Saonee Sarker named the Richard E. Sorensen Dean in the Pamplin College of Business
Saonee Sarker, who became dean of the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech July 1, has been honored with the title of Richard E. Sorenson Dean by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Richard E. Sorensen Dean’s Chair was established in 2012 through the generosity of multiple friends of the Pamplin College of Business to honor Sorensen, who served as the college’s dean from 1982-2013. The dean’s chair will provide discretionary funds for the dean to use in developing outstanding academic and research programs.
Sarker has been a professor in the Department of Informatics in the School of Economics and Management at Lund University since 2021. She is also a visiting professor in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics.
From 2013-21, Sarker was a member of the faculty at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where she held many roles including senior associate dean for academic affairs, area coordinator of information technology, Rolls Royce Commonwealth Commerce Professor, and professor of information technology.
Sarker’s 11-year tenure at Washington State University included chair of the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship; George and Carolyn Hubman Distinguished Professor in Management Information Systems; associate professor of information systems; and Ph.D. program coordinator.
Sarker brings a wealth of research experience to the role. She is director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for MIS Quarterly, serving as an ambassador and senior editor emeritus for the journal. She also is senior editor of the Journal of the Association for Information Systems. Among her research interests are smart infrastructure and sustainability, health care information technology and technostress, and technology-enabled collaboration.
Sarker received a bachelor's degree from Lady Brabourne College (Calcutta University), an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. from Washington State University.
