The University of Miami has named Paul A. Pavlou, a specialist in the field of information technology and artificial intelligence, as the new dean of the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School. Pavlou’s research has been cited over 90,000 times by Google Scholar, and he was recognized among the “world’s most influential scientific minds” by Thomson Reuters, according to his curriculum vitae.
Pavlou begins his new appointment on July 1. For the past five years, he has been the dean and Cullen Distinguished Chair Professor in the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business.
“It is a tremendously exciting time for both the Miami Herbert Business School and for Miami. Miami is booming, and it is an unprecedented opportunity for Miami Herbert to be a driving force in the growing business ecosystem of Miami and Florida,” Pavlou said in a press release. “I am committed to leading Miami Herbert to the next level of excellence, success, and impact.”
Pavlou noted how transformative technologies—from the internet to blockchain, cybersecurity, and AI—are reshaping the world and fundamentally changing the future of work and the role of higher education.
UM President Julio Frenk said, “At a time when Miami has become an increasingly important global tech hub, Paul’s research interests—ranging from information systems to strategy—add value to our interdisciplinary efforts and to South Florida’s blossoming innovation ecosystem.”
Guillermo “Willy” Prado, interim executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, noted that Pavlou is “an accomplished leader and a distinguished academic and researcher who we expect will take the Miami Herbert Business School to great heights. Dean Pavlou’s work in disciplines that include emerging technologies, data science, and artificial intelligence will bring new insights and enhance the school moving forward.”
In Houston and as he has done throughout his career, Pavlou strove to build bridges with companies across multiple industries in the community. He is especially proud that nearly 100 percent of the students at Bauer were successfully placed in high-paying jobs, and he looks forward to continuing this success in Miami.
Previous to his position in Texas, Pavlou served as senior associate dean for faculty, research, doctoral programs, and strategic initiatives at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he was also the Milton F. Stauffer Professor and co-director of the university-wide Data Science Institute.
He expects to be highly engaged with the South Florida business community.
“As a researcher, consultant, and more recently as a dean, for nearly a quarter century, I have always made a very concerted effort to forge meaningful connections with industry. I jokingly say that industry is our customer, and students are our product,” he said. “It is a lighthearted analogy, but one rooted in a profound truth. Our job is to equip students with the best possible quality education that caters to what industry seeks so that they are job ready on day one. We are here to transform lives—our students come from diverse backgrounds—and we want to prepare them for well-paying jobs and career success.”
In addition, Pavlou said executive and continuing education that reaches all students, from pre-K to 90-plus, is one of his passions.
“I am a true believer in lifelong learning, and I look forward to seeing the University and the business school in particular have an even more integral role in the business community, so we become a destination for all Miami professionals and businesses to upskill and reskill, enhance their leadership skills, and to learn more about emerging technologies, such as AI,” he said.
Pavlou is an avid advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration.
“Both within the business school, from our undergraduate to our M.B.A. programs, and across the University, I look forward to working more closely together,” Pavlou said. “The world of business has become so interdisciplinary, and business today transcends so many fields, from health care to engineering to the sciences and the arts. We need to develop our students as true business leaders that have a true multidisciplinary perspective.”
Originally from Cyprus, a small island country of about one million people in the Mediterranean Sea, Pavlou first came to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at Rice University. A basketball star in his home country—he played for the Cyprus men’s national team and competed in the European league—Pavlou dreamed of playing one day in the NBA. He did play for several years in college before making academia his career focus.
He went on to earn a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Rice University in Houston, and then a master’s in electrical engineering and Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Southern California.
“My life has been transformed by higher education. To come from modest means, to be able to be in the U.S. and have all these opportunities—to have worked at five elite institutions and now at the University of Miami, I feel very privileged that I’m living the American dream,” Pavlou said. “I’d like to give this opportunity to as many worthy students as possible.”
Pavlou will be accompanied by his spouse, Angelika Dimoka, who will concurrently assume a faculty position within the Business Technology Department at the Miami Herbert Business School, along with their 11-year-old daughter.
