The University of Nebraska at Omaha has announced that Dr. Gurpreet S. Dhillon will become the next dean of the College of Business Administration starting January 12, 2026, pending the final approval of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Dr. Dhillon is widely recognized for his scholarship and global leadership, and he currently holds the G. Brint Ryan Endowed Chair in AI and Cybersecurity at the University of North Texas.
With more than twenty years of academic and administrative experience across several continents, Dr. Dhillon brings an extensive portfolio of research, innovation, and institutional leadership to his new role. Having worked in the United States, Europe, and Asia, he has shaped programs and research initiatives that connect business education with rapidly advancing technological fields.
In a statement, Dr. Dhillon noted that UNO’s commitment to accessibility, innovation, and community-centered education strongly resonates with his own professional goals. He emphasized that today’s business students must be prepared to lead amid digital disruption, global economic shifts, and fast-moving technological changes. He expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and local partners to expand opportunities that benefit both the university and the broader region.
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Phil He, praised the appointment, highlighting Dr. Dhillon’s blend of academic excellence and visionary leadership. According to Dr. He, Dhillon’s expertise at the intersection of business, technology, and society—combined with his commitment to workforce and community development—positions him exceptionally well to advance UNO’s metropolitan mission.
Dr. Dhillon earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems from the London School of Economics and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Örebro University in Sweden. His body of work includes more than a dozen books, among them a highly regarded graduate-level cybersecurity textbook, as well as over 100 scholarly articles published in leading journals.
His research has been covered by prominent national and global media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN, and NPR. He is listed among the top 2% of global researchers in his field by Stanford University and ranks within the top 0.05% of scholars worldwide according to Scholar GPS. He is currently recognized as the 29th most influential academic in Information Security based on his career-long scholarly impact.
Dr. Dhillon will take over from Interim Dean Steve Schulz, Ph.D., who has guided the college over the past year.
