Upinder Dhillon, 71, the recently retired dean of the Binghamton University School of Management (SOM), died on Saturday.
A Dateline announcement stated Dhillon’s death followed an illness. The dean originally planned on retiring in summer 2022, but announced in late March that he would be stepping down early to focus on his family and health, following a diagnosis with advanced stage cancer. Dhillon had held the position of dean for 21 years.
Shelley Dionne, associate dean of SOM, area chair of leadership and organizational science and professor of leadership, said Dhillon was the reason for SOM’s high national rankings.
“Although Dean Upinder Dhillon would never take individual credit for the success of the [SOM], it was the pursuit of his vision to be a top 50 business school that propelled SOM to national prominence,” Dionne wrote in an email. “Because of his leadership, in 2021 the SOM was the 27th-ranked business school in the country, and among the top 10 public business schools.”
After working as a project engineer and assistant plant manager at Shriram Chemicals in Kota, India, Dhillon received his MBA and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. According to Dateline, Dhillon came to BU as a visiting assistant professor of finance in 1987 and became a tenure-track assistant professor two years later. In 1997, Dhillon was promoted to professor and named Koffman Scholar of Finance, later becoming dean of SOM in 2001.
BU President Harvey Stenger mourned the loss of the dean in a Twitter post on Monday, echoing Dionne’s sentiment about Dhillon’s impact on SOM’s standing as one of the most prestigious public business schools in the country.
“[BU] has suffered a true loss,” Stenger wrote. “In his 21 years as dean, [Dhillon] set very high standards for himself, his students and his school, leading the way for remarkable achievements including building one of the top-ranked business schools in the country.”
Dhillon had a strong impact on the student experience of SOM, playing a key role in the establishment of the Zurack Trading Room and the Innovation Lab in the Glenn G. Bartle Library North building. According to the Dateline announcement, undergraduate and graduate enrollment also increased significantly under Dhillon’s administration.
George Bobinski, associate dean of SOM, pointed to such initiatives, including the Dean’s Mentoring Program, the Transformational Leaders Program, the development of qualitative finance and business analytics concentrations and the creation of the J-core live case project, as testament to Dhillon’s dedication to SOM students.
“These initiatives have helped to propel the school to the highest rankings in its history,” Bobinski wrote in an email. “Dean Dhillon was a friend and mentor to me for over 20 years and I will miss him greatly.”
Dionne expanded on her description of Dhillon’s character and the impact that she felt his leadership had on both SOM and the University as a whole.
“[Dhillon] was brilliant, innovative, modest, honest and fair, and his work ethic was unparalleled,” Dionne wrote. “He gained the respect of the faculty and staff by leading with transparency, and as important, he gained the respect of SOM students by celebrating their achievements and contributions, even long after their graduation. He never lost sight of his true calling as an educator, and he was an extraordinary teacher and mentor.”
Benjamin Horowitz, a sophomore majoring in business administration, said Dhillon’s personality and passion was influential for students.
“Dean Dhillon was someone who always had a smile on his face and made the School of Management a more lively and an overall better place,” Horowitz wrote in an email. “His passion for success in each and every one of his students was always evident. Dean Dhillon will be dearly missed and his impact on our school will always be remembered.”
In an interview for a video celebrating SOM’s 50-year anniversary in 2020, cited by the Dateline announcement, Dhillon credited the student body for his stay at BU for over two decades.
“[SOM] students are the reason that I’m here,” Dhillon said. “They are the best in the country.”
According to the Dateline announcement, Dhillon’s family will receive friends on Tuesday at the Allen Memorial Home in Endicott, New York, from noon to 2:30 p.m.
Students in need of counseling services or support can contact the University Counseling Center at 607-777-2772 and the Office of the Dean of Students at 607-777-2804. Faculty and staff in need of support can contact the Employee Assistance Program any time of day at 1-800-822-0244.