Gareth James named dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management

Gareth James, a higher education leader and scholar with deep expertise in statistics, data science and machine learning, has been named the next dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

James is currently the John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School at Emory University, a role he has held since 2022. He will assume his new post at UCLA on July 1.

Under his leadership, Goizueta has thrived, launching three new degree programs and two centers, hiring 22 additional full-time faculty, and creating several endowed chairs. At the same time, the school's enrollment grew by 35% and the full-time MBA program climbed from 26th to 17th in U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Before joining Emory, James spent nearly 25 years as a member of the data sciences and operations faculty at USC's Marshall School of Business. There, he held the E. Morgan Stanley Chair in Business Administration and served in several senior leadership roles, 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," James said. "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."

A highly regarded researcher and teacher

James, a statistician by training, is the co-author of the book "An Introduction to Statistical Learning," a foundational text widely used in business, economics, computer science and statistics programs around the world. His influential scholarly work, much if it focused on statistical and machine learning methodologies, has been published in academic and professional journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings, and his research has been cited more than 40,000 times by other scholars.

In addition, he has led multiple National Science Foundation-funded projects, served as an associate editor for five leading research journals and received two Dean's Awards for Research Excellence from USC Marshall. He is an elected fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

Beyond his scholarly achievements, James is widely recognized for his work with students. At USC Marshall, he garnered multiple awards for his teaching and mentoring and was honored three times as the best instructor in the full-time MBA program.

A native of New Zealand, James earned bachelor of science and bachelor of commerce degrees from the University of Auckland and a doctorate in statistics from Stanford University.

In a message to campus announcing the appointment, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt said James' visionary leadership, data-informed decision making, strategic mindset and powerful optimism would help advance UCLA Anderson's mission and its role in preparing the next generation of leaders and innovators.

"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," Hunt wrote. "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 succeed Margaret Shih, who has served as interim dean of UCLA Anderson since July 2025.