NYU's Brown tapped as Dean of College of Business and Economics

	Paul R. Brown's profile Learn more about the College of Business and Economics

Paul R. Brown, associate dean for executive MBA programs at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, has been named the next dean of Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics.

Brown’s appointment was announced by Lehigh President Alice P. Gast and Provost Mohamed S. El-Aasser. Brown will officially assume the role on July 1.

“Dr. Brown is truly a leader in the business school community,” said Lehigh President Alice P. Gast. “He is a renowned scholar, an experienced academic leader and has significant international and corporate experience. This is a pivotal time for the college and I am excited that he will bring his talents to Lehigh.”


Brown joins the College of Business and Economics at an exciting time. Named as one of the top undergraduate business schools in the country last spring by BusinessWeek magazine, the college has more than 1,350 undergraduate students and 66 faculty members.

“Paul Brown has all the leadership attributes necessary to take the College of Business and Economics to the next level of excellence in today’s competitive global business educational arena,” said El-Aasser. “What resonates most about Paul is his interest in working with talented business faculty. He is passionate about business education within a global context, and has a strong interest in working collaboratively with his peers to build an exemplary business program here at Lehigh.”

Brown tops international search

According to El-Aasser, Brown was chosen from among more than 85 candidates because of his intimate understanding of the issues—and opportunities—facing business education. Lehigh fielded inquiries from business leaders spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

Brown is being challenged with further strengthening the academic quality and scholarly reputation of the college.

“The excitement at Lehigh is infectious, beginning with the dynamic leadership of President Gast and Provost El-Aasser, and there are tremendous opportunities for the college to advance as a world-class leader in undergraduate business education,” said Brown. “I am truly honored to be able to serve Lehigh University and its students, faculty and alumni as the next dean of the College of Business and Economics.”

“The college has a well-established and historical commitment to research and teaching excellence,” explained El-Aasser. “But coupled with Paul’s guidance, the college’s distinctive slate of interdisciplinary programs puts us in an enviable position to change the landscape of business education for years to come.”

According to El-Aasser, Brown has shown interest in the unique partnership between the college and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. He’s also intrigued with the opportunity to collaborate with the College of Arts and Sciences in the development of its new Globalization and Social Change Initiative, as well as with the international education programs within the College of Education.

And Brown has the expertise and vision to make that happen, according to the provost.

A distinguished career at NYU

A commitment to innovate is exemplified in Brown’s recent successes at NYU Stern, where he served as the associate dean of the college’s executive MBA program since 2005. The program, which annually ranks among the most competitive in the world, is custom-delivered to corporate partners.

Brown is also academic director for the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program, a renowned alliance between NYU, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the HEC School of Management in Paris. One of the most respected executive-level programs in the world, TRIUM offers its students a tailor-made international curriculum.

His international background will be an asset in considering potential future directions for the college.

“There’s a strong business foundation at Lehigh on which to build. And the College of Business and Economics is in a great position to be a national leader and advocate of important niche graduate programs emphasizing such timely areas as globalization, entrepreneurship and technology,” Brown said.

“It has been a real pleasure interacting with Paul during the search process. I’ve been impressed by his ability to relate and motivate people, and his methodological approach to higher education issues,” said S. David Wu, dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and chairperson of the dean’s search committee at Lehigh.

“In addition to programs such as Integrated Business and Engineering and Computer Science and Business, there remain tremendous opportunities for integration and collaboration between business and engineering, as well as the rest of the university,” he added. “I look forward to a new era of innovative partnerships with the CBE.”

A renowned scholar

Brown’s academic credentials and scholarly research, which are held in high regard among the business and financial accounting community, will also help him advance the college to the next step. He has received numerous awards and honors, including most recently NYU’s Executive Education Teaching Excellence Award.

Brown’s research interests focus on financial reporting and analysis, including earnings measurement and management, analyst's earnings expectations, and SEC/FASB policy formation and analysis. He has also extensively studied international financial reporting and auditor independence.

His experience extends well beyond the classroom. A corporate governance consultant and expert, Brown sits on the board of directors of Dassault Systemes, S.A., a publicly-traded software producer and solutions provider whose stock trades on both Nasdaq and the Paris Bourse. He also recently served on the board of directors of another software firm, Dictaphone Corporation, up until the company was sold to Nuance, Inc.

Robert Brown ’78, chair of the college’s board of advisors and partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, was also excited about the news. The Board of Advisors is thrilled to have Paul Brown joining the College of Business and Economics as dean. Paul's impeccable academic and leadership credentials make him the perfect catalyst to work with our outstanding faculty and staff to drive the college to new heights,” he said.

Dr. Brown is a Pennsylvania native and earned his bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College in 1972, graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He received his M.P.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was recognized with several prestigious national awards and served as the Fellow of the Graduate School.