Dear Santa Clara Community,

I am pleased to share that Santa Clara University has appointed Dr. Ravi Bapna as the next Dean of the Leavey School of Business, effective September 1, 2026. Following an extensive national search, Dr. Bapna's selection reflects his exceptional leadership in business and his deep commitment to community engagement, both locally and globally. 

Ravi is currently the Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Business Analytics and Information Systems at the Carlson School of Management, where he also serves as Academic Director of the Analytics for Good Institute and the Carlson Analytics Lab (CAL). He is an award-winning scholar with expertise in analytics, AI and ML, digital transformation, social media, and the economics of information systems. As co-founder of Carlson's top-ranked Master of Science in Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (MSBAi) program, Bapna also runs CAL, which facilitates industry-academia connections in cutting-edge AI and ML applications. CAL's holistic experiential learning model has been widely recognized, and its work has been featured in prestigious outlets such as Sloan Management Review and the Star Tribune. 

Dr. Bapna will lead the Leavey School of Business in implementing a bold vision aligned with our Impact 2030 strategic plan. He will also focus on strengthening our academic programs, bolstering research, and engaging industry and community partners. 

Professor Bapna completed his Bachelors in Commerce from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, and Bachelors in Computer Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut, where his thesis was in the area of economics of online auctions.  You can find more information about his background in the press release.

We are also pleased to welcome Dr. Sofia Bapna to the faculty in the Leavey School of Business. Sofia will join the Department of Information Systems and Analytics as an associate professor. Her research, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation, examines gender gaps in technology, digital platforms, and equity crowdfunding. Her recent work explores AI applications in education.  

In closing, I want to thank Naren Agrawal for serving as interim dean. Naren has done a superb job of leading the school for the past eight months. He has been an outstanding partner, and I am deeply grateful to him for his smart, competent, and humane leadership. And, I want to extend my appreciation to our community members who served on the search committee:   

Ram Bala, Associate Professor, Information Systems and Analytics
Jacqueline Ceja '26, Undergraduate Marketing Major
Sanjiv Das, Professor, Finance
Lenore Grant '86, Senior Director, Graduate Business
John Ifcher, Professor, Economics 
Yongtae Kim, Professor, Accounting
Juan Montermoso, Teaching Professor, Marketing
Chris Norris, Executive Director, Ciocca Center (Chair)
Helen Popper, Professor, Economics
Jo-Ellen Pozner, Associate Professor, Management and Entrepreneurship
Fr. Tom Smolich S.J '86, Santa Clara University Trustee
Cat Tramel, Assistant Vice President, University Relations
John Torrey '93, Santa Clara University Trustee
Sabrina Zirkel, Dean, Education and Counseling Psychology 

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Bapna to Santa Clara. I am confident his leadership will drive innovation and inspire our business students to build a more just, humane, and sustainable world.

Sincerely,

James M. Glaser
Provost and Executive Vice President
Professor of Political Science