Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger, Ed.D., has announced the appointment of Debasish Chakraborty, Ph.D., as Dean of the School of Business at Seton Hill. Dr. Chakraborty is currently a Professor of Economics and has served as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program at Central Michigan University. He will begin his tenure at Seton Hill on March 16, 2020. 

Dr. Chakraborty’s appointment comes as Paul Mahady, D.B.A., former Dean of the School of Business, decided to return to the classroom full-time.

“Dr. Chakraborty brings to Seton Hill more than 35 years of experience in higher education both as a professor and as an administrator,” Dr. Finger said. “His commitment to student success along with his extensive teaching, collaborative administrative and innovative research experience will help continue our efforts of moving Seton Hill’s School of Business forward.”

“As an educator, my job is to help students transform their lives,” Dr. Chakraborty said. “Students must be inspired to ask the right questions, and faculty members, who are our finest asset, must help students follow their quest with integrity and a sense of purpose. My role is simply to create that learning environment and enjoy the transformation in real time. I look forward to joining the Seton Hill community and working with the faculty to help students reach their goals.”

Dr. Chakraborty comes to Seton Hill from Central Michigan University, where he has taught Economics since 1983. During his time at Central Michigan, Dr. Chakraborty also served as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program in the College of Business Administration, where he oversaw the day-to-day activities of the program, maintained partnerships with foreign universities to ensure growth of graduate programs in the College and supported the dean in formulating a strategic vision. Dr. Chakraborty also twice served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Central Michigan.

His research has been published in the International Review of Business and Economics, the International Journal of Business Administration, the Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, Applied Economics and the Journal of Economics and Business among others.

He has presented at conferences around the world, including the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences International Conference; the Annual Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Science; the annual conference of the Indian Journal of Economics and Business; and the Annual Research Conference of Symbiosis International University.

During the 2018-19 academic year, Dr. Chakraborty was involved in a research project on “Industry 4.0” sponsored by Automation Alley in Troy, Michigan. The goal was to help create smart factories in Michigan to help the state become the world leader in leveraging technology to ensure competitive advantage. Specifically, Dr. Chakraborty researched how technology such as Big Data and the Internet of Things could be adopted in manufacturing and the economic benefits of such adoption.

Prior to his work at Central Michigan, Dr. Chakraborty served as an assistant professor of Economics at the University of Central Arkansas and at Thiel College.  He has also served as visiting faculty at the University of Wales Newport, at Northwood University and at the University of Queensland, Australia.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Xavier’s College and his master’s degree in Economics from Calcutta University, both located in Calcutta, India. Dr. Chakraborty earned his Ph.D. in International Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.