Faculty and Staff

Dean Banks joined the Bryan School of Business and Economics as Dean in July 2011 and is the Margaret and Harrell Hill Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship. From 1995-2010, Dean Banks served in a dean-equivalent position as head of the Department of Management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Under his leadership of the Bryan School, a new vision and mission were developed in 2011, spawning numerous changes. The Bryan School is now recognized as an up-and-coming business school and its faculty and administrators are having an increasing impact on national and international conversations in a number of ways. Enrollments have increased substantially; student retention and graduation rates have risen; diversity has improved among students, staff, and faculty; faculty research has increased from about 1.3 peer reviewed journal articles per faculty member per year to 2.2; sponsored research has increased approximately 40 percent; and total giving has increased approximately 60 percent. More than 50 faculty members serve as editors, associate editors, or editorial board members on peer reviewed journals, and students completed more than 350 consulting projects for organizations in 2015-16.  

For many years, Dean Banks served on the Board of Directors of the Society for Advancement of Management, including serving as that organization’s international president.  He was chair of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management and as chair of the American Society for Engineering Education’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Division.  He serves on the AACSB Continuous Improvement Review Committee, serving as chair in 2016-17, and is a member of AACSB’s Committee on Accreditation Policy.