The interim dean of the C.T. Bauer College of Business said she plans to take the college to the next level.
Latha Ramchand, appointed to the position in early March, said her goal is to continue on what she calls “the pursuit of excellence,” and to take the success that the college got under former dean Arthur Warga’s leadership to the next level.
“Some of the programs like the entrepreneurship program is a great program; the undergraduate program is ranked; the sales program has done a tremendous job; we have an accounting program that is doing very well,” Ramchand said. “So, if you think about these priorities, what I want to do is to take these to the next level to the extent I can.”
As interim dean, Ramchand will start to work on a blog to connect with people in the community, whether it’s students, faculty or alumni, to get feedback on any new ideas for the college. The blog will be available on the Bauer website in the coming weeks.
“The best part to working in an academic institution is that there’s a lot of ideas floating around,” Ramchand said. “We may not agree with every idea, and we may not be able to implement every idea, but maybe there are five ideas that I cannot think of that someone outside decided to share with us and that we can implement.”
Ramchand currently teaches two sections of corporate finance for the graduate MBA students.
Provost John Antel appointed Ramchand to the position in early March, after former dean Warga left on a medical leave.
In an email to the community, Antel wrote Warga “will first take a leave and then return to the finance faculty as a chaired full professor.”
Ramchand explained that Warga decided to step down after a surgery he had in order to recover.
Fortunately, his condition is good and, Ramchand said, the former dean has visited Bauer a few times and he should be back by the fall semester.
“He’d like to come back today or tomorrow, but we’ve told him, ‘Just take it easy and relax,’” Ramchand said.
According to Antel, Ramchand will continue to serve as interim dean and the University will revisit the possibility of a search for a dean a year from now.
Ramchand served as associate dean for Bauer’s Programs and Administration, as well as the Graduate and Professional programs. The experience and the knowledge of how the college works helped Ramchand on becoming interim dean. She has been working with Warga since 2006.
