Search committee for dean of the Pamplin College of Business announced

Virginia Tech has finalized the committee tasked with overseeing a national search for the next dean of the Pamplin College of Business.

As the head of the college, the dean sets the academic tenor, promotes a culture of outstanding innovation and scholarship, and represents its faculty, students, and staff to the university and beyond. The dean also has financial and administrative management responsibility for the college, guides and oversees its annual operating budget, advocates to the central administration for investment in new initiatives, leads its fundraising efforts, and provides effective leadership for the college’s faculty and administrative staff.

The new dean will replace Robert Sumichrast, the Richard E. Sorensen Chair and dean of the Pamplin College of Business since 2013, who announced his retirement in August. Sumichrast will officially retire at the end of the 2021-22 academic year.

Laura Belmonte, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, will chair the search committee and guide the application/nomination, candidate review and interview, campus engagement, and finalist selection processes. Search committee members are as follows:

• Viswanath (Venki) Venkatesh – professor, Business Information Technology
• Nancy McGehee – professor, Hospitality and Tourism Management
• Jonathan Everett – assistant professor of practice, Real Estate
• Broderick Turner – assistant professor, Marketing
• Beth Osborne – director of finance
• Misty Blankenship – administrative academic manager, Marketing
• France Belanger – University Distinguished Professor, Accounting and Information Systems
• Richard (Rick) Hunt – associate professor and director of doctoral studies, Management
• Quinton Nottingham – associate professor, Business Information Technology
• Sarah Stein – associate professor, Accounting and Information Systems
• Yessenia Telez – assistant professor, Finance
• Raman Kumar – professor, Finance
• Anna-Katherine (A.K.) Ward – associate professor, Management; faculty senator and college Faculty Association president
• Michelle Harding – assistant professor, Accounting and Information Systems
• Linda Christie – director, Center for Business Analytics
• Bridget Ryan Berman – chair, Pamplin Advisory Council Cabinet
• Dana Hansson – director, MBA programs
• Phil Xiang – professor and head, Feiertag Hospitality and Tourism Management Department

The search committee will be supported by a staff that includes Amy Hogan, assistant provost for Leadership Initiatives, and Leslie Sullivan, coordinator for Faculty Affairs.

Virginia Tech is also in the process of securing a firm that will assist with this search process and will solicit and receive nominations for the position. The position description, application/nomination process, and search updates will be available on the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost website.