Indian-origin Stanford University Professor Sunil Kumar has been named dean of the prestigious Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Kumar’s five-year term as dean at Chicago Booth will begin on 1st January, 2011.

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore alumnus is currently Stanford Business School’s senior associate dean for academic affairs.

“I am excited to become dean of Chicago Booth. I share the school’s passion for the pursuit of ideas that hold up under careful scrutiny. I look forward to helping strengthen and enhance Booth’s outstanding research environment and its rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education,” Kumar said.

Kumar’s appointment comes within a month of IIT alumnus Nitin Nohria taking over as dean of the prestigious Harvard Business School.

Kumar, 42, succeeds Edward A Snyder, who completed nine years as Chicago Booth’s dean on 30th June.

“We are delighted that Sunil Kumar has agreed to serve as dean. He brings the right blend of vision, entrepreneurial energy and academic leadership that will build on the contributions of Chicago Booth at a time of tremendous momentum and achievement,” University President Robert Zimmer said.

At Stanford, Kumar oversees the school’s MBA programme and also leads the faculty groups in marketing and organisational behaviour.

He joined the Stanford faculty in 1996 after receiving his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

At Stanford he taught courses in operations management, technology, critical analytical thinking and revenue management.

His research interests include performance evaluation and control of manufacturing systems, service operations, and communications networks.

He co-developed a widely used factory simulator for teaching operations management.

The simulator, “Littlefield Technologies,” has been used in classes at more than 50 business and engineering schools.

He has published dozens of scholarly research articles and has served as the editor of the Stochastic Models area of the journal Operations Research.

He also was named Professor of the Year at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

Born in India, Kumar received a Master of Engineering degree in computer science and automation from IISc and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Mangalore University in Surathkal.

 “We are confident that Kumar’s vision, integrity, intelligence, energy, and commitment will ensure that Chicago Booth continues its positive momentum. We expect that under his guidance Booth will reach an even higher level of achievement and recognition,” said John Huizinga, the Walter David Fackler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics