Insider Gets Deanship At Buffalo School Of Management

Paul E. Tesluk has been at UB since 2011

Paul E. Tesluk has been at UB since 2011

After what it called a global search for a new dean, the University of Buffalo School of Management ultimately found one in its own backyard. The school today (April 22) named Paul E. Tesluk, a professor of organizational behavior at the school who had served as interim dean for the past nine months, as its new leader.

Tesluk, whose appointment is effective April 25, succeeds Arjang A. Assad, who stepped down as dean of after nearly seven years to lead the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration. He was one of three finalists who presented to faculty, staff and students in early April. Isaacson, Miller, the search firm, assisted the university appointed search committee headed by Liesl Folks, dean of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Tesluk, a prolific scholar in leadership, team effectiveness and organizational performance,  joined UB in 2011 after a 13-year stint on the faculty at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. At Smith, he served as chair of the Department of Management and Organization and as co-director of the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change. Besides serving as UB’s interim dean since July of last year,  he spent two years  as chair of the Department of Organization and Human Resources and was academic director of the school’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. He is one of among some 82 full-time faculty at the business school, which boasts 2,952 undergraduates, 511 MBA students, 394 master of science students, and 57 PhD candidates.

WILL LINK SCHOLARSHIP, EDUCATION & PRACTICE

In a statement, Tesluk said he was excited by the opportunity to make the school “a powerful catalyst for innovation, not only in business but also in addressing the most pressing challenges we face in society today. We will do so by serving as a creator and disseminator of new knowledge in collaboration with other academic disciplines. We will link scholarship, education and practice, building new models of lifelong learning and developing leaders for the future. Together, I believe we can continue the upward trajectory of the school in a way that can redefine the image of a modern school of management at a major, public research-intensive university.”

The university’s announcement included the usual obligatory statements by officials. “I am very pleased to announce Dr. Tesluk’s appointment,” UB Provost Charles F. Zukoski said in a statement. “He brings to this role impressive scholarly accomplishments, significant leadership experience and expertise, and a clear vision for furthering the School of Management’s mission of advancing the global practice of management through research, education and service.”

“This is an outstanding outcome for our university,” added UB President Satish K. Tripathi. “Dr. Tesluk’s leadership and impact as a scholar, administrator and educator set him apart within a distinguished pool of top candidates. In addition to these impressive qualifications, he has a deep, broad and sophisticated understanding of the UB School of Management’s distinctive strengths. With his strong and compelling vision for the school, the school will be further known nationally and internationally for excellence and innovation.”

HIS RESEARCH HELPED TO SECURE MORE THAN $2.5 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING

The university said that Tesluk’s research in the areas of virtual team effectiveness and organizational innovation and change has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and several other funding agencies; he has secured more than $2.5 million in grant funding in recent years. He has served on the editorial boards of several of the leading academic journals in the management field.

Tesluk has worked with numerous private- and public-sector organizations in both research and consulting capacities. His consulting activities have focused on leadership development, organizational transitions to high-involvement work practices, work team design and performance, organizational climate and performance, and performance management and reward-system design.

While earning doctoral and master’s degrees from The Pennsylvania State University, Tesluk majored in industrial/organizational psychology and minored in management and organization. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University.

Tesluk and his wife, Megan Hurley, PhD, are native Buffalonians. The family moved back to Buffalo in 2012 — Tesluk commuted to UB from Washington, D.C., during his first year on the faculty — after being away for more than 25 years.