Arjang Assad Named Haller Dean of Katz Business School

Arjang A. Assad will become the Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration, effective July 1. Assad succeeds John Delaney, who will return to a faculty position after nine successful years as dean.

“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. “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.” 

Assad has accumulated more than 20 years of experience at two public research universities that, like Pitt, are members of the prestigious Association of American Universities. Currently, he is dean of the School of Management at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. During his seven-year tenure as dean, the faculty and school have expanded both in size and reputation. Under his leadership, the school has developed key strategic priorities—including new programs in health care management, leadership, and entrepreneurship—that have advanced both the school and the university. He also has launched important initiatives to enrich learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Management and has enhanced the school’s research agenda through faculty hires and the creation of research fellowships that recognize faculty achievement. 

Previously, Assad held positions of increasing responsibility at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland where he was instrumental in launching the highly ranked Decision, Operations & Information Technologies Department and where, as senior associate dean, he was a key member of the leadership team during a period of exceptional growth. In 2007 he was named the inaugural Dean’s Professor for Extraordinary Service in recognition of his service to the school.

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. 

Assad holds four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—a doctorate in management science from its Sloan School of Management, master’s degrees in chemical engineering and operations research, and a 

bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration leverages the opportunities created by its urban location and strong research culture to prepare students to be catalysts for change. Its mission is to merge communities of knowledge with communities of practice to create exceptional experience-based learning outcomes for students and relevant insights for business leaders.

The Katz MBA program was established in 1960, although the business school’s roots go back to 1907 with the University of Pittsburgh’s Evening School of Economics, Accounts, and Finance. Katz was the world’s first college to offer a one-year MBA program. That spirit of innovation is reflected in the life’s work of the school’s namesake: the late Joseph M. Katz, a consummate entrepreneur, businessman, and Pittsburgher. Katz School graduates form a worldwide network—23,000 Katz alumni live and work in more than 90 countries. Enrollment at the undergraduate College of Business Administration tops 2,000 students a year and complements the nearly 1,000 students in Katz’s master’s and doctoral programs. The rigorous academic programs are based upon four key principles: experience-based learning, collaboration, innovation, and globalism.