An extensive national search yields distinguished researcher and proven academic leader

CLEVELAND – Dr. Joseph B. Mazzola, a highly respected business scholar and former professor at Duke and Georgetown universities, has been named dean of the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University. Dr. Mazzola will serve concurrently as dean and the Monte Ahuja Endowed Chair. His position at CSU will be effective July 1, 2013.

The appointment was made after an extensive national search that yielded a long list of viable candidates, said CSU President Ronald M. Berkman.

"This is an extraordinary move forward for Cleveland State," he said. "With a vast wealth of experience from several world-class research institutions, Dr. Mazzola's vision for the Ahuja College will help transform CSU into the principal resource for our region's business leaders. We are honored to have him join our university."

Dr. Mazzola joins CSU from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was the Belk Distinguished Professor of Business. During his tenure at UNC Charlotte, Dr. Mazzola served as dean of the Belk College from 2008 to 2011.

A distinguished scholar in operations management, Dr. Mazzola was a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University from 1999 to 2008, where he served as senior associate dean and then as executive dean of faculty. Prior to that, he was a tenured faculty member in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where he served from 1984 to 1999. Dr. Mazzola also served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University. He was a faculty member at the Governor's School of North Carolina and a visiting faculty member at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Throughout his notable academic career, Dr. Mazzola has published extensively, including two books and a wide variety of scholarly peer reviewed articles on topics that include operations management, management science, mathematical programming, manufacturing and global supply chains.

In 2011 CSU's College of Business was renamed after entrepreneur and CSU alumnus Monte Ahuja, whose $10 million charitable gift was earmarked for scholarships and an endowed chair, which Dr. Mazzola will hold.

"The business world has changed dramatically in recent decades through globalization and technological innovation. It is critical that business education be equally as transformative," said Dr. Mazzola. "Our graduates must be prepared for not just what they can expect in today's business climate, but they must also develop their capability and hone their skills to address tomorrow's challenges."

Dr. Mazzola earned a Ph.D in Industrial Administration and a Master's Degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He earned a Master's in mathematics from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor's from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.