UCLA Anderson Names Osborne Interim Dean

Add one more title to a resume and list of accomplishments as long as your arm. Professor Alfred Osborne Jr., whose career at UCLA dates back nearly 50 years, has been appointed interim dean of the Anderson School of Management, effective July 1. Osborne has agreed to serve following Dean Judy Olian’s departure to become president of Quinnipiac University.

“Chancellor Block and I appreciate Al’s willingness to serve as interim dean, and have every confidence in his ability to provide strong leadership and continuity for the school,” said Scott Waugh, UCLA executive vice chancellor and provost, who made the announcement in an email sent today (May 22).

Osborne’s career has been about as impressive as anyone’s in business education — and while it has all been spent in Los Angeles, its foundation was built in Northern California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, a master’s in economics, an MBA in finance, and a doctorate in business economics, all from Stanford University. He joined UCLA in 1972 as an assistant professor of business economics, and currently serves as UCLA Anderson’s senior associate dean for external affairs. In that role he directs resource development, alumni relations, and executive education, balancing those duties with his role as a professor of global economics, management, and entrepreneurship, and founder and faculty director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

OSBORNE HAS SERVED AS ASSOCIATE DEAN AND DIRECTOR OF MBA PROGRAMS

According to a news release from the school, during his career at Anderson Osborne has been heavily engaged in the academic life of the school, including serving as associate dean and director of the MBA programs. As associate dean for program development, he supported the establishment of centers in finance and real estate, international business and entrepreneurship. He is also responsible for the development of a corporate governance program designed to help officers and directors of public and private companies prepare for their fiduciary duties and legal responsibilities.

“Long committed to social innovation, Osborne has created several programs that apply entrepreneurial business models to the nonprofit world,” according to UCLA’s announcement. “More recently, in collaboration with other academic units on campus, he helped to design and launch the minor in entrepreneurship and the Anderson Venture Accelerator, which supports early-stage ventures affiliated with UCLA.”

Osborne maintains research interests in entrepreneurship and corporate innovation; family and closely held businesses; access to capital for entrepreneurs, particularly those from under-represented communities; and the role of governance in organizations. He has served on the editorial boards of several journals, was an economic policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, directed studies at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and consults with growing organizations on business and economic matters. He has also served on the boards of several corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Olin announced her departure in January after a dozen years as dean of the Anderson School. Waugh said Olian has left “an indelible mark on the school,” including leading a hard-fought effort through bureaucratic battles and faculty politics to gain self-supporting status for the school’s full-time MBA program. She raised $400 million in philanthropic support at a public institution with little history of fundraising, bringing in a record $100 million gift from the late Marion Anderson. The school also has made great strides toward globalization and now has an entire portfolio of international immersions for students, while the alumni network outside the U.S. has grown to 25 chapters and affiliates from just two when Olian got to the school in 2006.

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