FACULTY
Global dean: Dutta leads Johnson
Soumitra Dutta, the 11th dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. See larger image
Soumitra Dutta, the 11th dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, is the first Cornell dean to be recruited from abroad. Dutta, who began his term as dean July 1, came to Ithaca from INSEAD, a top international management school with campuses in Fontainebleau, France; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Singapore. He is a computer scientist, an entrepreneur, an adviser to governments on national information and innovation policies, and an expert on new and emerging media.
"As the world globalizes, I do expect that we shall see more colleges and universities reach outside America's borders in their searches for leadership talent," Dutta says.
With a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California-Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Dutta founded INSEAD's eLab, a research center on technology and innovation in the digital economy. He raised some $15 million to endow the eLab, where he led a team of 15 researchers. Previously, Dutta had led the school's global nondegree executive education (with annual revenue of $110 million) and was dean of external relations, where he successfully led the school's second capital campaign to raise $300 million.
"The world is inherently multicultural, and a global business leader has to feel comfortable dealing with multiple languages and cultures," Dutta says. "Global challenges such as health, environment and energy require multidisciplinary approaches – an open mind that integrates traditional business disciplines with related arts and sciences is essential. I hope that my own multicultural background and the fact that I have integrated engineering sciences with business in my research will help me to better lead Johnson."
The Cornell and Johnson "brands" attracted him to the position, he says. "The quality of the Johnson community is what clinched the deal for me," Dutta says. "I was very impressed by the warmth of the Johnson community and the excellence of its faculty, staff, students and alumni. The award of the NYC tech campus to Cornell came after I had accepted my position, but that certainly further convinced me that I had made the right choice. Given my background in technology and entrepreneurship, the NYC tech campus will be one of my key priorities during my tenure as dean at Johnson."
As dean, Dutta will do some research and teaching. "Though leading Johnson will consume the majority of my time, I plan to give time to my key research projects, including the Global Information Technology Report (with the World Economic Forum) and the Global Innovation Index (with the World Intellectual Property Organization)."
Dutta says he will build on the work of Johnson Dean Emeritus Joe Thomas: "While I do need to consult more intensively with the Johnson community to articulate our collective vision, I expect that a lot of it will revolve around furthering the academic reputation of Johnson, increasing its global impact and leveraging the NYC tech campus opportunity. I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead this unique community, and I expect to learn as much, if not more, than I will contribute during my tenure as dean of Johnson."