subjects with a broader global perspective, such as finance, accounting, strategy, and data-driven decision-making. The program will be offered in a part-time format and is tailored to working professionals with at least five years of experience and who wish to develop new leadership capabilities. It will also combine online learning and in-person study in India, Europe, and Dubai, UAE. IESE Business School in Spain has redesigned its MBA program to prepare leaders for a business environment increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Starting in September, the program will focus on developing the capabilities required to redesign work, lead human–AI systems, and make decisions in the face of technological uncertainty. The updated curriculum is structured around three core capabilities: personal AI fluency, the ability to redesign workflows and operating models, and strategic AI decision-making. These areas are integrated across 18 first-year courses, alongside managerial judgment and humanistic leadership. Additionally, pre-program courses and workshops ensure that every student has a baseline level of AI technical knowledge and application skills. The second year further reinforces the core capabilities through electives and projects that deepen technical understanding, transformational skills, and judgment. Participants can choose a concentration in artificial intelligence, technology, data, and data business, with 27 available elective courses. Earlier this month, Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) in Missouri announced dual AI initiatives to prepare talent and organizations to apply AI in meaningful ways across industries. WashU Olin Business launched a 10,000 USD AI Workforce Transformation Scholarship to support qualified applicants to its new one-year Master of Science in AI for Business program, and further expanded its AI-focused executive education offerings. Developed in close collaboration with the school’s corporate partners, the MS in AI for Business program offers three different industry tracks aligned to core business disciplines: finance, marketing, and technical. The on-campus postgraduate program will welcome its first full-time cohort in the fall. WashU Olin Business is also launching a new AI-focused executive education offering, AI Transformation for Business, that emphasizes strategy over tools. The program was built as a customizable series of training that can be delivered within organizations. It focuses on helping participants rethink workflows and operating models and build confidence to scale adoption across their teams. Egon P. and Abby Durban have made a philanthropic commitment to establish the Durban Sports Business Program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington, D.C. The new program aims to develop values-driven leaders in sports business through a blend of specialized coursework, engagement with industry leaders and alumni, and global experiences. The first cohort launched this spring. Participants must complete the program’s nine-credit requirement prior to graduation by taking coursework in sports topics, such as sports marketing and finance, and decisions in sports. They will also have opportunities to gain real industry experience through summer internships, industry conferences, and travel to cities with a large sports business footprint. Starting in September 2027, the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School in the U.K. will offer an MBA in Sports and Entertainment, taught in collaboration with the university’s Institute of Sport. The two-year, part-time program is tailored for current and aspiring CEOs; commercial and marketing directors; heads of brand and content; senior managers within clubs, leagues, venues, and media organizations; and founders and entrepreneurs building ventures across sport, entertainment, and related cultural industries. The program combines academic study with practical application through a flexible format that blends in-person and online learning. Students will work on live projects with organizations, hear from industry guest speakers, and have the opportunity to study abroad. CollaborationsYardi Systems, an asset and property management software vendor, is expanding its partnership with Stony Brook University (SBU) in New York, establishing the Yardi Expanded Cohort Scholars Program. Starting this fall, the initiative will support 25 first-generation students majoring in business‑related fields per year over a four-year period. Scholars will enrich their academic experience through a structured development track focused on targeted areas, including résumé development, internship readiness, networking, graduate school exploration, and career planning. In addition, each student will receive a renewable scholarship of up to 10,000 USD annually to help offset the cost of attendance and reduce financial barriers that often limit students’ ability to fully engage in campus life. Yardi first partnered with SBU in 2023 to establish the Yardi Scholars program, providing scholarships and targeted support for first‑generation students in the College of Business. The effectiveness of their previous partnership helped shape the new, expanded cohort model. The Indian Institute of Management Jammu (IIM Jammu) is collaborating with the Accenture Center of Advanced Studies (ACOAS) under TalentSprint to launch a four-year undergraduate program that blends online learning with periodic campus immersions. The global deep-tech education company TalentSprint was acquired by Accenture LearnVantage in April 2025. The four-year, full-time online program will equip participants with the skills to apply core management education concepts and leverage the potential of emerging technologies, including AI and cloud computing. Nearly 60 percent of the program will be delivered by IIM Jammu faculty, while 40 percent will be led by industry practitioners through ACOAS. NEOMA Business School in France has partnered with McGill University in Montréal to run a study abroad program focused on developing essential cross-functional skills in contemporary professional environments. Starting in September 2026, this agreement will enable six students from NEOMA’s Program Grande École to participate in a semesterlong immersion at McGill. Taught in English, the courses will cover management disciplines including finance, strategy, and marketing, and complementary courses in social sciences, literature, and humanities. This new agreement complements the partnerships already established with HEC Montréal and Concordia University in Montréal, and Université Laval in Quebec City. Grants and DonationsPurdue University in Indiana has received a 20 million USD commitment from the Ricks Family Foundation to establish the Purdue Institute for Healthcare Systems Innovation within the Mitch Daniels School of Business. The institute will be based at the university’s Indianapolis location. A collaboration between the colleges of engineering and pharmacy, the institute will serve as a hub for analyzing how care pathways, drugs, devices, and procedures are priced, reimbursed, and adopted, with a focus on cost-benefit analysis, consumer choice, and strategic policy design. Formation of the institute will begin with the appointment of key leaders, including the executive director, program manager, and industry director. The Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph in Canada has received the largest single donation in its history: a 51 million USD gift from Stu and Kim Lang’s Angel Gabriel Foundation. Part of the funding will support the construction of a new facility for the Lang School, a three-story building that will extend experiential learning opportunities for students. The money will also fund the launch of LANG GoodWorks®, a work experience program that will help place students in paid summer internships in the charitable and nonprofit sectors to build their social impact potential. The current gift brings the Lang family’s total support for the university to more than 100 million USD. In 2019, the foundation donated 21 million USD to the business school, which was subsequently renamed in honor of Stu’s late father, Gordon S. Lang, an entrepreneur and founder of global package and label company CCL Industries. The W.P. Carey Foundation and Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School are partnering to expand the scope of the school’s MBA program, enhance initiatives for student entrepreneurs, and reaffirm the school’s commitment to the surrounding Baltimore, Maryland, area. The foundation recently committed an additional 50 million USD to Johns Hopkins, bringing the W.P. Carey Foundation’s cumulative support to 125 million USD. The money will provide startup funding and augment direct connections for full-time MBA students to Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and The Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship. Part of the gift will also fund faculty professorships and support faculty, including connecting them with industry partners. Centers and FacilitiesLast month, Rowan University received a 10 million USD commitment from independent wealth management firm Edelman Financial Engines (EFE) to establish the School of Financial Planning within the Rohrer College of Business. The new addition aims to address the current shortage of qualified financial planning professionals, with an emphasis on helping students attain the Certified Financial Planner® industry certificate. The school will collaborate with industry to inform its degree programs—including an undergraduate major and minor, a master’s degree, and executive education programs—and the respective curricula. Rohrer College of Business executive-in-residence and founder of EFE, Ric Edelman, will serve as the inaugural head of the school. The School of Financial Planning is expected to offer classes as soon as fall 2026. Slippery Rock University (SRU) in Pennsylvania has received a 5 million USD gift from alumnus Elliott Haverlack and his wife, Rhonda, making the Haverlack College of Business the first named college in the university’s history. The gift will also provide scholarship support for students, allow for facility enhancements, and expand learning opportunities across SRU’s business programs. Elliott Haverlack, who graduated from SRU in 1980 with a degree in environmental science, is a retired executive in the consumer-packaged goods industry and a three-time bestselling author. He reaffirmed his conviction to lifelong learning last fall by returning to the university to earn an MBA at age 67. The Anderson School of Management at The University of New Mexico (UNM) was renamed The James and Gail Ellis School of Business Leadership. The name honors a recent 30 million USD commitment from Jim and Gail Ellis and represents the largest philanthropic gift from an individual or couple in the university’s history. The gift and renaming signify an evolution in the school’s mission to strengthen the connection between education and career outcomes, deepen experiential learning, and advance a forward-looking curriculum. Through this philanthropic investment, UNM also plans to expand student scholarships, build employer partnerships, and increase access to travel grants and internship programs. Jim Ellis is an alum of The University of New Mexico and has served as national vice chair of the UNM Foundation Board since 2023. Jim previously served as dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, a role he held for 12 years. Other NewsIndiana University Southeast is seeking approval to restructure the university, aiming to strengthen academic pathways, enhance student opportunities, and better align its programs with regional workforce needs. The new plan, pending approval, would take effect on 1 July and would reorganize the current six-school model into a streamlined three-college system. Under the new model, each college would merge related programs and areas of study, focusing on how programs are structured and supported. The new college distinctions include the College of Education, Arts, and Human Services; the College of Business, Communication, and Technology; and the College of Health, Nursing, and Sciences. If you have news of interest to share with the business education community, please submit press releases, relevant images, or other information to AACSB Insights via our online submission form at aacsb.edu/insights/articles/submissions/guidelines. |
Podcast