Newswise — AUSTIN, Texas — McCombs School of Business Dean Jay Hartzell has appointed Raji Srinivasan as the school’s first associate dean for diversity and inclusion, effective July 1, 2018. The search process included multiple engagements with faculty, staff, and students across the university who provided valuable insight and feedback that assisted in selection of this pivotal role.
“Raji has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of many under-represented groups around campus, and she will guide our diversity and inclusion efforts with the focus and resolve that they deserve,” said Hartzell.
Dr. Srinivasan is the Sam Barshop Centennial Professor in marketing administration at Texas McCombs, where she has taught since 2000. In her role as associate dean for diversity and inclusion, Dr. Srinivasan will lead the School’s newly formed committee made up of Texas McCombs faculty and staff to create a practical action plan that will push the school’s ambitious diversity and inclusion goals forward. The task will involve identifying and establishing new programs, processes, and initiatives, while expanding those that are already in place.
“Dean Hartzell’s appointment of tenured faculty member Raji Srinivasan demonstrates the importance of the new position of chief diversity officer,” said Leonard N. Moore, UT Austin’s interim vice president for diversity and community engagement. “As a professor in the McCombs School for 17 years, Professor Srinivasan fully understands the culture of the school, the challenges the school has faced and the students within the school.”
Additionally, steps have already been taken at the graduate and undergraduate level to foster an inclusive environment through involvement with key external partners such as the Forte Foundation, which seeks to increase the number of women business leaders; the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, which fosters an increase in the number of minorities in MBA programs and managerial positions; and through the creation of the Subiendo Academy, a no-cost five-day leadership program for high-achieving underrepresented high school students.
“In order to remain at the forefront of innovation and growth, we must welcome and encourage thoughts and ideas from our entire community,” said Hartzell.
Dr. Srinivasan is an award-winning researcher and teacher. Over her career, has been recognized with multiple awards, such as the American Marketing Association’s Varadarajan Award for Early Career Contributions to Marketing Strategy Research, the American Marketing Association’s Erin Anderson Award for an Emerging Female Marketing Scholar and Mentor, the CBA Foundation Research Excellence Award for Assistant Professors at McCombs, and the Marketing Science Institute’s Young Scholar award.
She is an active researcher, focusing on areas of marketing strategy, organization innovation, and marketing metrics. She has published several research articles in leading marketing journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Management Science, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the International Journal for Research in Marketing.
Prior to her time with the McCombs School, Srinivasan spent more than eight years as a senior executive in management consulting and account management with Peat Marwick Mitchell and J Walter Thompson Advertising, respectively. She also spent four years building and managing a successful advertising consultancy firm.
For more information, contact: Molly Dannenmaier, McCombs School of Business, 512-232-6779.
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