ATHENS, Ga. (Diya TV) — The University of Georgia has appointed Santanu Chatterjee as the new dean of the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business after completing a national search. Chatterjee, who currently serves as interim dean, will officially assume the role on April 1. He will become the college’s 13th dean and succeed Benjamin C. Ayers, who recently moved into a new role as the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
University leaders say Chatterjee’s deep experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership makes him well-suited to guide one of the nation’s top public business schools.
Jere W. Morehead, president of the University of Georgia, praised Chatterjee’s long record of service and leadership at the business school.
“Dr. Chatterjee brings a strong record of teaching, scholarship, and administrative experience to this important role,” Morehead said. “With his years of dedicated service to the Terry College of Business, I am confident he will continue to advance the college’s reputation as one of the top public business schools in the country.”
Chatterjee joined the Terry College faculty in 2001 and currently holds the Dr. Harold A. Black Distinguished Professorship of Economics. Over the years, he has played a key role in expanding graduate education and strengthening academic programs.
His appointment follows a nationwide search led by an 18-member advisory committee that included faculty, staff, students, and alumni from the Terry College community. The committee was chaired by Matthew R. Auer, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.
Chatterjee has held several leadership roles at the Terry College of Business. He served as director of the full-time MBA program and later led the Master of Science in Business Analytics program. In 2021, the college named him associate dean for graduate programs.
During his time directing the MBA program, the school gained strong national and international recognition. The business school ranked No. 1 globally for value for the money for three consecutive years in rankings published by the Financial Times. The Terry College also earned strong rankings in the 2025 survey from U.S. News & World Report. The publication ranked the college No. 9 among public business schools and No. 19 overall for undergraduate business programs. The university’s MBA program has also placed among the top 20 public university programs for eight straight years.
As associate dean, Chatterjee helped expand interdisciplinary opportunities for graduate students. He supported new dual-degree programs that connect business studies with engineering, law, social work, and pharmacy. He also helped launch new programs such as the Pathway MBA for STEM undergraduates and the 2+2 MBA Early Admissions Program. These initiatives aim to increase access to graduate business education for talented students.
Chatterjee has earned wide recognition as a teacher and researcher in economics. In 2018, the University of Georgia named him a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, the institution’s highest honor for excellence in instruction. He has received the George P. Swift Award for Outstanding Teaching in Undergraduate Economics three times. He also earned the Hugh O. Nourse Outstanding MBA Teacher Award in 2018 and the Richard Reiff Award for Campus Internationalization in 2022.
Along with teaching, Chatterjee has built a strong research career. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited academic volumes on economic topics. He also speaks regularly at international conferences and participates in the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program.
As interim dean, Chatterjee worked to strengthen philanthropic support for the business school. He helped secure several major donor commitments, including four new endowed chairs and professorships. He also collaborated with alumni and development teams to expand fundraising efforts around emerging initiatives in artificial intelligence and graduate business education. Ayers said Chatterjee’s leadership and deep knowledge of the college will help Terry continue its growth.
“Dr. Chatterjee’s deep familiarity with the Terry College, combined with his proven excellence as a teacher and leader, makes him the ideal choice for this role,” Ayers said.
Chatterjee earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Washington. Earlier, he completed a master’s degree in economics at the University of Delhi and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calcutta. He also served as a visiting scholar in the research department of the International Monetary Fund during his academic career.
Chatterjee said he feels honored to lead the Terry College of Business, which he has considered his professional home for more than two decades.
“It is an honor and privilege to be named dean of a college that has been my professional home for over two decades,” Chatterjee said. “I am grateful for the confidence placed in me and look forward to working with our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”
