Katz Turns To Buffalo For New Dean

An Iranian, Assad has four MIT degrees on his resume, including a PhD in management science, MS degrees in both chemical engineerings and operations research, and a BS in mathematics. Katz said he is widely recognized for his scholarly contributions to operations and quality management, optimization of distribution systems, and the history of operations research, Assad has authored or edited more than 50 refereed articles and book chapters, and has served as a member of the editorial boards of several prestigious scholarly journals, including Operations Research, Transportation Science, and Production and Operations Management. He has received numerous awards for his teaching, including the Kirwan

Undergraduate Education Award, the University of Maryland’s highest campus recognition for contributions to undergraduate education.

During his career as an expert in operations management, Assad has also done some consulting work for Mid-Atlantic Toyota, Forster Mfg, DuPont, UPS, Federal Express, IBM and the Orkand Corporation. As a consultant, he has analyzed operational issues for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Bureau of the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Army, the U.S. departments of Transportation and Energy, and the Red Cross.

SEARCH COMMITTEE INCLUDED TWO STUDENTS

He succeeds John Delaney who announced last September that he would step down from the deanship after a near nine-year run. “In light of the arrival of the new chancellor and all of the inevitable changes that will follow, the timing for change at Katz/CBA is appropriate,” Delaney said at the time.

“Dr. Assad’s vision for the Katz Graduate School and the College of Business

Administration is well matched to our aspirations for the school and the University,” said Pitt

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson in a statement. “He is committed to building the school in ways that will enhance the scholarly contributions of the faculty and enable our students to succeed in a global, multicultural marketplace.”

The search committee for the Katz job included David Denis, Andrew Stephen, John Harry Evans III and Vanitha Swaminithan, all professors at the Katz Graduate School, and Laurie J. Kirsch, vice provost for faculty development. Kerry Soso, a second-year Katz graduate student, and Courtney Slack, a junior marketing major, were also a part of the search committee.

DON’T MISS: A BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN LOOKS TEN YEARS BACK AND TEN YEARS FORWARD or DELANEY TO STEP DOWN FROM DEANSHIP AT KATZ