Search for School of Management dean underway

Published January 20, 2022

The search for a new dean for the School of Management is underway, with the appointment of a search committee headed by Kemper E. Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The search is seeking a successor to Paul Tesluk, who will step down as dean at the end of the academic year to return to his faculty role as Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Department of Organization and Human Resources.

The search committee, appointed by Provost A. Scott Weber, is composed of faculty from the School of Management, as well as other UB and community members with relevant professional interests and expertise. In addition to Lewis, members are:

  • Keith A. Alford, dean, School of Social Work.
  • Gwen S. Appelbaum, assistant dean and director, Frank L. Ciminelli Family Career Resource Center, School of Management.
  • Kee Chung, Louis M. Jacobs Professor of Financial Planning and Control, Department of Finance, School of Management.
  • Micheal Dent, professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Gregg S. Fisher, founder and portfolio manager, Quent Capital, and chair, Dean’s Advisory Council, School of Management.
  • Malkijah Griffiths, MBA/MPH student, School of Management, School of Public Health and Health Professions.
  • Emily Grijalva, associate professor, Department of Organization and Human Resources, School of Management.
  • Feng Gu, professor and chair, Department of Accounting and Law, School of Management.
  • Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School.
  • Arun Lakshmanan, associate professor, Department of Marketing, School of Management.
  • Alan J. Lesse, associate professor, Department of Medicine, and senior associate dean for medical curriculum, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
  • Jeffrey J. Piscitelli, executive director of advancement, School of Management.
  • Natalie Simpson, associate professor and chair, Department of Operations Management and Strategy, School of Management.
  • Sanjukta Das Smith, associate professor and chair, Department of Management Science and Systems, School of Management.

UB also has hired the consulting firm of Russell Reynolds Associates to assist in the search. Jett Pihakis, the principal from the firm working on the search, has significant experience in recruiting leaders to UB at the cabinet, decanal and department chair levels.

Weber says the panel will begin its work this month and conclude by the end of the spring semester. He adds that Lewis will update the campus community in the coming months on the progress of the search. Information will also be available on the search website.