Bryant Names Wheeler Associate Dean, College of Business

SMITHFIELD, RI – Bryant University, a leading private university offering an innovative and uniquely integrated business and liberal arts education, has appointed Anthony Wheeler, Ph.D., S.P.H.R., Associate Dean of the College of Business after a thorough search. The appointment is part of the University’s broader commitment to advance innovative teaching and learning across the board.

“Today’s students graduate into a world where strategic innovation is a prerequisite for success, and Tony Wheeler is a leader in creating innovative graduate programs that serve as a model for others,” said Bryant University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Glenn Sulmasy. J.D., L.L.M.

“Tony’s appointment as Associate Dean of the College of Business positions the University with deep expertise in the development and delivery of groundbreaking graduate business programs. His talent for integrating strategic and tactical initiatives complements the exciting goals we have for Bryant’s future growth,” noted Dean of the College of Business Madan Annavarjula, Ph. D.

Wheeler has a strong track record of designing and implementing innovative, interdisciplinary, and entrepreneurial graduate programs that propel strategic goals. He currently serves as Spachman Professor of Human Resource Management at University of Rhode Island’s College of Business Administration, and as Director of the Full-Time Strategic Innovation M.B.A. program at the University of Rhode Island, a program he led in developing and implementing.

For four years, he has served as Director of University of Rhode Island’s Strategic Innovation M.B.A., overseeing all administrative and operational facets of the one-year accelerated program. He has served as a professor in business schools since 2003, and throughout his academic career has been dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, and service. Prior to joining the University of Rhode Island, Wheeler held faculty tenure-track positions in the Foster College of Business, Bradley University; the College of Business, California State University, Sacramento; and adjunct positions in the Michael F. Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma. He also served as Visiting Professor of Management Studies at University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, where he chaired doctoral committees for that nation’s first ever Ph. D. graduates in Human Resource Management.

Wheeler is a prolific researcher who is recognized for conducting high-impact research that is widely acclaimed in the field of management, focusing on several areas including the influence of strategic human resource management effectiveness and employee retention. He is also the recipient of numerous awards for teaching excellence. He received his master’s and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park.

“Bryant University has a deep commitment to innovative academic programs that advance new models for teaching and learning,” said Wheeler. “The University is poised for growth and continued success, and I am excited to be joining Bryant’s visionary academic leadership team as Associate Dean of the College of Business.”

Bryant’s innovative academic programs, including its Center for Program Innovation, the First-Year Gateway Experience and its immersive 72-hour Innovation and Design Experience for All (IDEA) course, have been nationally recognized by organizations including the Davis Educational Foundation and Hanover Research. Wheeler joins a growing team of esteemed academic innovators at Bryant, including Edward Kairiss, Ph. D., the University’s Director of Faculty Development and Innovation, who in February came to Bryant from Yale University where he served as Director, Strategic Projects, for Yale’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The University will open a 50,000 sq. ft. Academic Innovation Center in August 2016.

Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. is a leading private university offering an innovative and uniquely integrated business and liberal arts education. Bryant University’s business programs have been accredited by AACSB-International since 1994. Founded in 1863, Bryant University has approximately 3,700 graduate and undergraduate students from 32 states and 63 countries. Bryant University is recognized as a leader in international education and regularly receives top rankings from U.S. News & World Report, College Factual/U.S.A. Today,Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and Barron’s. Visit www.Bryant.edu.