New University of Miami business dean gives a peek at his plans

After a search of over a year, a new dean of the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School officially takes his seat July 1.

Paul A. Pavlou, an AI and data science specialist, will head the private university’s business school. During his tenure, he said, Dr. Pavlou aims to propel the school forward by prioritizing executive education, an interdisciplinary focus and global visibility.

The university formed a search committee in early 2023 to recruit the school’s next leader to permanently replace John Quelch, who stepped down in October 2022, culminating a tenure that began in 2017. During the search, Ann M. Olazábal led the school as interim director.

“It is a tremendously exciting time for both the Miami Herbert Business School and for Miami. Miami is booming, and it is an unprecedented opportunity for Miami Herbert to be a driving force in the growing business ecosystem of Miami and Florida,” Dr. Pavlou said in a written statement.

“I am committed to leading Miami Herbert to the next level of excellence, success and impact.”

Dr. Pavlou highlights how transformative technologies, from the internet to blockchain, cybersecurity and AI, are changing the future of work and the role of higher education.

“At a time when Miami has become an increasingly important global tech hub, Paul’s research interests – ranging from information systems to strategy – add value to our interdisciplinary efforts and to South Florida’s blossoming innovation ecosystem,” said UM President Julio Frenk. “We are delighted to welcome him to our community.”

Dr. Pavlou previously was dean at the University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business. Before that, he was senior associate dean for faculty, research, doctoral programs and strategic initiatives at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“As a researcher, consultant, and more recently as a dean, for nearly a quarter century, I have always made a very concerted effort to forge meaningful connections with industry,” he said.

“I jokingly say that industry is our customer, and students are our product,” he said. “It is a lighthearted analogy, but one rooted in a profound truth.

Our job is to equip students with the best possible quality education that caters to what industry seeks so that they are job ready on day one.”

Hailing from Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean with a population of about 1 million, Dr. Pavlou came to the US on a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at Rice University in Houston, where he received a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. He also holds a master’s in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in information systems from the University of Southern California.

“My life has been transformed by higher education. To come from modest means, to be able to be in the US and have all these opportunities – to have worked at five elite institutions and now at the University of Miami, I feel very privileged that I’m living the American dream,” Dr. Pavlou said. “I’d like to give this opportunity to as many worthy students as possible.”

His spouse, Angelika Dimoka, will concurrently assume a faculty position in the Business Technology Department at the school.