Farhang Niroomand, dean of the University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration, will resign Aug. 31 after more than eight years of leading the school.
UHV President Vic Morgan announced Monday that Niroomand will take faculty development leave this fall and spring semesters to prepare to teach at UHV as a professor of economics and international business in addition to other duties.
“Dr. Niroomand has played a major role in the development of the School of Business Administration and has left a legacy that will be hard to follow,” Morgan said. “I wish him the best as he prepares to return to the classroom, and I know that he will continue to contribute to the growth and well-being of UHV.”
Niroomand came to UHV in July 2009 after serving as a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to that, he was the associate dean and graduate program director for the Southern Mississippi College of Business and chairman of the college’s Department of Economics and International Business.
While Niroomand was dean of the UHV School of Business Administration, the school was re-accredited twice by AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide earn this mark of excellence.
“I am honored to have served as dean of the UHV School of Business Administration,” Niroomand said. “I know the next dean will continue to push the school forward as faculty and staff prepare students to become leaders in a global business environment.”
Niroomand helped establish two endowed professorships in the school through fundraising and the Bloomberg Business Week Teaching and Research Awards, which include a cash award and have gone to 18 business faculty members.
In 2013, Chinese entrepreneur Bingxin Wu and his wife, Shuqin Feng, donated $600,000 to the UHV School of Business Administration, the largest gift the school has ever received. That gift was used to create an international business center and has allowed more than 50 business students to receive scholarships to travel to China. Wu received a Doctor of Humane Letters from UHV in 2016. It was the first honorary doctorate awarded by UHV.
During his time as the school’s dean, Niroomand also established the Dean’s Advisory Council made up of prominent business people and the school’s Distinguished Lecture Series that has brought more than 40 business executives to UHV to speak to students, faculty, staff and community members.
“His efforts have helped our business school achieve numerous honors and awards, and he has supported our institution, and our faculty, staff and students,” said David Cockrum, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.
UHV will begin its search for an interim dean of the School of Business Administration immediately and hopes to have someone named no later than Sept. 1, Morgan said.