He’s a professor of marketing – with an expertise in pharma and health care.
He’s a proven commodity when it comes to faculty recruitment and research support.
He’s prioritized mentoring, experiential learning and curriculum innovations – all while fostering career opportunities for students through community outreach.
And he has real world experience. A certified public accountant, he has held various management and marketing roles, including positions at Ernst & Young and IBM.
For all these reasons and more, Rowan University has named Matthew Sarkees the dean of the Rohrer College of Business.
Sarkees, who comes to the school from Villanova, will begin in the role Aug. 19. He assumes the position from Interim Dean Morris Kalliny, who was appointed following the departure of Dean Sue Lehrman in 2023. Kalliny will join the Office of the Provost to further develop international programs and integrate campus-based global programs into Academic Affairs.
Provost Tony Lowman said Sarkees stood out from a national field of candidates.
“Dr. Sarkees is a proven leader whose experience in the classroom and business community will serve the Rohrer College of Business and its students very well,” Lowman said. “He comes to Rowan during a period of great excitement and opportunity at both the college and university level and will help drive the popular and growing college forward for years.”
A professor of marketing and chair of Villanova University’s Department of Marketing and Business Law in the Villanova School of Business, Sarkees brings 30 years of professional experience to the RCB. He is a highly accomplished educator and researcher who has written extensively about pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing issues in the context of strategy and public policy.
Sarkees previously held faculty positions in the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University and the Haub School of Business, St. Joseph’s University.
He said he is eager for the opportunity.
“I am honored to serve as the next dean of the Rohrer College of Business and thank President Ali Houshmand, Provost Lowman and the Rowan community for this exciting opportunity,” Sarkees said. “The passion that faculty, students, staff and alumni have for the RCB mission and values is evident. I look forward to collaborating with our stakeholders to continue to enhance the close-knit RCB community and deliver superior value to our students through a world-class educational experience.”
The college, which in 2022 celebrated its 50th anniversary, follows a model of business for the greater good and emphasizes entrepreneurship across all its majors and programs. The Princeton Review last year ranked the RCB’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program #40 nationally, a 10-place jump in just three years.
On the precipice of securing R1 public research university status, Rowan is a top 100 national public research institution offering bachelor’s through doctoral and professional programs in person and online to 23,000 students.
