Dean Appoints Three to Walton College Positions

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Dean Eli Jones of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has named three faculty members to leadership positions in the college on an interim basis.

Jones named Anne O’Leary-Kelly, management department professor and holder of the William R. and Cacilia Howard chair in management, as interim associate dean; Vikas Anand, management department associate professor, as interim faculty M.B.A. director; and Molly Rapert, marketing department associate professor, as Walton College’s interim honors college program director.

Anne O'Leary-Kelly

“I’m excited about what each of these colleagues will accomplish over the next year,” Jones said. “It is important to note that the interim title is strictly for us to test the chemistry, so to speak. We’ll learn how well we will work together as a team.”

Jones said O’Leary-Kelly’s position would function as the chief operating officer of the college, allowing Jones time to meet and interact with academics and business leaders inside and outside the Walton College as he settles in to his new position. Jones took over as dean July 1.

O’Leary-Kelly said she was excited to be assuming the associate dean’s role at such a significant time. “We have to continually re-assess and improve if we are going to provide the best outcomes to our Walton College people and to the state of Arkansas,” she said. “In the associate dean role, I’ll be working to provide the opportunities that allow the excellent people that we have attracted here to shine.”

O’Leary-Kelly earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her doctorate in organizational behavior and human resource management from Michigan State.

Vikas Anand

Anand said his role as faculty M.B.A. director would be to ensure that new programs in Panama and India are rolled out effectively, as well as to work with faculty, employers, alumni and others to review the M.B.A. curriculum and continue to strengthen it.

“I expect to work with others to continue to strengthen the Walton College’s ability to attract talented individuals and equip them with skills that allow them to contribute to Arkansas and the world,” Anand said. “I see opportunities in creatively using technology and competencies that exist in the University of Arkansas and the Walton College to more effectively train students and to do so in ways that are easier for them.”

Anand earned his doctorate from Arizona State and an M.B.A. in international business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in physics. His major areas of research include corruption and ethics in organizations, knowledge management in organizations and trends in the globalization of business practices.

Rapert has been widely recognized for her teaching, including being recognized by the university with the 2012 Charles and Nadine Baum Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2011 University of Arkansas Honors College Distinguished Faculty Award. She said several new Honors initiatives are underway already, mainly through the efforts of Jason Adams, assistant director for the Honors Program in the Walton College undergraduate programs office, and the Honors Student Executive Board.

Molly Rapert

“The mission of the Honors College is to discover, create and serve,” Rapert said. “It is an honor for me to work alongside our best and brightest students who are doing just that.”

Rapert earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Walton College and her doctorate from the University of Memphis.

Rapert said she was looking forward to working closely with the new dean because of his concern for all areas of the Walton College. “Dean Jones seems truly interested in holding tight to the aspects of our Walton College culture that we hold dear, while helping us to improve in ways that will be best for us as individuals and as a college,” Rapert said.

O’Leary-Kelly said she had only worked with Jones for a brief time but that he already had displayed a range of qualities that made her excited to take on her new role. “I have the sense that he will ask a lot of the people who work with him,” she said, “but that he will empower them and make them want to step up. I think it was a great day when he agreed to join us.”