University of Rochester names new dean of Simon Business School

ROCHESTER — The University of Rochester (UR) today announced it has named Andrew Ainslie as the seventh dean of its Simon Business School.

Ainslie, senior associate dean of the full-time MBA program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management since 2010, will replace Mark Zupan as the Simon School’s leader after Zupan’s term ends on June 30.

“I am delighted that Andrew Ainslie has accepted this appointment. He has had an outstanding career at UCLA..,” Joel Seligman, president of the University of Rochester, said in a news release. “He will be an outstanding dean. He is a creative and dynamic leader in business education.”

During his tenure at UCLA’s Anderson School, it has increased its admissions more than 60 percent, boosted placements more than 20 percent, and revised its curriculum, according to the UR news release.

 “The Simon Business School has an incredible history, Ainslie said. “It has been at the forefront of an analytic, rigorous approach to business from its inception, and today the business community is just beginning to understand the importance of that approach. I am delighted to take on this opportunity.

 Ainslie has been an associate professor of marketing at UCLA’s Anderson School since 2005. He was assistant professor of marketing at the school from 2000 to 2005. From 1997 through 2000, he was assistant professor of marketing at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Before beginning his academic career, Ainslie had a 10-year career in business, including as an electrical engineer for AECI (South Africa), sales and marketing for Hewlett Packard (South Africa), corporate finance with Standard Merchant Bank, and marketing and development for Compustat, according to the UR release.

Ainslie received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1983 and an MBA in marketing from Cape Town in 1990. He received a Ph.D. in marketing and statistics from Chicago Booth in 1998.

Zupan, dean of the Simon School since 2004, plans a sabbatical after which he will become the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and Public Policy and director of the Bradley Policy Research Center at Simon, the school said.

“Mark Zupan leaves an inspiring legacy, Seligman said. “Under his leadership, Simon has reversed the decline in MBA enrollment, created several successful new master’s programs, and met its targets for endowment draw for several years running. It is a significant record of achievement. Mark deserves our gratitude for a job well done.”

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com