Chapman University has made three new dean appointments for its most prominent schools.
This month, the university tapped Amy Zeng and Antony Page to oversee the university’s business and law schools. Both are joining for the fall semester.
Chapman also named Christopher Kim the permanent dean of Schmid College of Science and Technology after serving as interim dean for nearly a year.
“We are thrilled to have such outstanding leaders to help Chapman build on the academic excellence we are known for and carry the university’s momentum forward,” Executive Vice President, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Mike Ibba told the Business Journal.
The appointments come as the schools rise through national rankings.
Chapman’s Argyros College of Business and Economics climbed 13 spots to No. 53 nationally among business schools in the U.S. News and World Report, moving closer to Chapman’s long-term goal of breaking into the top 50. The recent ranking places Argyros College among the top three private business schools in California behind Stanford University and USC, according to Chapman.
The Dale E. Fowler School of Law holds the No. 112 spot among law schools while Chapman ranks as No. 110 among national universities.
Chapman Recruits Business Dean with Three Decades of Experience
Chapman’s business school is getting a new dean following Henrik Cronqvist’s departure last May after three years in the role.
Former business school dean, Tom Turk, served as interim dean leading up to Zeng’s appointment.
Cronqvist said that he was stepping down to focus on advancing behavioral finance through research and writing, as well as building and advising ventures “at the intersection of education and finance,” according to a LinkedIn post.
He remains a professor of finance at Chapman.
The school’s next dean, Zeng, was tapped after a nationwide search chaired by Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
“Amy’s deep experience and leadership as an established dean known for curricular innovation and integration will accelerate the momentum in the Argyros College of Business & Economics,” Ibba said in a statement.
Zeng brings three decades of experience in higher education.
Prior to Chapman, she was dean at Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Business and the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business.
While dean of the Sawyer School of Business, Zeng helped double endowment funds and expanded immersive learning opportunities, including a neuromarketing lab, consulting clinic and sports marketing program featuring a multi-year partnership with an NBA championship team.
At the University of Hartford, she oversaw a $5 million expansion project that increased the business school by 10,000 square feet and added a trading floor and analytics lab.
An author of more than 100 publications, Zeng’s research focuses are cybersecurity and digital transformation, risk management strategies in supply chains and international business strategies.
“Leveraging the strengths and location of Argyros College of Business and Economics, we will unite interdisciplinary education, technological innovation and industry partnerships to shape future-ready leaders,” Zeng told the Business Journal.
New Law Dean With ‘Global Perspective’
Also joining Chapman this fall is Page, who will take over the Fowler School of Law from interim dean Kenneth Stahl.
“I bring a global perspective to Fowler Law and will collaborate with faculty and
employers to ensure student success in an increasingly diverse and complex legal environment,” Page told the Business Journal.
Page most recently served as dean of the Florida International University College of Law in Miami.
Last May, Page announced that he was stepping down as dean after seven years in the role.
“I’m deeply grateful to our students, graduates, faculty, staff, and supporters for entrusting me with this responsibility,” Page wrote in a LinkedIn post.
During his tenure as dean, the school’s graduates earned the highest cumulative first-time bar passage rate of any law school in Florida and exceeded the 90% bar passage threshold three separate times, according to FIU.
Before FIU, Page was vice dean at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Page, who received his JD from Stanford, started his legal career by clerking for Judge Harry Hupp in the Central District of California and Judge Arthur Alarcon with the U.S. Court of Appeals. He later transitioned into private practice in London, then the Los Angeles offices of Sullivan & Cromwell.
“Antony’s global perspective and accomplishments as a leader and academic have uniquely prepared him to lead the world-class Fowler School of Law,” Ibba said in a statement.
Schmid College Dean Environmental Geochemist by Training
Schmid College was founded in 2008 when Chapman migrated its science-related degree programs to a new college.
In 2018, the school expanded and is now housed in Chapman’s 140,000-square-foot Keck Center for Science and Engineering.
Kim had spent more than two decades at Chapman prior to his recent appointment as permanent dean.
He began his Chapman career as an assistant professor and worked his way up to associate dean of academic programs and faculty development for Schmid College.
Kim is credited with creating the first formalized science faculty mentoring program in Schmid College, which pairs more than 30 junior faculty with senior faculty members.
His lab at Chapman, focused on environmental problems involving metal contamination in natural settings, has additionally mentored more than 100 undergraduate students and dozens of high school and community college students.
In total, he has received more than $3.7 million in grants from organizations including the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy to fund his research.
“I’m looking forward to advancing our student-centered teaching and research goals, elevating Schmid’s reputation as a premier place to study and engage in the sciences,” Kim told the Business Journal.
