Rohit Verma named dean of South Carolina B school

IIT Kanpur graduate is the founding provost of Vietnam’s first private, not-for-profit university

An award-winning Indian American professor Rohit Verma has been selected as dean of the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, effective August 1.

Verma joins the Moore School from VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he serves as the founding provost of Vietnam’s first private, not-for-profit university based on international standards, according to a university press release.

A bachelor of technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur with a PhD (Business Administration) and MS (Engineering) from the University of Utah, Verma is also a professor of operations, technology and information management at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business.

Read: Ruma Chopra named Dean of Utah University’s Transform school (May 12, 2023)

Verma looks forward to strengthening the school’s international reputation through expanded opportunities for impactful research, active and experiential learning, and meaningful engagement with industry thought leaders, corporations, and community members, the release said.

“From the very early stage in my academic career, I have taken a multi-disciplinary perspective and collaborated actively with colleagues from other fields,” said Verma.

“I hope to collaborate with all colleagues at the Moore School in ensuring that the school’s core values are reflected and prioritized in all aspects of our work.”

Prior to his role at VinUniversity, which was established in strategic collaboration with Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, Verma served as dean of external affairs at Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business.

Verma’s leadership experience at Cornell also includes serving as the executive director for the Center for Hospitality Research and as the founding executive director for the Institute for Healthy Futures.

While on leave from Cornell since 2019, Verma has served in several concurrent leadership positions at VinUniversity, where he won the Excellent Leader Award in 2021.

“Dr. Verma is an award-winning teacher, a successful researcher, and an innovative leader, and we are pleased to welcome him to the Carolina family,” USC President Michael Amiridis said.

Read: Vishal Gaur named dean of Cornell School of Management (May 9, 2023)

“His excellent academic record and his international perspective will be great complements to the leading-edge work of the Darla Moore School of Business.”

As a founding member of an international university, Verma was in a unique position to shape the school’s standard of excellence through innovative and decisive leadership, the university stated.

During his time with VinUniversity, Verma has been able to recruit highly accomplished and diverse academic leaders and faculty from over 10 countries, establish a fully integrated campus life system, and develop curriculum programs for all degree programs based on active learning and experiential learning. He is eager to apply the lessons he has learned to the Darla Moore School of Business.

“Dr. Verma is a world-class leader whose experience and success at both Cornell University and VinUniversity have prepared him to add tremendous value to the Moore School,” said Donna Arnett, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Verma to uphold and enhance the Moore School’s outstanding international reputation, and to continue advancing the incredible contributions the school is making to the world of business.”

Read: Arvind Raman named dean of Purdue engineering college (February 8, 2023)

The Darla Moore School of Business is globally recognized for its international business program and boasts outstanding job placement rates, thanks to the robust education students receive in applied business analytics, experiential learning, and interpersonal and communications skills.

The school is also home to 12 research centers, which bolster the university’s research excellence through faculty members’ groundbreaking work and industry expertise.