Heinz College Leadership Transition

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

I am writing to share that Ramayya Krishnan, dean of the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy (Heinz College), has informed me of his decision to transition out of his role at the conclusion of his third consecutive term. Fortunately, he will continue as dean through the 2024-2025 academic year before officially stepping down on July 1, 2025. He will then return to the faculty in Heinz College as the William W. and Ruth F. Cooper Professor of Management Science and Information Systems.

A CMU faculty member since 1988, Krishnan was appointed in 2009 as dean of the newly created Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, home to the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy & Management and the School of Information Systems & Management. During his tenure, the scale, scope and reputation of the Heinz College has grown significantly — becoming  globally recognized for its excellence in research and education. Its flagship master’s programs in public policy and management, and information systems and data analytics, as well as its doctoral programs, are highly ranked. It is the only academic institution home to two prestigious awards from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS): the John von Neumann Theory Prize and the UPS George D. Smith Prize. 

Dean Krishnan has been a critical contributor to the evolution of the Heinz College’s education portfolio. As a faculty member, he founded the Master of Information Systems and Management (MISM) program with then-Dean Mark Kamlet in 1998, which is now regarded as the top-ranked information systems, management and data analytics program nationally. Under his leadership, Heinz also launched programs in public policy and data analytics, healthcare analytics, and decision analytics and systems (DAS). He has founded four externally funded university-wide research centers, raising close to $100 million. The Block Center for Technology and Society, established by Dean Krishnan in 2019, was acknowledged in Gov. Josh Shapiro's 2023 executive order as the partner to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its use of generative AI in government decision making.

Embracing CMU’s interdisciplinary nature, Dean Krishnan has forged unique partnerships with CMU’s College of Fine Arts to establish joint degree programs in arts and entertainment industry management, and with Dietrich College to expand the university’s highly ranked undergraduate information systems program. He also furthered the reconstruction, refurbishing and growth of Hamburg Hall, including the Teresa Heinz Rotunda, bringing new teaching, learning and convening spaces to the Heinz College community. These spaces have been essential to strategic programming and initiatives to promote a climate of collaboration, connectivity and a sense of belonging.

Dean Krishnan’s leadership and scholarship in data and decision analytics have been recognized through many awards and appointments. In 2022, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), which advises the president and the National AI Initiative Office. He is a chair of the U.S. Department of Defense's Responsible AI Academic Council, a leader at the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), and co-chair of the Volcker Alliance’s Deans Summit Leading Across Differences initiative. He has served as president and is a fellow of INFORMS, is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow, an elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), and a commissioner of the Geotech Center of the Atlantic Council. He received Distinguished Alumnus awards from both the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) and the University of Texas at Austin. In 2023, Dean Krishnan testified before the U.S. Senate on the need for greater accountability and transparency in AI. 

The leadership and vision Dean Krishnan has brought to this role will benefit Heinz College in perpetuity as it continues its evolution as a place that offers a distinctive education, research and partnership ecosystem. In 2025, the college will launch a master’s degree in AI systems management and is developing an online master’s program to make its unique public management strengths accessible to a larger audience. Along with the entire leadership team at CMU, I express my sincere gratitude to him for all that he has done for the people and programs in Heinz College and across the university. Because of his strong leadership over the years, I know that Heinz College is on firm footing for the future.

A search committee to identify Dean Krishnan’s successor will be formed and announced in the fall. Please join me in thanking Krishnan and congratulating him on his many accomplishments as dean of the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sincerely,

James H. Garrett, Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer