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Arjang A. Assad

Dean, School of Management

Professor, Management Science and Systems Department

Education

PhD, Management Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS, Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS, Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Academic Experience

Arjang A. Assad was named dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management in August 2008. During his tenure, he led a comprehensive revision of the MBA curriculum, launched a Master of Science program in accounting and significantly enhanced the Master of Science program in finance.

Assad championed and secured sponsorship for LeaderCORE, a major initiative to develop leadership skills in MBA students over the course of their two years in the program. He also was instrumental in launching the Terese Kelly Investment Group, a real-money investment fund that educates finance students on the practical aspects of global capital markets, while providing them with real-world learning experiences in investment management.

Assad helped strengthen key international programs in Bangalore, India, and Singapore, and developed an exchange agreement with Renmin University in Beijing, China.

In 2011, he led the school successfully through its accreditation review, resulting in five more years of accreditation by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

By investing in the growth and enhancement of the school’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Assad gained support from UB’s innovation fund, enabling the center to expand both the scope and reach of its activities and move into a central position in UB’s economic engagement plans.

Assad created the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Fellowship to recognize exceptional teaching and a Dean’s Research Fellowship to recognize faculty who conduct research that is published in top-tier management journals.

He previously served as professor of management science and Dean's Professor for Extraordinary Service in the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, where he had been a faculty member since 1978.

In addition, he held several key administrative positions in the school, serving as chair of the Department of Decision, Operations and Information Technologies from 1998-2003 and as senior associate dean from 2004-07.

While at Maryland, Assad was an advocate of and leader in innovative educational initiatives. He directed the IBM Total Quality Project (QUEST), a joint business and engineering program focusing on teamwork and quality management that celebrated its 20th year in 2011. He was actively engaged in enhancing the university's honors program and received the Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award in 2002, the highest honor given for contributions to undergraduate education at the university, along with several other teaching awards. His numerous service roles include serving as a champion and the founding chair of the Academy for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Research

Assad’s research interests include operations and quality management, optimization of distribution systems, mathematical programming and the history of operations research. He has authored or edited a number of books, as well as more than 50 refereed articles and book chapters. His most recent book, “Profiles in Operations Research: Pioneers and Innovators” (July 2011, Springer Press), was co-authored with Saul I. Gass. The book traces the history of operations research, or the science of decision making, from its military origins in the late 1930s to its current use in managerial planning and complex global operations techniques throughout business and industry.

He has been a member of the editorial boards of several prestigious scholarly journals, including Operations Research, Transportation Science, and Production and Operations Management.

Business and Consulting Experience

Assad has worked on a variety of distribution and manufacturing problems as a consultant for major U.S. corporations, including Mid-Atlantic Toyota, Forster Mfg., DuPont, UPS, Federal Express, IBM and the Orkand Corporation. As a consultant, he also has analyzed operational issues for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Army, the American Red Cross and the U.S. Transportation and Energy departments.

As a result of these activities, Assad founded (and subsequently sold) a company that produced routing and distribution software.