UMass Boston

Innovation management, technology commercialization, emerging technologies, Green economy, knowledge-based systems, neural networks, decision support systems, genetic algorithms, electronic commerce, enterprise integration, supply chain management, enterprise resource planning systems, cross-cultural issues in information systems. 

PhD, Management Science, The University of Alabama
MBA, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
BS (Honors) in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Madras, India

• “Does the product really matter? A look at mainstream pro-environmental consumption behavior,” (with N.A. Barber and C. Taylor) in Journal of Food Products Marketing, Vol. 22, Issue 5, 2016, pp. 521-554.
• "Integrating Sustainability into Business Curricula: University of New Hampshire Case Study" (with N. Barber, F. Wilson, J. Garnham, and S. Cleaves) in International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2014, pp. 473-493.
• “Integrating Social Responsibility Into Business School Undergraduate Education: A Student Perspective,” (with N. Barber) in American Journal of Business Education, 6(3)2013, pp. 385-396.
• “The Effect of Merger and Acquisitions on the IS Function: An Agent Based Approach,” (with A. Genovase, B. Shore, S. Titz, K. Gwebu, J. Wang) in Inter-organizational Information Systems and Business Management -Theories for Researchers. 2012, pp. 157-168.
• “Launching the Next Industrial Revolution in New England: New Hampshire’s Green Launching Pad 1.0 and 2.0,” (with R. Gittell) in New England Journal of Higher Education, April 2011.
• “Business Process Digitalization and New Product Development: An Empirical Study of Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers,” (with J. Li and M. Merenda) in International Journal of E-Business Research, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2009, pp. 49-64.
• “A Holistic Perspective on Enterprise Integration,” in Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2006.
• "Towards a Learning Organization Perspective to Supplier Selection for Global Supply Chain Management: an Integrated Framework,” (with B. Shore, L. Iandoli, and G. Zollo) in Journal of Information Science and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2004, pp. 26-43.
• “Leveraging Intellectual Property in the Financing of Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Technology-based Solution,” (with J. Freear and J. Sohl) in International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Vol. 4, No. 2/3, 2004, pp. 178-193.

Dr. Venky Venkatachalam is currently the Dean and Distinguished Professor in the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston since July 2022.  He returned to New England after serving as Dean at the University of South Dakota for eight years.

Dr. Venkatachalam served as Dean and Professor in the Beacom School of Business at the University of South Dakota (USD), the state’s flagship institution, for eight years (2014 – 2022). Previously he served as Associate Dean and Professor in the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) from 1992 - 2014. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors in mechanical engineering from the University of Madras, India; his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta; and his Ph.D. in Management Science from The University of Alabama.  He also worked as an engineer for four years. 

Since becoming the Dean of the USD’s Beacom School of Business in 2014, Venkatachalam has successfully led its AACSB reaccreditation efforts. As Dean of the nationally recognized business school in the state of South Dakota, he has a demonstrated track record of leadership in the areas of academic excellence, entrepreneurial thinking and innovation, fiscal management, fund-raising, and economic development. During his tenure at the University of South Dakota, the Beacom School of Business witnessed significant growth in enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, new academic programs, consistent high national rankings (“Top 20”) by Princeton Review for seven years in a row,  record fund-raising ($22+ million), including a state of the art Finance and Analytics Lab, strong partnerships with businesses and government agencies for student learning and career opportunities, and a grant-funded proof-of-concept center for bioscience with multi-campus collaboration. 

During the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, under Dean Venkatachalam’s leadership, USD Beacom School of Business championed the Coyote Business Consulting project, a student-centered initiative designed to help small businesses stay competitive in the state of South Dakota. Coyote Business Consulting has offered more than 90 businesses critical consulting assistance to small businesses in the state of South Dakota, located in 29 counties, of which 60% are located in rural communities.

While at the University of New Hampshire (R1: Very High Research) from 1992 to 2014, Venkatachalam received several awards and distinctions, including the 2012 UNH Award for Excellence in Public Service, the 2006 UNH Faculty Excellence in Research Award, and the 1995 Teaching Excellence Award.

Dean Venkatachalam has a distinguished track record of leading externally funded research projects. He has successfully completed research projects funded by U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Defense (DARPA), the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, the Patent and Trademarks Office, the Small Business Administration, and the National Science Foundation. During 2016-19, he was a co-PI for a bioscience proof-of-concept project that received a competitive grant as part of the i6 Innovation Challenge competition from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.  During 2009-13, he was the project director for a clean energy technology accelerator project, Green Launching Pad, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Green Launching Pad was a statewide technology accelerator project involving entrepreneurs, private and government sectors in New Hampshire, and faculty researchers and students from UNH, Dartmouth College, and other New Hampshire universities.

During 1996-98, he pioneered the designing and development of procurement, marketing, and communications network (PRO-Net) for the U.S. Small Business Administration. For his leadership role in the creation of PRO-Net, Venkatachalam was honored by the United States Vice President at the White House during the inauguration of Small Business Week.  During 1995-2002, he was the project leader for Angel Capital Electronic Network (ACE-Net), an internet-based angel capital network that brings together entrepreneurs seeking equity capital and self-accredited investors on a national basis.

Venkatachalam has published in highly reputed research journals and presented at national/international conferences. He has served on the editorial boards of several reputed research journals in information systems. Venkatachalam served on several boards dedicated to economic development in the state of South Dakota.  He currently serves as the President of the MidAmerican Business Deans Association and mentors business schools seeking AACSB accreditation.

APPOINTMENTS

• 2014-2022 Dean Beacom School of Business, The University of South Dakota,
• 2014-2022 Professor (with tenure), Beacom School of Business, The University of South Dakota
• 2012-2014 Associate Dean, Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire
• 2002-2012 Chair, Decision Sciences Department, Whittemore School of Business and Economics (renamed as Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics in 2012), University of New Hampshire, 
• 2005-2014 Director, Enterprise Integration Research Center, University of New Hampshire, 
• 2003-2014 (Full) Professor of Information Systems, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire
• 1996-2003 Associate Professor of Information Systems (with Tenure), Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire.
• 1992-1996 Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• 2012 UNH Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Public Service (university-wide) Idea Factory
• 2006 UNH Faculty Excellence in Research Award (university-wide)
• 2004 Research Excellence Award, Whittemore School of Business and Economics University of New Hampshire
• 2001-2004 Hamel Professor
• 1998-2001 Forbes Chair 
• Recognition by the Vice President of the United States at the White House on June 2, 1997, on the occasion of PRO-Net inauguration
• 1995 Teaching Excellence Award, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire.