MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg has announced the appointment of Angappa Gunasekaran as director of the School of Business Administration, effective August 16.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Gunasekaran to Penn State Harrisburg. His wealth of experience will undoubtedly serve to advance not only the School of Business Administration, but the college as a whole,” said Chancellor John M. Mason.
Gunasekaran currently serves as a special assistant to the provost for Academic Affairs and Student Success at California State University in Bakersfield, California, where he also has served as dean of the School of Business and Public Administration, and as the principal investigator for the Small Business Development Center in Bakersfield. He also is professor of operations management.
Previously, he served as dean of the Charlton College of Business, chairperson of the Department of Decision and Information Sciences, and the founding director of Business Innovation Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He has more than 10 years of global work experience.
During his tenure in academe, he has focused on creating student-centered learning, building new academic programs, developing and implementing strategic plans, building community relationships and partnerships, developing interdisciplinary educational and research programs, and diversifying revenue streams. Gunasekaran also has provided successful leadership for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditations.
Through a global network of international universities and academics, Gunasekaran worked to increase international collaboration in research, grants, and student recruitment. He has served as visiting professor at many universities around the world. He has also been active with AACSB, as chair and a member of peer review teams for various business schools and has been active with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and regional accreditations including the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and Western Association of Schools and Colleges. He was a service-learning fellow at UMass Dartmouth.
Gunasekaran has more than 400 journal articles published and 54,000 citations. He has served on the editorial board of over 30 peer-reviewed journals and has organized several international workshops and conferences in the emerging areas of operations management and information systems.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Government College of Technology (Coimbatore, India); a master’s in industrial engineering from PSG College of Technology (Coimbatore); and a doctorate in industrial engineering and operations research from Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay).
“I am honored and excited to lead the School of Business Administration with outstanding faculty, staff and students at Penn State Harrisburg,” said Gunasekaran. “I truly share the vision for the school to become a nationally and internationally renowned business school for excellence in curriculum innovation, student access and success, recruiting and retaining high-quality faculty and staff, high-quality teaching and research, developing partnerships with business and industry in the greater Harrisburg area, internationalization, fundraising, and maintaining accreditations.
“I would like to build upon the strong foundation the school already has by working collaboratively with all the stakeholders in order to take it to the next level of excellence, particularly in areas such as student-centered learning including online, experiential and service learning, supporting faculty and staff professional development, creating an ecosystem for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and developing a career-ready workforce for the region," added Gunasekaran." I look forward to joining the Penn State Harrisburg community.”