Robert Forsythe appointed dean of WSU School of Business Administration

Wayne State Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Margaret E. Winters announced the appointment of Robert Forsythe as dean of Wayne State University School of Business Administration, effective July 21, 2014. 

He succeeds Margaret L. Williams who served as the school’s interim dean during the national search.

Forsythe is a professor of finance and former dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Business, where he launched several student-centered initiatives including the Bulls Business Community, the Financial Services Education Center and the Business Communications Center.

"Dr. Forsythe will be an excellent addition to the academic leadership of the university," Winters said. "He understands the interrelation of an institution such as Wayne State with the city and region in which it is located, and is eager to work with others on enhancing these connections."

Previously, he was the Leonard A. Hadley Chair in Leadership and senior associate dean at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. While in Iowa, Forsythe co-founded the Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM), which was designed as a futures market for trading in contracts on political and economic events over the Internet. The IEM attracted national attention and was profiled by major news outlets, including Business Week, CNN, Good Morning America and The Wall Street Journal.

A recipient of numerous professional awards, Forsythe has published more than 40 academic articles on accounting, economics, and finance. During his tenure at USF, he was active in the Tampa Bay community and served in leadership roles at the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the University of South Florida Research Foundation, Inc., and the Committee of One Hundred, an economic development organization in Hillsborough County.

Forsythe earned a Ph.D. in economics and an M.S. in economics and statistics from Carnegie-Mellon University.  He holds a B.S. in quantitative business analysis from Pennsylvania State University and has taught at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Iowa.

Photo courtesy of University of South Florida.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students.

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