Andrew J. Policano, PhD
Dean, The Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine

Andrew J. Policano has been dean of The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, since August 2004. In his first six years as dean of the Merage School, more than $50 million has been pledged to support the School's vision and mission. The School has hired 20 faculty members, established 11 new chairs/ professorships and is planning to add a new facility. The Paul Merage School is highly recognized and acclaimed. In many rankings of business schools by a variety of media outlets, the School ranks among the top 5 to 10 percent of accredited schools in the U.S. In 2009, the Financial Times, U.S. News, and Business Week ranked the placement of MBAs at Merage at No. 1 in the U.S., above Harvard, Wharton and Kellogg, with 92 percent of Merage students placed by 90 days after graduation.

Policano has a long and varied experience as an academic leader. Prior to arriving at UCI, he was dean of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Business for 10 years. At Wisconsin, he led major enhancements of the school's programs and recognition, including the development of the Executive MBA and Evening MBA programs. The undergraduate program was ranked among the top 10 in the country, the MBA program was ranked by Business Week in the top 25 and the business school's endowment rose from $6 million to more than $95 million. At Wisconsin, Policano also led the development of the Fluno Center for Executive Education, which has 100 overnight guestrooms, banquet facilities and state–of–the–art classrooms. The facility – which receives no state funding and is financed through a combination of donations, bonding and program revenues – was ranked No. 1 in the country for accommodations and food by the Financial Times in 2005.

Policano has also served as dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Stony Brook University, and senior associate dean of academic affairs and chair, Department of Economics in the Business School at the University of Iowa. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University and a B.S. in mathematics from Stony Brook University. His work in macroeconomics has been broadly published, and he is an award-winning teacher. Policano has also published numerous papers on the rankings of business schools and is currently writing a book about academic leadership.

Policano serves on the board of directors of two public companies; is immediate past chair of the board of AACSB International, which is the global accreditation society for business schools; and is a member of the Investment Committee of the Orange County Community Foundation, The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Selection Committee and the Forum for Corporate Directors Board Member of the Year Selection Committee.

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