The Goodman School of Business will look to two experienced leaders to advance its programs and initiatives when they begin appointments as Associate Deans on Monday, July 1.

Jingyu (Jennifer) Li, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, has been reappointed for a second three-year term and Usman Raja will take on the role of Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs.

Raja currently serves as a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management and the Chair of the Department of Organizational Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship and Ethics (OBHREE).

“Dr. Raja and Dr. Li bring considerable enthusiasm and experience to their roles,” Wright said. “Their passion and perspective will enrich our vision and drive our School forward.”

Raja joined Goodman in 2009 and received Goodman’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2018 in recognition of his research and scholarly excellence. He holds a PhD in Management from John Molson School of Business at Concordia University and concentrates his research and teaching in the areas of organizational behaviour and human resource management.

As he takes on this new role, Raja is excited to be a champion for Goodman’s graduate programs and progress the School’s efforts towards a PhD program and Doctor of Business Administration degree, for which a recent statement of intent has been issued, while ensuring current programs continue to be market-oriented.

“My main focus is to bring people together,” Raja said. “There’s a lot of progress that can be made working together to support and grow both our graduate programs and research supports.”

On the research side of his portfolio, he recognizes the strength of the School’s current output and looks forward to working collaboratively to develop a fair and equitable way to recognize and support the faculty’s research contributions.

Raja takes over the position from Professor of Marketing and Product Innovation Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl, who has served as Associate Dean since 2017.

Li joined Brock 21 years ago and was first appointed to her role as Associate Dean in July 2021.

She sees the three-year extension of her appointment as an opportunity to move beyond limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic during her first term and to continue providing meaningful experiences for students.

“We care about our programs,” the Professor of Accounting said. “With COVID-19 behind us, I feel like it’s now time to adopt new ways of working and employ strategies to better engage our faculty, staff and students. It’s an opportunity to set the new norm for our work and move forward intentionally.”