Provost Joel Moses has announced the appointment of Professor Richard Schmalensee as interim dean of the Sloan School of Management, pending approval of the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation. The appointment is effective July 1, when the current dean, Glen Urban, ends his five-year term.
"A longtime MIT faculty member, Dick Schmalensee has served as deputy dean at the Sloan School for two years," Professor Moses said. "His experience and accomplishments in the academic administration prepared him well for this new role, and I look forward to working with him."
"I am very pleased that Dick Schmalensee will be serving as interim dean," Dean Urban said. "I have full confidence he will lead an effective transition based on his skills and experience in the dean's office."
Professor Schmalensee agreed to serve in this capacity for up to one year. The Advisory Committee on the search for the new dean, chaired by Professor Stephen Graves, continues to review internal and external candidates.
Professor Schmalensee joined MIT in 1977 and is the Gordon Y Billard Professor of Economics and Management, deputy dean of the Sloan School, and director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. He served on the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1989-91. Both his SB degree and PhD in economics are from MIT.
He is widely recognized as an authority on the economics of industrial markets and on regulatory and antitrust policy. The author of three books, Professor Schmalensee has co-authored three others and published more than 70 articles in professional journals.
Professor Schmalensee is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also has been a member of the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association and serves as consultant to numerous private firms and government agencies.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 3, 1998.
