ASHLAND — Ashland University has appointed Derek K. Yonai, Ph.D. as dean of the Dauch College of Business and Economics following a national search. He will begin his duties Aug. 1.
“Dr. Yonai’s commitment to student success and faculty excellence, combined with his strategic vision for business education, will strengthen the Dauch College and prepare our students to lead with integrity and innovation,” said Dr. Jon Parrish Peede, president of AU in a news release. “He brings a dynamic blend of academic leadership and real-world business insight to Ashland University.”
Yonai has been the director of the Brown Innovation Center and the Peter and Sue Freytag Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Business at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., since 2023. He also serves as a senior research fellow at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics.
“I am deeply honored to join Ashland University and the Dauch College of Business and Economics,” said Yonai in the release. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners to build on the College’s strong foundation while expanding high impact learning opportunities for students and empowering our graduates to be principled value creators and difference makers in their communities.”
At Flagler, Yonai developed the Brown Innovation Center into a campus resource that encourages multidisciplinary collaboration and addresses pressing challenges.
He was a tenured associate professor of business at Emporia State University, a research associate professor at SMU, an associate professor of economics at Florida Southern College and an associate professor of economics while serving as the Lundy Chair of the Philosophy of Business at Campbell University. He earned the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award at Campbell and a Spirit of Inquiry Award from the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy for his “World of Business” course.
AU’s Dauch College of Business and Economics offers a wide variety of undergraduate programs, ranging from traditional disciplines such as accounting, finance, management and marketing to more specialized areas such as entrepreneurship, fashion merchandising and brand management, industrial systems and engineering and sport management. The college also offers an MBA degree, M.S. in Business Analytics and M.S. In Supply Chain Management in several formats and specializations to advance one’s career.
The Dauch College of Business and Economics also houses the Burton D. Morgan Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship, devoted to encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of all AU students, no matter their major. The center provides expertise, support, education and connections to help turn one’s passion into a profitable business idea.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: AU appoints new dean of the Dauch College of Business and Economics
Reporting by Staff Report / Ashland Times Gazette
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