Indian American Dipak Jain will step down as dean of the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA, after eight years on the job.
Jain, a renowned marketing scholar, who will formally leave the post on September 1, 2009, will take a year's absence, before returning to the classroom, a Kellogg School release said. While the school conducts a nationwide search for a full-time replacement for Jain, an interim dean will be appointed.
As for Jain, he will reportedly use his year away from Northwestern to become more involved with the Indian School of Business - Hyderabad, which he helped to establish.
In his resignation letter, Jain thanked the Kellogg School and added that a desire to spend more time with his family and in the classroom had fuelled his decision.
"I truly appreciate the support, guidance and assistance that I have received from Kellogg faculty, staff, students and alumni during my tenure as dean. I have always believed that eight to 10 years is long enough to do the job. Now is the right time to step down. I have done my job. I hope I have done a good job," he explain.
Professor Jain joined Kellogg in 1986 as an assistant professor and rose rapidly through the ranks to become the school's senior associate dean, a post he held for nearly five years.
Under Jain's stewardship, and that of former Dean Donald Jacobs, the Kellogg School of Management has become one of the world's pre-eminent business schools. It now consistently ranks in the top 10 American B-schools, oftentimes in the top 5, alongside such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jain, still only 51 years old, is well-known throughout the industry. He has served as a consultant to Sony, Microsoft, American Express, Nissan and Motorola, to name a few. He also does consulting work for Reliance Industries, where he currently serves as a member on the board of directors.
