April 27, 2007
UM Appoints Barbara E. Kahn Dean of School of Business Administration
Noted Wharton Scholar’s Research Interests Include Marketing Healthcare
|
Coral Gables, FL (April 27, 2007) - The University of Miami announced today the appointment of Barbara E. Kahn, Ph.D., as the new Dean at the School of Business Administration. She replaces Dr. Paul K. Sugrue, who has served as Dean for 15 years and a member of the faculty for 30 years.
“Barbara Kahn brings to the School of Business an uncommonly distinguished academic record – she is a world-expert on consumer choice and marketing – and proven administrative skills,” said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala. “Her energy and first-rate ideas about business education impressed everyone who met her. We have no doubt that she will make her mark not only on the School of Business but on the rest of the University.”
Dr. Kahn is currently the Dorothy Silberberg Professor of Marketing and Vice Dean and Director of the Undergraduate Division at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute and a faculty member of the Graduate Group in the Psychology Department. A noted scholar on consumer choice, variety seeking, and brand loyalty, her research provides marketing managers with a better understanding of consumer decision-making. The Undergraduate Division of the Wharton School that Dr. Kahn directed has consistently been ranked the No.1 undergraduate business program by U. S. News & World Report and Business Week.
“Barbara Kahn is a world-class scholar and a first-rate administrator,” said University of Miami Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Thomas LeBlanc. “The undergraduate program that she directs at the Wharton School is consistently ranked the best in the nation. Her vision for the School of Business Administration is compelling, and will bring the school to the next level of excellence.”
Top-tier academic journals have published Dr. Kahn’s research, including the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science and the Journal of Consumer Psychology. She also co-authored the book, Grocery Revolution: The New Focus on the Consumer, which chronicled the dramatically changing supermarket industry and outlined how consumers make choices within the supermarket. Dr. Kahn’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Marketing Science Institute.
“I am very excited to be chosen as the next Dean of the Business School at the University of Miami,” Kahn said. “I have been extremely impressed by Dr. Shalala’s strong leadership and the significant strides that the University has taken within the last few years. I am looking forward to working with the accomplished faculty, staff, and students in the Business School. It is my hope to build on the success that Dean Paul Sugrue has brought to the business school and to take it to the next level. My family and I are happily anticipating becoming a part of the University of Miami community.”
Dr. Kahn’s current research projects include consumers’ decision-making processes for medical and financial decisions and preventative health care behavior. This type of research is designed to help public policy decision-makers understand the critical factors that will encourage consumers to engage in preventive measures repeatedly.
Among her many accolades, Dr. Kahn was elected President of the Association of Consumer Research, elected President of the Journal of Consumer Research Policy Board, and was selected as a Marketing Science Institute Trustee. She was also Area Editor at Marketing Science and Associate Editor at Journal of Consumer Research.
Dr. Kahn received her Ph.D., M.B.A. from Columbia University, and her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Rochester.
She will reside in Pinecrest with her family. She will begin her position at UM on August 1.
The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of our diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu.
# # #
Media Contact:
Karla V. Hernandez
khernandez@miami.edu
305.284.5500
