Ali Malekzadeh

An accomplished administrator who has boosted the reputation and rankings of several business schools, Ali R. Malekzadeh became Kansas State's Edgerley Family Dean of the College of Business Administration in July 2011. His areas of expertise include strategic management, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Since arriving at K-State, Malekzadeh has quickly established innovative programs involving broad student and constituent engagement that affirms the college’s vision – Every Student Can Succeed! For example, the Business Executive Mentor Program allows students to learn from industry leaders and gain the skills they need to enter the business world as true professionals; they will be ready to work in a demanding environment and with a solid network.

In his first year as dean, Malekzadeh also worked with a team of undergraduate students, faculty, staff, board members, and associate deans to develop the Professional Advancement Program. The Professional Advancement Program is a structured progression of extracurricular skills and training activities designed to build on each other and allow students to make choices most suitable to their particular career paths.

Prior to joining K-State, Dean Malekzadeh was dean of the Williams College of Business at Xavier University where he oversaw construction of the college's new $29 million home. Before joining Xavier he was dean of the Herberger College of Business at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where he also served as the university's interim vice president for academic affairs. Previously, he helped build the new campus of Arizona State University in Phoenix and served as associate vice provost and president of its academic senate.

The dean holds a bachelor's degree in management and a master of business administration from the University of Denver. He earned his business administration doctorate from the University of Utah.

Malekzadeh can be contacted at 785-532-7227 or malekzad@k-state.edu.

Pronouncer: Malekzadeh is Muh-LEX-ah-day