Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson College of Business has announced its new Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management and Program Director for Johnson’s MS in Business Analytics Vishal Gaur will succeed Dean Mark Nelson as of July 1, 2023. Nelson, who has been a Cornell faculty member for 33 years, will return full-time to his position as professor of accounting.
The school spent nearly a year on the global search for Nelson’s replacement, and Gaur’s qualifications are impressive. He received his BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1993, his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 1995, and earned his Ph.D. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001.
Gaur teaches graduate courses in operations management, digital business and retail operations, and data analysis; and his expertise includes quantitative modeling and business analytics. He previously served five years as associate dean of MBA programs, where he launched the Digital Technology Immersion, a program for Master of Professional Studies and business school students to collaborate on real-world projects for partnering companies like Verizon, Ensighten, and Thomson Reuters. He created the Master of Science in Business Analytics, a STEM-designated accelerated master’s program for working professionals. Gaur also spent seven years as a department editor for the Operations Management Department of Management Science.
With a reputation among students for his “care and attention,” Gaur’s teaching has been recognized throughout his career, receiving the Class of 1992 Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, being named the 2020 recipient of the Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, and receiving the Johnson School’s Core Faculty Award on three occasions.
Gaur’s appointment places him on Dean Andrew Karolyi College Leadership Team. Karolyi was quoted in the school’s press coverage saying, “Vishal has demonstrated his outstanding commitment to the Johnson School time and again, as a distinguished scholar, as an award-winning educator and especially as an effective leader. I couldn’t be more pleased that he’ll lead the school into its next phase.”
Gaur had this to say on his new leadership position in the Cornell Chronicle: “The Johnson School is a leader in graduate business education and scholarship. I’m really excited to work towards the mission of the school.”
Read the full announcement here.
