Published November 22, 2021
Dear University Community:
I am writing to share with you that Dean Paul Tesluk will step down as dean of the School of Management at the end of the current academic year to return to his faculty role as Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Department of Organization and Human Resources.
Dean Tesluk was appointed dean in 2016, after serving in an interim capacity. A dedicated dean, he has led the school through a nationally challenging time for management education while strengthening the school’s programs and partnerships. Under his leadership, the school has consistently ranked in the top 10% nationally across various major school and MBA rankings, including the most recent Bloomberg News ranking where UB’s MBA program improved 12 spots to achieve a top 30 ranking among MBAs at public universities.
To align the school’s vision and goals with UB’s institutional priorities, Dean Tesluk led the School of Management in a comprehensive strategic planning effort. This process resulted in a revised mission and four overarching goals: defining the future of management; forging highly capable, engaged and ethical leaders; making a positive impact on business and society; and creating a school with world-class capabilities. These goals provide a prominent focus for five key strategic initiatives around leadership, entrepreneurship, health care management, social innovation, and global programs.
Under Dean Tesluk’s leadership, the school has developed educational programs that align with students’ needs and help meet the growing high-tech workforce demands of society and has several other new programs in development. During his tenure as dean, the school introduced a new undergraduate program in information technology and management, a master’s degree in business analytics, a robust and rapidly expanding set of micro-credentials and non-degree programs, and innovations in existing programs including adapting the Professional MBA program to hybrid format. In addition, the school has expanded student fellowships and internships and enhanced international opportunities for students, leading to a significant increase in student engagement in experiential learning and networking opportunities.
To enhance innovation and impact and provide students with unique educational opportunities, Dean Tesluk has built partnerships with other UB schools and encouraged management faculty to participate in cross-disciplinary and university-wide initiatives. Examples of this can be seen in the Stephen Stills Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. To prepare students to collaborate with and contribute to successful community non-profits, in partnership with the School of Social Work and the College of Arts and Sciences, the school created a unique Social Impact Fellows program that places interdisciplinary teams of students in internships in local mission-driven organizations.
Understanding the transformative impact of philanthropy, Dean Tesluk has led a comprehensive campaign to support the school’s research, education and engagement activities. During his tenure, philanthropic gifts to the school and management faculty philanthropy participation rates have increased substantially, resulting in the creation of new endowed chairs, interdisciplinary programs, student-centered signature spaces such as the Paula Agrusa Plaza, and expanded student scholarships, particularly those that advance diversity, equity and inclusion among students.
An internationally recognized expert in leadership development, team design and effectiveness, and organizational climate and performance, Dean Tesluk is a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Society for Organizational Behavior. He is a prolific scholar, who has consulted with numerous private and public organizations and served on the editorial boards of several of the most selective journals in his field. Dean Tesluk was recruited from the University of Maryland, College Park to join UB as Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior in 2011.
For more information, please see the UB Now story.
Dean Tesluk has had a significant impact on the School of Management and UB and established a solid foundation for future success. We are grateful to Dean Tesluk for his continued commitment to the school and university.
I will commence a search for the next School of Management dean later this semester with plans to have new leadership determined by the end of spring 2022.
Sincerely,
A. Scott Weber Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs