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A Carroll School of Management faculty member for 35 years and chair of the school’s Finance Department since 2003, Hassan Tehranian is taking on a new role at the Carroll School as senior associate dean for faculty.
In his new position, which he will assume this coming Jan. 1, Tehranian – the Griffith Millennium Professor in Finance and director of the Center for Asset Management – will head up faculty development efforts, lead strategic projects, engage with alumni and fundraising activities, and work with recently arrived Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Betsy Griffith on academic and curriculum issues.
Tehranian, founder of the school’s graduate program in finance, expressed appreciation to Carroll School Dean Andy Boynton for providing him with this opportunity. “It’s an honor, and a statement of the trust Andy has in me. Andy said, ‘We have the potential to be better, and let’s work together to achieve that goal.’ And I found it hard to say no.”
Tehranian’s appointment as senior associate dean comes as the Carroll School seeks to build on growing recognition of the quality of its undergraduate program. One important bellwether of the school’s rise has been the rankings compiled by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, considered a major source on business and management education. Ranked 32nd by the publication six years ago, the Carroll School rose to fourth last year.
The school’s goal is to be at the top spot, said Tehranian, which is why he will be focusing not only on finding the best faculty but increasing resources to strengthen their research and teaching.
“We are excelling in every single department and we have the potential to be at a much higher level,” he said. “I will work with department chairs to attract, hire and maintain the best qualified faculty in the nation, which will ultimately increase significantly our reputation and ranking among peers. We want faculty members who care about teaching and also about research. Let’s provide them with enough data and support for that research and from there, everything takes care of itself. Then we’ll graduate the best students.”
Boynton said that, as the Carroll School’s ambitions for the future grow, establishing this new leadership role for Tehranian will help increase momentum.
“Hassan already has a profound and positive influence throughout the school,” he said. “From this new perch, he will expand his duties and help us accelerate our trajectory towards being the very best.”
Tehranian earned his bachelor of science degree from the Iranian Institute of Advanced Accounting and his MBA and doctoral degrees in finance from the University of Alabama. He pursues teaching and research interests in corporate finance, investments, the effect of deregulation on the structure and efficiency of the banking industry, and portfolio analysis. His work has appeared in such publications as the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Accounting Research and Accounting Review.