Alka Bramhandkar, professor and chair of the Ithaca College Department of Finance and International Business, will serve as the interim dean of the School of Business beginning July 1.

Bramhandkar began working in the School of Business in 1984 and was promoted to full professor in 2009. During the 2009–10 academic year, she served as an associate dean in the School of Business. She will fill the interim dean position until the college appoints a permanent dean. 

Bramhandkar is filling the position on an interim basis after it was announced that Sean Reid, the current dean of the School of Business, will leave the college July 1. He will join Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. 

La Jerne Cornish, Ithaca College provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said in a message to the campus community June 10 that she will start a Business School Dean Search Committee and intends to announce a permanent dean by Spring 2021. 

The college is also conducting dean searches for the Roy H. Park School of Communications and the School of Music. Jack Powers, professor and department chair of the Department of Media Arts, Sciences and Studies, and Keith Kaiser, professor in the Department of Music Education, were named interim deans for the Park School and School of Music, respectively. Both searches initially began in October 2019 but were postponed until October 2020 because of the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the college. 

“I am pleased that Dr. Bramhandkar will be in this leadership role,” Cornish said. “Her service as a faculty member, associate dean and department chair within the School of Business provides experience and knowledge that will prove valuable in the interim position.” 

Bramhandkar earned her master’s degree, master of business administration and doctorate from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, and her bachelor of science degree from the University of Mumbai — formerly known as the University of Bombay — in Mumbai, India.

“I am really excited to accept this opportunity to lead our School of Business,” Bramhandkar said via email. “With the support of faculty and staff, I will continue to build on the strong foundation Dean Reid has created for us.”