Laku Chidambaram named Oklahoma University business college dean

Under Indian American professor’s leadership, Price College’s student enrollment registered double the growth from two years ago

By Arun Kumar

Indian American professor Laku Chidambaram has been named dean of the Oklahoma University’s  Michael F. Price College of Business after serving as interim dean of the college since last July.

“Dr. Chidambaram has been a key figure in Price College for over two decades, and under his leadership as interim dean, the college’s momentum has only accelerated,” said André-Denis Wright, senior vice president and provost of Norman, Oklahoma-based public research university. “His deep experience, clear vision and unwavering commitment to students make him exceptionally well-suited to guide the college into its next chapter.”

READ: Ganesh Thakur named president of Texas science academy (May 26th, 2025) 

Chidambaram holds the Michael F. Price Chair in Business and is a Provost Faculty Fellow. Prior to being named the college’s interim dean, he served as the senior associate dean for academic programs and engagement at Price College, where he oversaw the master’s, executive and undergraduate programs.

Under Chidambaram’s leadership, Price College’s student enrollment reached a record 6,311 this fall, a 10% increase over the previous year and double the growth from two years ago, according to a university release.

As of fall 2024, one in five OU students and one in four incoming freshmen were business majors. Price College’s rankings in the U.S. News and World Report have climbed 17 spots for its BBA program, and it is ranked No. 33 among public schools.

It has also been ranked No. 14 by Bloomberg Businessweek in terms of return on investment for the college’s MBA program and holds national rankings for its online and executive MBA programs.

Philanthropic giving has also grown under Chidambaram’s leadership, with approximately $25 million in donations and pledges secured, including the recently established Leo Mingee and Lauren Von Mingee First-Generation Business Scholars Fund, supported by a $6 million gift from Oklahoma entrepreneurs and philanthropists Leo Mingee and Lauren Von Mingee.

The fund is the largest scholarship endowment dedicated to supporting first-generation students at OU and provides significant resources for business majors who are the first in their families to attend college.

During his tenure, graduate degree programs more than doubled from five to twelve, including collaborative programs with eleven colleges across the university.

The undergraduate program added twelve new offerings, comprising two majors, four minors and six certificates. The ensuing growth in enrollment, averaging about 6% annually, has resulted in additional revenue streams, new faculty lines and broader industry impact.

According to Chidambaram, reimagining the student experience by integrating experiential components, study abroad opportunities, leadership development and soft skills into business curricula has resulted in better student placements, higher starting salaries and national rankings for every program established more than one year ago.

His research on computer-supported collaborative work has been published in top management information systems journals. He has served on 28 dissertation committees, chairing seven.

He founded the eService Journal, published by the Indiana University Press, in 2001. He has served on various editorial boards and was program co-chair of America’s Conference on Information Systems.

In 2019, he was inducted by the Association for Information Systems (AIS) as an AIS Distinguished Member Cum Laude to its inaugural class. Chidambaram has taught doctoral, executive, master’s and undergraduate courses and received nine teaching awards from the three universities that he has served.

His current focus is on leveraging generative AI to improve individual and institutional outcomes, and he shares his insights in a monthly newsletter, AI and I, published on LinkedIn. He holds a doctorate from Indiana University, an MBA from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Loyola College.