Mihaylo College of Business at California State University, Fullerton recently named the school’s dean, Dr. Anil Puri, as interim provost.
Dr. Puri will serve in this role, in addition to assuming the duties of vice president for academic affairs, effective July 25, 2016.
Through the course of his tenure at Mihaylo, Puri has been a definitive figure in the school’s expansion. Since joining the school in the late seventies, he has served as chair and professor in the economics department, interim associate vice president of academic programs, and as a member of the academic Senate.
In April 1999, Puri was appointed as dean of the college of business and economics. His great passion and leadership were the impetus for his six year, $50 million dollar fundraising campaign that resulted in the design and construction of Mihaylo Hall. He was also responsible for naming the college, and has been integral in adding several endowments that have nourished the curriculum and campus for decades.
As a member of the University’s Strategic Planning committee, Dr. Puri was vital in the formation and fruition of the school’s strategic plan. Under his advisement, Mihaylo saw a jump in graduation rates, as well as a closing of the achievement gap. Puri is well known in economic forecasting circles. As director of the James and Jeanette Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting, he has presented biannual predictions not only for Orange County, but for the entire country.
“[Dr. Puri has] led the college in developing several collaborative programs with faculty and staff across campus… an educator foremost, [he] has shown an ability to recruit, retain and work collaboratively with a diverse and high-quality faculty as evidenced by the fact that over half of the tenure track faculty members in the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics were hired during his tenure as dean,” said President Mildred García of his accomplishments.