Biography

Gareth James became the John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School in July 2022. Renowned for his visionary leadership, statistical mastery, and commitment to the future of business education, James brings vast and versatile experience to the role. His collaborative nature and data-driven scholarship offer fresh energy and focus aimed at furthering Goizueta’s mission: to prepare principled leaders to have a positive influence on business and society.

James is a dynamic scholar and leader. His extensive published works include numerous articles, conference proceedings, and book chapters focused on statistical and machine learning methodologies. James is also co-author of the extremely successful textbook, An Introduction to Statistical Learning.

James brings a powerful optimism and contagious enthusiasm to further the work Goizueta is doing, not only through the school’s stellar scholarship, but also by continuing to build strong bridges to the business community. He believes in the central role that business plays in society and the impact that Goizueta has in preparing the thinkers and innovators of tomorrow. His ambition to drive excellence and strengthen Goizueta’s future is fueled by his experience in data-informed decision making, strategy, and support.

James joins the Goizueta family from the USC Marshall School of Business where he served in a multitude of pivotal roles. While interim dean (2019-2020), he led the school’s COVID-19 response. He served as vice dean of faculty, as well as deputy dean (2020-2022), a position created to retain him at school-level leadership.

A noted researcher, his work has been cited more than 30,000 times. James has led multiple National Science Foundation research grants and has served as an associate editor for five top research journals. The recipient of two Dean’s Research Awards from the Marshall School of Business, he is an elected Fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

James is also a superb teacher and mentor. In addition to the Evan C. Thompson Faculty Teaching and Learning Innovation Award, he is a three-time winner of the Marshall School of Business’ Golden Apple Award for best instructor in the full-time MBA program. He has also been awarded Marshall and USC’s highest honors for mentoring junior colleagues and graduate students, including the Dean’s Ph.D. Advising, USC Mellon, Evan C. Thompson and Provost’s Mentoring awards.

Education

  • PhD in Statistics
    Stanford University
  • BComm in Finance
    The University of Auckland
  • BS in Statistics
    The University of Auckland