Williamsburg Sun

Todd Mooradian, award-winning teacher, scholar and administrator, has been named the next dean of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business. 

Mooradian, who will begin in this role at the Mason School August 15th, is dean of the College of Business at the University of Louisville. He previously served as a faculty leader and administrator for nearly three decades at William & Mary. His selection follows a national search to succeed Lawrence B. Pulley ’74, who is retiring after 24 years as dean. 

“An experienced leader and scholar, Dr. Mooradian has a deep appreciation for William & Mary’s learning mission. We are delighted to welcome him back,” said President Katherine A. Rowe. “Under Vision 2026, W&M will graduate principled, data-savvy professionals who are prepared to thrive in every stage of their careers. Todd Mooradian will advance these goals of curricular innovation with dedication and verve.” 

Mooradian’s selection as dean marks his return to William & Mary where he previously served as a professor for 27 years and most recently as associate dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs at the Mason School from 2014 to 2017. 

“My wife and I are beyond excited to be returning to William & Mary,” he said. “William & Mary was never a job. It has always been a passion. This is a return to an institution that is woven into who we are. But, more than any return to home, my move to William & Mary now is all about the future, joining with its current leadership, and contributing to its great momentum as a leading university.

“The Mason School is extraordinary. Its faculty and staff are unmatched and, of course, its students are wonderful,” he added. “It is a great honor to be appointed dean. It is humbling, it will be challenging, and it is so exciting.” 

At the University of Louisville, Mooradian led the development, positioning and launch of three new programs, a Master of Science in Business Analytics, an online MBA and a bachelor’s of Business Administration. He also oversaw the college’s development of a portfolio of stackable, nondegree micro-credentials focused on economic clusters important to Louisville. Mooradian significantly increased annual giving to the College of Business and reimagined its advancement and alumni engagement operations. In 2020, he was awarded the William J. Rothwell Award for outstanding service in the university’s development effort. Mooradian also strengthened the College of Business’s diversity and inclusion efforts, including hiring the first DEI program coordinator to expand programming and outreach. Under Mooradian’s leadership, the College launched a number of new efforts, including the Cardinal Bridge Academy, a dual enrollment program offering business foundation courses in the City of Louisville’s public high schools.

“Dr. Mooradian has done an outstanding job as dean of our College of Business, continuing to build and strengthen the college even while dealing with the effects of the COVID pandemic,” said Lori Stewart Gonzalez, University of Louisville interim president. “We appreciate his efforts at UofL and suspect he will have a significant impact in his new role. We wish him well.”

As associate dean at the Mason School, Mooradian was closely involved in the creation and launch of the Online MBA and the Master of Science in Business Analytics programs. He also led initiatives focused on the growth and strengthening of the Mason School faculty and staff. 

As a faculty member at William & Mary, he was elected president of the university-wide Faculty Assembly as well as chair of the Mason School’s Faculty Affairs Committee. Mooradian received numerous teaching and advising awards, including the prestigious Faculty Alumni Fellowship award from the Alumni Association and the Dungan Teaching Fellowship. His tenure as a professor with the Mason School culminated with being named the William J. Fields Endowed Professor of Business. 

“Substantiated by his record of achievement as a marketing strategy and consumer behavior expert, Dr. Mooradian is highly regarded by his students and colleagues for his scholarship, teaching and administrative acumen. I look forward to Todd’s tenure in this important post and am pleased to welcome him home to William & Mary.” 

Provost Peggy Agouris

Much of Mooradian’s research focuses on the psychology behind consumer satisfaction, loyalty and branding. He earned a Ph.D. in marketing and social psychology cognate from the University of Massachusetts, an MBA from Wake Forest University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire. 

He has published two books and over 20 book chapters and articles in academic journals, including the Journal of the American Marketing Society, Management Learning, the Journal of Business Strategy, and the Journal of Economic Psychology. In 2011, Mooradian and his coauthors received the Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Economics) Award for Excellence in Publishing. 

Additionally, Mooradian has served as a visiting professor at universities in Austria, Scotland, Japan and Costa Rica, and was named a Fulbright Scholar to the University of Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria. 

Though his past service and accomplishments at the Mason School are many, Mooradian said he is excited to further strengthen connections between the business school and the greater William & Mary community.  

“William & Mary produces engaged citizens and leaders able to approach problems from diverse perspectives, bring to bear the ways of knowing and understanding, of solving problems and creating new knowledge, and of communicating and persuading, that define and distinguish a liberal arts education,” he said. 

“As a business school situated in a world-class liberal arts university, the Mason School draws on those strengths and it also contributes to them. We will explore ways to make those reciprocal, strengthening connections more robust and impactful. It is going to be vitally important work and wonderful to join President Rowe, Provost Agouris and the William & Mary community in creating and delivering ever more transformative education to change the world.” 

Mooradian credited Dean Larry Pulley, who has worked at William & Mary since joining the business school faculty in 1985 and currently serves as the T.C. and Elizabeth Clarke Professor at the university, with positioning the Mason School for success.  

“When I was introduced to Larry, I was told he was the ‘real deal’ – the archetype of a William & Mary professor. He was an excellent teacher, great researcher, and a leader among the faculty. Across three decades since then, he has lived up to that description and more. He has led the creation of an incredible business school. I admire Larry as an accomplished academic leader but I love him for his character, his inherent kindness, and his integrity. I will not be replacing Larry, that’s for sure, but I am honored to follow him,” Mooradian said. 

Pulley applauded Mooradian’s selection as the next dean. 

“Todd was a distinguished leader during his time at William & Mary, most recently as our academic associate dean,” Pulley said. “He has certainly continued and built on that leadership success at Louisville. Todd is very well-positioned to succeed as the next dean of the Mason School, and we are eager to see where he will take the Mason School in the future.” 

Mooradian will be joined in Williamsburg by his wife, Paula who also has strong ties to William & Mary as a 1992 graduate of the MBA program and through her previous work with W&M Athletics and the Alumni Association, and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Addison and Andie.  

Original source can be found here