University of Illinois > Office of the Vice President for Technology and Economic Development

Avijit Ghosh is Vice President of Technology and Economic Development of the University of Illinois, served as Dean of the College of Business from August 2001 through December 2007 and is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining the University of Illinois, Dean Ghosh served as the Vice Dean and Deputy Dean at NYU's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, an institution he joined in 1980. As the Langone Professor of Marketing, he served as director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Stern from 1991 - 1994. In 1995, Professor Ghosh was appointed as Vice Dean of the Stern School with overall responsibility for the full-time and part-time MBA programs as well as executive education. In this role he brought about significant changes in the MBA programs, including curriculum innovations, improved student quality and job placement, and enhanced administrative services. In 1998 Professor Ghosh was appointed to the position of Deputy Dean, a newly created position that shared the overall leadership and responsibility for the school with the Dean.

Since coming to Illinois in 2001, Dr. Ghosh has spearheaded a number of new initiatives including launching new programs, revising existing programs and starting new research centers. In 2004, the College of Business, with a $4.5 million grant from the Kauffman Foundation, formed the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Center for Entrepreneurial Development whose goals are to make entrepreneurship education and experiences available across college departments and diverse disciplines throughout the campus. The college also formed the Golder Center for Private Equity and programs in technology management.Dr. Ghosh has also fostered significant changes to the undergraduate program including launching the business honors program and a business minor for non-business majors wishing to pursue careers in their majors in business.

Under his leadership, the College sharpened its focus on graduate and professional education, which has attracted significant external recognition. In an effort to serve the Chicago corporate community more directly, the college established new programs for working professionals in downtown Chicago. In fall 2003, the College of Business began offering its Executive MBA degree in cooperation with the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland. This program is currently ranked number one in Eastern Europe.

Avijit Ghosh received his Bachelor of Science from Calcutta University, a Post-Graduate Degree in Business from Xavier Institute, and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Iowa. Professor Ghosh's research interests are in the areas of marketing and retail strategy and locational analysis. He is a well known educator, researcher and consultant in these fields. Professor Ghosh is the author of a number of books on retailing and location analysis, and his research has appeared in leading academic journals in marketing and geography. He was the editor of the Journal of Retailing from 1985 to 1991 and has served on the editorial boards of a number of professional journals.