Rider Names New Dean For Business College

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The interim dean who lead Rider University’s Norm Brodsky College of Business during the outbreak of new coronavirus is now the college’s permanent dean.

Dr. Eugene Kutcher has been appointed to serve as the dean of Rider University’s Norm Brodsky College of Business effective April 1, the university announced. He has been the interim dean since September.

"His commitment to Rider has continually shined through, matched by his singular kindness and thoughtful leadership," Rider Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. DonnaJean Fredeen said. "I look forward to the many positive outcomes of Dr. Kutcher's leadership in the Norm Brodsky College of Business as well as the University."

While serving as interim dean, Kutcher extended a modified version of the College's strategic plan through the upcoming accreditation visit, led its core curriculum revision through the governance process and added depth and value through the design and roll-out of a new formal executive-in-residence program.

He has also led the College during two historic events — the naming of the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the first academic college at Rider to be named, and the current coronavirus pandemic.

“This academic year has been bookended by the historical celebration of our College’s naming and this atypical period of remote and alternative instruction," Kutcher said. "Both events, and much that happened in the months between, have reinforced what I find special about our College: caring faculty, eager students and a commitment to Engaged Learning and continuous improvement. I am proud to be part of the Norm Brodsky College of Business community and couldn’t be more excited about its future.”

Kutcher joined Rider in 2007 as an assistant professor in the Department of Management. He was promoted to associate professor and tenured in 2013 and assumed the role of department chairperson in 2015.

At Rider, he has served as a member of the Faculty Climate Group and Employee Engagement Committee, as the faculty advisor to DAARSTOC, and as co-chair of the Faculty Mentoring Committee and College of Business Administration Core Curriculum Revision Committee. In 2013, he received Rider's Distinguished Teaching Award, an annual award that recognizes faculty teaching excellence.

Kutcher graduated from Rutgers University with a double major in business management and psychology. He went on to receive a master’s from Montclair State University and a doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University — both in industrial and organizational psychology.