Gareth James has been appointed as the next dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, with his term set to begin on July 1. James is currently serving as the John H. Harland Dean at Goizueta Business School at Emory University, a position he has held since 2022.
During his tenure at Emory, James led initiatives that included launching three new degree programs and two centers, hiring 22 additional full-time faculty members, and creating several endowed chairs. Under his leadership, enrollment increased by 35 percent and the school’s full-time MBA program rose in U.S. News & World Report rankings from 26th to 17th place.
Prior to joining Emory, James spent almost 25 years on the data sciences and operations faculty at USC’s Marshall School of Business. He served in various senior roles there, including deputy dean, interim dean, and vice dean for faculty and academic affairs.
“I have admired UCLA Anderson for almost three decades and am honored and energized to join the school as its next dean,” said James. “It is a time of extraordinary opportunity for UCLA Anderson and business education more broadly. With its deep roots in Los Angeles, a truly global city where technology, entertainment, entrepreneurship and social impact converge at extraordinary scale, UCLA Anderson is uniquely positioned to shape the future of leadership. I look forward to working closely with our faculty, students, staff and alumni to amplify our impact and further extend Anderson’s influence both locally and globally.”
James is known for his research in statistics and machine learning. He co-authored “An Introduction to Statistical Learning,” a widely used text in multiple disciplines around the world. His work has appeared in numerous academic publications with over 40,000 citations from other scholars.
He has also led projects funded by the National Science Foundation, served as an associate editor for five major research journals, received two Dean’s Awards for Research Excellence from USC Marshall School of Business, and was elected fellow of both the American Statistical Association and Institute of Mathematical Statistics.
James earned recognition at USC Marshall for teaching excellence as well as student mentoring; he was named best instructor in the full-time MBA program three times.
Originally from New Zealand, James holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of Auckland and a doctorate in statistics from Stanford University.
In a campus message announcing this appointment, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt wrote: “Dean James’ distinguished academic and administrative leadership, coupled with his Los Angeles roots, position him well to lead the UCLA Anderson School of Management at this pivotal moment. Chancellor Frenk and I are confident that the school will continue to fulfill its vital role on campus and will reach new heights under Gareth’s capable leadership.”
James will take over from Margaret Shih who has been serving as interim dean since July 2025.
The University of California Los Angeles operates within a broad network offering diverse academic programs across many disciplines while emphasizing knowledge creation for societal progress through education and research. The institution serves tens of thousands of students through extensive undergraduate, graduate,and professional programs, drawing participants globally.
