Thapa named Spears Business vice dean for faculty, graduate programs, and research

Friday, May 16, 2025

Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405-744-4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu

The Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University has named Dr. Brij Thapa as vice dean for faculty, graduate programs, and research.

Thapa brings extensive experience as a widely cited scholar, an established leader and an innovator for academic programs. For the past five years, he served as a professor and head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, housed in Spears Business. The school’s research, reputation and rankings substantially increased under Thapa, climbing to No. 8 in the United States and No. 22 in the world, according to the recent ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

Thapa, who holds the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Distinguished Chair, recently completed a nationally competitive management development program in university leadership at Harvard University. He will start his new role July 1.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as vice dean for faculty, graduate programs, and research at the Spears School of Business,” Thapa said. “This is a chance to contribute directly to the strategic goals and to shape the future based on people, processes and priorities.

“In my 25 years in academia, I have always been a champion in driving excellence in graduate education, student mentorship and success, faculty development, interdisciplinary research and grant activity — and my experience aligns perfectly with the responsibilities of this role. As vice dean, my commitment is to foster a collaborative environment that empowers faculty, supports graduate students and drives innovation, ultimately contributing to the advancement of research, rankings and overall reputation of Spears.”

At OSU, Thapa has been extensively involved in initiatives relating to curriculum synergy, research coordination, grant activities, faculty recruitment and incentives, teaching excellence, online programming, industry advisory board and outreach programs.

Prior to OSU, he spent 20 years at the University of Florida in Gainesville, serving in various academic and administrative leadership roles at the department, college and university levels. He also completed a selective nine-month advanced leadership training program for administrators.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Thapa into his new leadership role,” said Dr. Jim Payne, dean of Spears Business. “In addition to his previous experience at the University of Florida, Brij brings a strong work ethic to the role, as evident by his efforts to elevate the academic profile of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in working closely with the faculty, staff and students.”

Thapa succeeds Dr. Ramesh Sharda, who has decided to return to faculty to focus on research and teaching after more than 11 years as vice dean for graduate programs and research. Sharda’s leadership elevated the business school’s commitment to faculty research grants and raised the national standing of Spears Business graduate programs. The online MBA skyrocketed to No. 11 in U.S. News & World Report rankings, while the Master’s in Business Analytics and Data Science surged to No. 2 in Fortune.com’s rankings.

“As one of the longest-serving faculty members in Spears, Ramesh has led by example as a scholar-teacher and has demonstrated his servant leadership in helping others over his career,” Payne said. “I sincerely appreciate his dedication to the Spears School of Business over the past four decades.”

Thapa is an active scholar and has a distinguished record of scholarship as evidenced in publications in leading academic journals, book chapters, technical reports, professional presentations and external grant funding. With a direct impact on fellow scholars, he was listed among the top 2% of most-cited researchers on Stanford University’s list of the World’s Top Scientists in the tourism/sport/leisure category. He served as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist and recently completed a journal editorship.

In graduate education, Thapa has demonstrated leadership through program development, curriculum assessment, online degree implementation, new courses, interdisciplinary certificates, student research and mentorship. He has supervised and mentored numerous graduate students who are placed in academia, government, international agencies and the private sector in the U.S. and/or globally.

Thapa obtained his doctorate and master’s degree in tourism and recreation management from Pennsylvania State University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from West Liberty University in West Virginia.

Thapa’s new appointment is pending approval by the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents.