Angappa Gunasekaran, Ph.D.

Dr. Angappa Gunasekaran served as director of Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Business Administration from August 16, 2021 to December 31, 2023. Prior to joining Penn State, he served as a special assistant to the provost for Academic Affairs and Student Success at California State University in Bakersfield, California, where he also served as dean of the School of Business and Public Administration and as the principal investigator for the Small Business Development Center in Bakersfield. Additionally, he is a professor of operations management.

Previously, he served as dean of the Charlton College of Business, chairperson of the Department of Decision and Information Sciences, and the founding director of Business Innovation Research Center at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He has more than ten years of global work experience.

During his tenure in higher education, Gunasekaran has focused on creating student-centered learning, building new academic programs, developing and implementing strategic plans, building community relationships and partnerships, developing interdisciplinary educational and research programs, and diversifying revenue streams. He also has provided successful leadership for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditations.

Through a global network of international universities and academics, Gunasekaran worked to increase international collaboration in research, grants, and student recruitment. He has served as a visiting professor at many universities around the world and was a service-learning fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He has worked with the AACSB, as chair and a member of peer review teams for various business schools. He has been active with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and regional accreditors, including the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Gunasekaran has more than 450 journal articles published and 85,000 citations. He has served on the editorial board of over 30 peer-reviewed journals and has organized several international workshops and conferences in the emerging areas of operations management and information systems.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, India; a master’s in industrial engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore; and a doctorate in industrial engineering and operations research from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India.