At the sunset of his tenure leading the GW School of Business, Dean Anuj Mehrotra said he anchored his time at the University in listening.
Mehrotra said he put the ever-changing business market and feedback from colleagues and students in the foreground of his approach to helming the school, where he led GWSB through the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded the 4+1 combined degree program and installed the school’s first chief diversity officer, which facilitated the school’s rise to the top of nationwide diversity rankings. After serving five years as dean, he faces the eve of his departure from GW and a new job starting in January as the Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair and dean of the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech, where he earned his doctorate degree.
He said it is difficult to leave the University as a dean and GW parent whose daughter’s college experience and graduation overlapped with his tenure. Mehrotra also anticipates his imminent academic homecoming to his alma mater.
“I have really truly, truly enjoyed my last five-and-a-half years here,” Mehrotra said. “It’s been a fantastic ride.”
Here were some of GWSB’s developments under Mehrotra’s leadership:
Making GWSB market-driven
Under Mehrotra, the business school introduced the 4+1 combined degree program, which allows students to graduate in five years with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business, and George Talks Business, a series of 30-minute talks with business, government and nonprofit leaders. GWSB also expanded the 4+1 program to students outside of the business school in April 2023.
At the time, Mehrotra said officials made the inclusion in response to employers’ demand for a multidisciplinary education.
“The School of Business overall at this stage, if we reflect on where we are as an institution and as a school compared to other schools in the country or the world, is extremely well poised with our very good programming both at the graduate and undergraduate level,” Mehrotra said.
U.S. News and World Report ranked GWSB No. 59 in best business schools overall and No. 8 in international business in 2023.
James Bailey, a professor of management and the Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development, said Mehrotra focused on “wiring” classes for online learning by providing faculty with lavaliers, small clip-on microphones to improve sound quality for those attending class virtually, and a studio for recording digital sessions.
“He knew that this is the future, and so we need to get faculty and get the technology and put that into place to deliver high-quality stuff,” Bailey said.
Bailey said Mehrotra’s emphasis on specialized master’s degree programs that allow students to take fewer classes and courses directed to their area of focus was “client sensitive” and brought attention to the school by attracting students looking for instruction on a specific business. The business school offers 13 specialized master’s degree programs in areas like marketing, international business and sports management.
“This was very tuned to the Washington, D.C. population and to the student interest,” Bailey said.
Robert Van Order, the co-chair of the Department of Finance and a professor of finance and economics, said Mehrotra is “smart” and understands that while he can’t “make everybody happy” with the decisions he makes, it’s vital to listen to why faculty disagree. He said Mehrotra is “straightforward” and communicates his reasoning well.
“You know what he’s going to do, there is nothing hidden about him,” Van Order said.
Mehrotra also worked to expand graduate certificate programs by transitioning them to an online format and offering more online, weekend and evening classes to increase the program’s flexibility in order to attract non-traditional students.
GWSB’s budget
Mehrotra led the business school through a revenue decrease when graduate enrollment fell short of projections by nearly 30 percent in 2018. He proposed to solve the revenue drop by adding more postdoctoral fellows to the school to offer them research and work opportunities while cutting costs for the school.
Mehrotra said his biggest challenge as dean was leading the business school through COVID-19 pandemic challenges and supporting business school community members facing personal challenges he could not resolve. Almost 50 business school faculty signed a letter in September 2020 asking officials to put financial decisions like layoffs and other “harmful” long-term decisions on hold during the pandemic.
“For me, almost every challenge is an opportunity where you can do something about it, but there are some stories that you couldn’t do anything about it, like when people were sick,” Mehrotra said.
Bailey said Mehrotra showed “kindness” and “openness” toward faculty when communicating his reasoning behind decisions and managing the school’s budget during the pandemic when resources were limited. He said Mehrotra was “always happy” to meet with anyone in his office, allowing faculty and staff to walk in or schedule an appointment within the coming days.
“He kept us happy,” Bailey said. “Everybody looked around and said okay, we know this is a tough time, we know that there’s some budget cuts. We know this and we’re okay with it, because it was presented to us and described to us and we understood what was going on.”
Enrollment in the business school dropped for undergraduate and graduate students since Mehrotra’s tenure began in July 2018. The school enrolled 1,767 undergraduate students and 1,627 graduate students in 2018, for a total enrollment of 3,394, according to the University’s enrollment dashboard. In 2023, 1,597 undergraduate and 1,490 graduate students enrolled, for a total of 3,087 students.
Embracing diversity, inclusion
Mehrotra said the business school has boosted its diversity, equity and inclusion through partnerships, like with Globant, a software company, to create more awards for women in technology and invite women to join the business school’s certificate programs. Mehrotra added that after listening to GWSB’s DEI needs and wishes through the Dean’s Diversity Council, the business school also added a lactation room and gender-inclusive bathroom to Duquès Hall, where the school is housed.
The school also plans to open a meditation and prayer room in the hall in a few weeks, he added.
“That’s not complicated once you know that that’s what people would like to have to feel included,” Mehrotra said.
GWSB also hired its first chief diversity officer in 2021. Mehrotra said he created the position to formalize a method for GWSB stakeholders to speak to the school’s leaders about diversity and hold GWSB accountable for moving in a positive direction.
“There are so many other different accomplishments that the school can have, it can be rankings, this and that,” Mehrotra said. “But really, culture is at the center of things because institutions are made up of people, and people end up creating a culture.”
Leo Moersen, an associate professor of accountancy and business law and the interim chief diversity officer for the business school, said Mehrotra has been a capable and effective communicator that connected well with faculty.
“I’ve been here 40 years, and he’s the best dean we’ve had,” Moersen said. “I’ve seen a lot of deans, a lot of interim deans, he’s hands down the best.”
Family ties to GW
Over his five years helming the school, Mehrotra said he most enjoyed hearing about the faculty’s academic accomplishments and the jobs that his students secured at companies. He recalled his favorite moment during his tenure as the 2022 Commencement, where he watched his daughter receive her diploma in systems engineering from the stage.
Mehrotra said he will miss his leadership team as well as his colleagues in the business school and University leadership that he has worked with.
“It’s been a difficult decision to move from here because this has been home for five years,” Mehrotra said. “None of the people here whether they are students, staff, faculty, or alumni or the leadership at the University are making it easy because it’s home for me.”
