Karthik Kannan Joins The University of Arizona as the Eller College of Management’s New Dean

Photo courtesy of Purdue University Communications

Karthik Kannan, PhD will join the University of Arizona on August 1 as dean of the Eller College of Management. In this role, Dr. Kannan will build upon the Eller College’s success and reputation as a transformative, top-ranked business school. 
Dr. Kannan joins Eller from Purdue University, where he is currently the associate dean for research and partnerships at the Krannert School of Management, director for Krenicki Center for Business Analytics & Machine Learning, as well as the Thomas Howatt Chair in Management and professor of management.

Dr. Kannan earned his PhD in information systems from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management. He also earned master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering and public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon. 

As associate dean of research and partnerships at Purdue, Kannan oversaw $1.3M in research investments, including competitive faculty allocations, post-doctoral fellow competitions, Business Ethics Award and the Krannert Research Data initiative. He participated in the Big 10 Alliance’s Academic Leadership Program from 2021 to 2022. 
While director for the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics & Machine Learning at Purdue, he helped raise $5M to name the Krenicki Center. He also has authored numerous peer-reviewed journals and advised 18 doctoral students. 

“I would like to thank everyone for their patience and perseverance as we navigated this search,” says Jeff Schatzberg, dean for an interim period and Frances McClelland Chair of Accounting. “It has been my sincere privilege to serve as the Eller College Dean for an Interim Period and I look forward to making the transition process for Dr. Kannan as smooth as possible.”