August 2026 Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

Before turning to this month’s news, I want to acknowledge the loss to our community when Sriram passed away. I know that many of us are still processing the sadness of losing such a valued colleague, scholar, educator, and friend. His absence is deeply felt across Ross, and I continue to be grateful for the many ways Sriram contributed to our school and to the lives of the people around him.

I also want to thank everyone who was able to attend Sriram’s services, whether in person or virtually. It was deeply moving to see so many members of our Ross community come together to honor Sriram and support Priya and Deeksha. The presence of so many colleagues was a powerful reflection of the impact Sriram had.

With that, I want to turn to the many things happening across Ross this month as we gear up for the new academic year. There are two major strategic milestones to celebrate, and a host of initiatives that we are advancing.

Next week, we will officially open our new Michigan Ross Los Angeles campus at a special ribbon-cutting event. This is an important milestone for us. This new campus will significantly elevate our presence on the West Coast, enhance the Executive MBA experience, expand executive education opportunities, and connect us with new students and partners on the West Coast and globally. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the individuals who have been instrumental in helping us achieve this milestone, in particular those in Operations, Aramark, Marketing and Communications, and Ross IT. Also, in a few months, we will celebrate the reopening of our renovated Executive Learning and Conference Center here in Ann Arbor.

Also next week, we will welcome the first students to our new, highly integrated dual-degree program offered in partnership with the College of Engineering, another important milestone for us. We have created a coordinated and cohesive experience for students that we believe will be the best business-engineering dual degree in the world, preparing graduates for leadership roles in the industries that will play key roles in shaping the future.

I’m also pleased to share that we have launched two new programs this academic year for prospective graduate students. The MAcc Summer Immersion program is for students from non-accounting backgrounds who can complete a summer semester to prepare them to start the Master of Accounting Program in the Fall. We are also launching a Deferred MBA Pathway, designed for high-potential candidates who can apply to our FTMBA program now, but enroll later after obtaining years of relevant work experience. Both programs will create easier access to Ross for highly talented students interested in these graduate programs.

Also related to the FTMBA, I want to thank those of you again who provided valuable feedback on our MBA Relook initiative at last month’s summer strategy sessions. Your input helped us with the design of the four Signature Learning Experience sessions that we will pilot in October. I also want to extend a special thank you to Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks who successfully delivered the first part of the newly redesigned Management & Organizations core during the pre-term. Overall, the FTMBA orientation this year was highly successful and engaging; Matt Ganderson and his team did an outstanding job organizing and delivering it.

I also want to highlight that Felipe Csaszar has the lead article in the September/October issue of Harvard Business Review. It focuses on how AI can impact strategic decision making. It is a very thoughtful article and is already stimulating a lot of conversations across our alumni/business community. This is terrific visibility for Ross as a thought leader in the area of how AI is impacting critical business activities and processes.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to connect with faculty and staff during my open office hours, which are listed on the Dean’s Office webpage. My next office hours will be held in the Winter Garden on Sept. 9, 16, and 23 from 4:15-5 p.m.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming Labor Day weekend and that, like me, you are looking forward to all the energy and excitement that the new school year will bring.

Kind regards,

Sharon