The College of Business will be hosting three finalists for the dean position on campus between May 1 and May 11. All faculty, staff, students and interested members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend each of the finalists’ campus presentations and their open forums to ask questions about their qualifications to lead the College of Business. Feedback surveys will be provided next week.
Led by search committee chair George Reed, Dean of the College of Public Service, the 11-person search committee consists of faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. See the full search committee listing below.
The campus presentations will be open to all campus constituents; however, the open forum times are limited to the College of Business faculty and staff.
Meet the Candidates
Dr. Somnath “Som” Bhattacharya
Monday, May 1
Dr. Somnath “Som” Bhattacharya has served as the Dean of the College of Business and Management and Professor of Accounting at University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) since 2019.
Prior to arriving at UIS, Bhattacharya served as Dean of the Gus Machado School of Business and Professor of Accounting at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. He was named a tenured associate professor of accounting at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in 2002 and a professor of accounting at FAU in 2008. Bhattacharya served as the Director of the School of Accounting and School of Accounting Executive Programs at FAU between 2006 and 2011 and then served as associate dean; acting dean; and interim dean of the College of Business at FAU between 2011 and 2014. He has taught at the Helsinki School of Economics, University of Texas at El Paso, University of South Florida, Fort Hays State University, and at Northern Arizona University.
Som holds a Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of South Florida. He earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in management information systems from Northern Arizona University and a B.A. in English Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata (erstwhile, Calcutta), India.
His research interests include enterprise resource planning systems’ impact on adopting companies; the impact of eXtensible Business Reporting Language on adopting companies; and measuring the return on investment of corporate information technology investments. He has more than 30 journal publications in these areas in journals such as the Journal of Information Systems, the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, and Issues in Accounting Education.
Som and his pharmacist wife, Lipika, have two adult daughters. Shahana, an accountant, lives and works in Ft. Lauderdale, FL., with her spouse, Ross Hodish, also an accountant (Accountants Unite!); and Aparna, currently in her firm’s London Office, is based in Los Angeles as a corporate lawyer. As a family, they enjoy travel, eclectic music, cultural explorations and gourmet cuisine. They miss their beloved American Cocker Spaniel, Buddy, who though no longer, continues to live on in their hearts, humor, and memory.
- Campus Presentation | May 1, 2023 from 9 – 10:30 a.m. in University Center Room 303 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIjRyQKcVUk)
- Open Forums (limited to COB constituents only) | May 1, 2023 from 10:35 – 11:55 a.m.
- College of Business Faculty from 10:35 – 11:15 a.m. | University Center Room 303
- College of Business Staff from 11:20 – 11:55 a.m. | University Center Room 303
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
Dr. Thomas Aicher
Wednesday, May 10
Dr. Thomas Aicher is interim dean of the College of Business at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). Dr. Aicher joined the Sport Management faculty in August 2018 and became the associate dean for the College of Business in July 2022. Prior to arriving at UCCS, he was an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he served in a variety of leadership roles.
From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Aicher served as the program director for the Sport Administration program at the University of Cincinnati, which consisted of Bachelor of Science (~350 students) and Master of Science (~19 students) degrees in sport administration and employed nine fulltime and 12 adjunct faculty members. Dr. Aicher led the development and proposal process for the master’s program, and created several strategic partnerships with organizations to support students’ experiential learning opportunities and program funding.
He also served as the College Faculty Senate president (2014–2017) for the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services and transitioned into the role of college senator for the University of Cincinnati’s Faculty Senate (2017–2018). In addition, he served on the university’s Academic Advisory Council for the athletic department and on the review council of the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Review Council.
Dr. Aicher also served his discipline in several roles. Currently, he is the conference committee chair for the North American Society of Sport Management (NASSM). He has served NASSM in several different roles continuously since 2009. From 2017–2021, he served as the co-editor for the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics and, in 2021, he became the editor of Sport & Entertainment Review. Dr. Aicher is a member of the Pikes Peak Community College Hospitality Management Advisory Board and has worked with the Retail and Hospitality Sector Formation Discussion and Hospitality Employer Focus Group in Colorado Springs.
Interim Dean Aicher earned a BS in marketing management from Virginia Tech and an MS and PhD in kinesiology with an emphasis in sport management from Texas A&M University. Dr. Aicher has been widely published in leading sport management journals and has made significant contributions to consumer behavior, event leveraging, and diversity in sport. He is an accomplished educator, scholar, and business leader.
- Campus Presentation | May 10, 2023 from 9 – 10:30 a.m. in University Center Room 302 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n6pofOe-cM)
- Reception is in University Center Room 307 from 10 – 10:30 a.m.
- Open Forums (limited to COB constituents only) | May 10, 2023 from 10:35 – 11:55 a.m.
- College of Business Faculty from 10:35 – 11:15 a.m. | University Center Room 302
- College of Business Staff from 11:20 – 11:55 a.m. | University Center Room 302
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
Dr. Timothy Bisping
Thursday, May 11
Dr. Timothy Bisping is Dean of the Nelson Rusche College of Business at Stephen F. Austin State University. Tim’s professional accomplishments involve a wide range of both academic and administrative initiatives which are consistently focused on student success.
Dr. Bisping earned his Ph.D. in Economics at Oklahoma State University in 1997, and his MA (1993) and BBA (1991) in Economics from Wichita State University. Since earning his Ph.D. he has held numerous positions in higher education as both faculty member and administrator. Prior to his appointment as Dean at Stephen F. Austin State University he served as Interim Dean of the College of Business at Louisiana Tech University (2014-2015), as well as Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Research (2011-2014) at the same institution.
Prior to these appointments, he was Associate Professor of Economics and Chair of the Department of Economics, Finance, and Insurance & Risk Management in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas (2006-2011). Tim also served as Assistant/Associate Professor of Economics at Louisiana Tech University from 2000-2006, and Director of Institutional Research at Concordia University Wisconsin from 1998-2000. Dr. Bisping has held various visiting and research positions in academe as well.
Tim has an impressive research record, having been published in several leading academic journals including Economic Inquiry, The Journal of Labor Research, The Eastern Economic Journal, Advances in Accounting, and The Journal of Economic Education. His main body of research deals with demographic issues in the labor market, especially as they relate to monetary policy. Dr. Bisping is an active member of the community, having served as a board member of the Nacogdoches Rotary Club and Board President of the Nacogdoches Area United Way.
- Campus Presentation | May 11, 2023 from 9 – 10:30 a.m. in University Center Room 303 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6K7i1F0DM)
- Open Forums (limited to COB constituents only) | May 11, 2023 from 10:35 – 11:55 a.m.
- College of Business Faculty from 10:35 – 11:15 a.m. | University Center Room 303
- College of Business Staff from 11:20 – 11:55 a.m. | University Center Room 303
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
The committee members are:
- George Reed, Dean, College of Public Service
- Assma Sawani, Assistant Professor, Accounting
- Becky Medved, COB Alumnus & Community Member
- Emily Drapeau, Program Director for Online Education
- Garrett Dahms, Marketing and Communications Program Manager
- Jeanette Dias, Assistant Dean, Internal Operations
- Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, President and CEO of Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC
- Jonathan Ehresman, MBA Student
- Morgan Shepherd, Professor, Information Systems
- Scott VanNess, Senior Instructor, Operations Management
- Spencer Harris, Associate Professor, Marketing, Strategy & International Business