Yale SOM Searches for New Dean

In April, Yale President Richard C. Levin announced the formation of a committee to begin the search for a new dean for the Yale School of Management. Current Dean Sharon Oster plans to step down at the end of the 2009-2010 school year and return to her role as a senior member of the SOM faculty.

Levin has appointed James N. Baron, the William S. Beinecke Professor of Management and Professor of Sociology, to head the faculty search committee, along with seven other SOM and Yale faculty:

• Rick Antle, William S. Beinecke Professor of Accounting 
• Nicholas C. Barberis, Stephen & Camille Schramm Professor of Finance 
• Judith A. Chevalier, William S. Beinecke Professor of Economics and Finance 
• Ravi Dhar, George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing and Director of the Center for Customer Insights 
• Gary B. Gorton, Frederick Frank Class of 1954 Professor of Management and Finance 
• Edward H. Kaplan, William N. & Marie A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences, Professor of Engineering, Professor of Public Health 
• Frances Rosenbluth, Damon Wells Professor of International Politics and Chair Political Science Department

Levin also created an alumni advisory board to be chaired by Senior Fellow of the Corporation Roland W. Betts YC '68 and including Charles D. Ellis YC '59, Ellis B. Jones '79, Linda A. Mason '80, Edward J. McKinley '79, Ranjani Hopkins Nagaswami '86, and George U. Wyper '84.

Baron met with SOM staff in early July to provide an update on the search process. He said that the search is in its early stages and that the committee is interested in a wide variety of potential candidates. Baron and other members of the committee have already conferred — or have plans to consult — with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and leaders of other business schools to better understand the needs of the many constituencies around the institution. The University has also engaged an executive search firm and advertised the position both domestically and internationally.

“With all that the school has accomplished in the last few years, including the development of the integrated MBA curriculum, there is a strong foundation to build on,” said Baron. “The majority of people we’ve talked to recognize that, while also seeing the strategic opportunity for SOM to play a leading role in the world of business and management education.”

The committee welcomes suggestions and comments about the dean search, which can be sent to deansearch@som.yale.edu.