It was his wife’s fond memories of a study-abroad year in Virginia more than 30 years ago that first spurred Khawaja Mamun’s curiosity about the prospect of serving as dean of Longwood’s College of Business and Economics.
Later, during his visit to Longwood, the feeling of family he found on campus and the commitment of faculty to students galvanized his desire to lead CBE into its next chapter.
Mamun, an accomplished scholar and associate dean of the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, has been appointed the next dean of Longwood’s College of Business and Economics, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs Larissa Smith announced Friday.
His values align with ours at Longwood, where we put student success -- from admissions to graduation -- at the center of all we do.
Larissa Smith, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs Tweet This
“When Dr. Mamun interviewed, he told me that making a difference in students’ lives is his most rewarding life’s work,” Smith said. “His values align with ours at Longwood, where we put student success -- from admissions to graduation -- at the center of all we do. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Mamun and the faculty and staff in the College of Business and Economics to strengthen their supportive learning community and their robust record of preparing students for careers.”
Mamun has an extensive record developing and growing undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as nurturing external partnerships, recruiting and mentoring faculty, and working collaboratively across the institution to support students in and beyond the classroom.
He’s eager to bring all of those experiences to bear in his new role at Longwood, where, during his campus visit this spring, student after student impressed on him a sense of togetherness and camaraderie.
It’s the sense of community Longwood already has that first drew me here. With CBE staff and faculty, I saw a deep passion for helping students.
Dr. Khawaja Mamun Tweet This
“All of them mentioned the idea of ‘family,’” Mamun said. “It’s the sense of community Longwood already has that first drew me here. With CBE staff and faculty, I saw a deep passion for helping students. They really, really want to help students. They know their students by name.”
He has also noticed promising areas of opportunity for the College to strengthen and grow, building on his extensive experience in program development at Sacred Heart.
“I’m eager to be in a place where I believe I can contribute and make a difference,” he said.
Sacred Heart is a private institution with enrollment of just over 11,000 students, including about 6,500 undergraduates and 4,200 graduate students.
After receiving his master’s and doctorate in economics from Southern Methodist University, Mamun began his faculty career at Sacred Heart in 2005. In 2014 was appointed chair of the Department of Economics and Finance. During his time in that role the department added two graduate programs and two minors. He has since served as associate dean of the School of Computer Science and Engineering as well as of the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology. He has published numerous papers on various topics related to public finance, international and development economics, and finance.
In his current roles as associate dean and also program director of the MS in Business Analytics, Mamun has helped lead multiple curriculum initiatives, including new undergraduate majors in Business Analytics and Mechanical Engineering, a graduate degree in Financial Technology, and a graduate certificate in AI for business in conjunction with the MBA program. The MS in Business Analytics has grown rapidly and become a prominent interdisciplinary program within the University. He has also been working with partners in Sacred Heart’s College of Health Professions to establish a Center for Advanced Analytics, and leading the founding of a research consortium across Fairfield, Quinnipiac, and Sacred Heart Universities.
Mamun said he recognizes his experience in academic program development will be important as CBE works to stay ahead of emerging and changing fields, and new areas of interest and demand from students.
“It was exciting to me to see that CBE is exploring new directions for program development and partnerships for the college,” he said. “This is enormous potential for the college to grow in new and exciting areas.”
Beyond the classroom, Mamun established a Board of Advisors for the School of Computer Science and Engineering and worked closely with alumni and local business leaders.
Asked what he was most proud of, and eager to continue at Longwood, Mamun noted his longstanding involvement with partners across Sacred Heart in a range of projects related to student success and well-being, and implementing a student-focused business education environment including first-year mentoring, internships, undergraduate research and other proven high-impact practices. He was closely involved in creating a student experience office that undertook a range of initiatives to help students, from academic support to career development.
Student experience is extremely important to me, and we’ve worked tirelessly on that at Sacred Heart. I’d love to bring that experience to Longwood.
Dr. Khawaja Mamun Tweet This
“Student experience is extremely important to me, and we’ve worked tirelessly on that at Sacred Heart. I’d love to bring that experience to Longwood,” he said.
Mamun completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. His wife, Samina Munawwar, who studied in Roanoke during her own college years in Bangladesh, is a lead financial analyst at Kyndryl, Inc., a Fortune 500 multinational IT infrastructure services provider, which was formerly the infrastructure services division of IBM. They are the parents of two high-school age children, Waliullah Khawaja and Amal Mamun.
Mamun will start at Longwood in late June.
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