Robert (Bob) Sullivan

Robert Sullivan is recognized as an expert on entrepreneurship, knowledge management, and operations management.

He served as dean of the Tepper School of Business from 1991-1995, helping to dramatically increase school rankings and leading the reengineering of educational programs, including integrating advanced technology into the finance area and creating experiential and international distance-learning opportunities. Sullivan also developed unique degree programs in collaboration with other Carnegie Mellon University departments and universities. 

For example, under his leadership, the school launched the Master of Science in Computational Finance (MSCF), a joint venture of four schools at Carnegie Mellon, and established a classroom in the Wall Street area of New York City.

Raised in Newton, MA, Sullivan received his bachelor’s in mathematics from Boston College, his master’s in production management and quantitative methods from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in operations management from Pennsylvania State University.

He spent 15 years in a variety of positions at the University of Texas before coming to the Tepper School. In 1997, he accepted the position of dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, and in 2003, became founding dean of the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego, where he remained until 2020.

Sullivan published in numerous professional journals, co-authored two books, and served on the editorial boards of two journals.