Subramanian appointed senior associate dean for graduate programs

Venkat Subramaniam has been named senior associate dean for academic programs at Tulane University's A. B. Freeman School of Business. The appointment, which is effective April 1, was announced by Freeman School Dean Paulo Goes in an email to faculty and staff.

In his new role, Subramaniam, Exxon Professor of Business and associate professor of finance, will oversee all aspects of both undergraduate and graduate academic programs at the Freeman School, including Graduate Admissions and Freeman’s Career Management Center. He replaces Xianjun Geng, who had resigned to become dean of the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.

“Venkat has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication to academic excellence throughout his tenure here at the Freeman School,” said Goes. “As an award-winning teacher, veteran administrator and distinguished scholar, he brings a thorough understanding of business education to the position as well as a deep knowledge of the Freeman School’s programs and unique strengths. I’m excited to work alongside him as we continue to build a truly world-class business school.” 

Subramaniam joined the Freeman School as an assistant professor of finance in 1994 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2000. He played an instrumental role in the launch of the Master of Finance program in 2002 and served as the program's director from its inception until 2007. He also served as associate dean for graduate programs from 2007 to 2008.

His research interests include corporate cash holdings, monitoring role of non-transient institutional investors, asset restructuring, and the impact of financing choices on firm-supplier relationships. More recently his research has examined the impact of labor unions on product quality and the financial causes and product market consequences of product failures. His papers have been published in journals including The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Corporate Finance, and The Financial Review.

Over the course of his career, Subramaniam has received numerous awards for teaching. In 2023, he was named one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors in the U.S. by Poets&Quants. At the university level, he has received the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence, the university’s highest honor for teaching, as well as the Inspirational Professor Award for Teaching Excellence and the University Teaching Excellence Award. At the business school, Subramanian has received the James T. Murphy Award for Teaching Excellence, the Howard W. Wissner Professor of the Year Award, the Houston Professional MBA Teacher of the Year Award, the Houston EMBA Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, and the Executive MBA Outstanding Professor Award. 

Subramaniam holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi, an MS from Indian Institute of Technology, an MA in mathematics from Temple University, and a PhD in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.