Professor Prakash Mirchandani has been appointed faculty director for the Executive Master of Business Administration Program, effective July 1, 2021.
Mirchandani will continue to serve as the director of the Center for Supply Chain Management and as a professor of business administration who teaches various graduate level courses on supply chain, operations management, statistical analysis, and decision technologies. Mirchandani has served as the associate dean for MBA programs in the past but is looking forward to heading up the newly redesigned Executive MBA program.
“The Executive MBA program is a crucial component of the suite of graduate programs offered at Pitt Business,” says Mirchandani. “It has a storied past, having been offered in multiple locations worldwide, for almost five decades. I have been involved with teaching in its various locations, and am now honored to be associated with the relaunch of the program under its new format.”
Besides Mirchandani, the leadership team includes: Larry Feick, former academic director and current interim associate dean for the College of Business Administration; Carrie Leana, George H. Love professor of organizations and management, academic director for the Executive MBA in Healthcare, and director for the Center for Healthcare Management; and Kim Abel, executive director of executive education and clinical assistant professor of business administration. The program is also supported by a talented team of faculty and staff.
“We want to educate the next generation of leaders who are ready to tackle complex business challenges facing industry not just today, but those unexpected, newfangled ones that will undoubtedly arise in the future,” says Mirchandani.
The Executive MBA program is unlike any other program of its kind. After taking a brief pause in 2020, the program is relaunching in 2021 with rigorous coursework, world renowned faculty, and one of a kind integrated learning. It is a cohort-based program, meaning students learn both in and out of the classroom alongside their fellow classmates through networking opportunities, elective courses, and even international trips.
“The program has continued to evolve over the past 50 years to respond to changing market needs. The latest redesign includes a revamped curriculum and an exciting new delivery format,” says Mirchandani. “The courses combine rigor with relevance—teaching theory that can be applied on day one. Pitt and Pitt Business have a strong, global network of alumni, and Pittsburgh is an industrial powerhouse in the healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and energy sectors, and has a vibrant startup culture—all providing unrivalled opportunities to the Executive MBA class.”
Mirchandani noted the Executive MBA program faculty are “all top-notch.” He added: “They are leading-edge scholars who can bring the latest developments from their fields into the classroom. Their interactions with industry permit them to weave their real-life personal experiences into the classroom discussions. Importantly, they all have the goal of making the classroom environment as productive as possible to promote invaluable student learning.”
Over his time at Pitt Business, Mirchandani has received multiple awards and accolades, including the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012, the Katz School Excellence in Research Award in 2013, and has been recognized over a dozen times as Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the full-time MBA class. He was also recognized three years in a row as the Executive MBA in Healthcare Distinguished Professor of the Year.
“We are very pleased to have Prakash as the new Executive MBA faculty director,” says Arjang A. Assad, Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean. “His knowledge and discipline will make Prakash not only a great leader, but someone who is always willing to push the boundary of academics and take the Executive MBA program to the next level.”
To learn more about the Katz Executive MBA program, click here.
