Judy D. Olian, PhD, served as president of Quinnipiac University from July 2018 to June 2025. Under her tenure, the university embarked on cutting-edge program expansion for both traditional and adult learners, launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign, forged innovative strategic partnerships with Hartford HealthCare, M&T Bank, PepsiCo and other organizations, and completed an ambitious set of capital projects, including the construction of the South Quad — which includes the new School of Business, The SITE academic building, and The Grove residence hall — the opening of On the Rocks Pub & Grill, the building of the Recreation and Wellness Center, and the renovation of The Suites residence halls. She also shepherded the university through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before joining Quinnipiac, Olian served as dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management and John E. Anderson Chair in Management for 12.5 years. Under her leadership, UCLA Anderson hired a record number of faculty, expanded its prestigious Board of Visitors, and raised over $450 million for students and faculty support, innovative programming, and capital improvements.
Prior to that, she was dean and professor of management at the Smeal College of Business Administration at Pennsylvania State University, and professor and senior associate dean at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Olian served also as the chairman of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the premier business accrediting and management thought leadership organization in the world.
Widely published in journals on human resource management, top management team composition, and the business alignment of management systems, Olian wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column and hosted a monthly television show on current topics in business. She is a sought‐after speaker and has consulted for major corporations. Olian serves on, or has been a member of, various advisory boards including the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Peking University Business School’s International Advisory Board, the Connecticut Workforce Council, AdvanceCT, the Business-Higher Education Forum, New Haven Promise, Hartford HealthCare, Catalyst, a leading global think tank for women in business and the Knight Commission on Inter-Collegiate Athletics that advocates for the well-being and success of college athletes. She was also Chair of the Loeb Awards for Business Journalism.
She serves on the corporate boards of Ares Management, L.P., a publicly traded global alternative asset management firm, United Therapeutics, a publicly traded advanced biotech company, and Mattel, Inc., a publicly traded multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company.
Born and raised in Australia, Olian earned her BS in psychology from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and her MS and PhD in industrial relations from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Before joining Quinnipiac, Olian served as dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management and John E. Anderson Chair in Management for 12.5 years. Under her leadership, UCLA Anderson hired a record number of faculty, expanded its prestigious Board of Visitors, and raised over $450 million for students and faculty support, innovative programming, and capital improvements.
Prior to that, she was dean and professor of management at the Smeal College of Business Administration at Pennsylvania State University, and professor and senior associate dean at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Olian served also as the chairman of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the premier business accrediting and management thought leadership organization in the world.
Widely published in journals on human resource management, top management team composition, and the business alignment of management systems, Olian wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column and hosted a monthly television show on current topics in business. She is a sought‐after speaker and has consulted for major corporations. Olian serves on, or has been a member of, various advisory boards including the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Peking University Business School’s International Advisory Board, the Connecticut Workforce Council, AdvanceCT, the Business-Higher Education Forum, New Haven Promise, Hartford HealthCare, Catalyst, a leading global think tank for women in business and the Knight Commission on Inter-Collegiate Athletics that advocates for the well-being and success of college athletes. She was also Chair of the Loeb Awards for Business Journalism.
She serves on the corporate boards of Ares Management, L.P., a publicly traded global alternative asset management firm, United Therapeutics, a publicly traded advanced biotech company, and Mattel, Inc., a publicly traded multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company.
Born and raised in Australia, Olian earned her BS in psychology from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and her MS and PhD in industrial relations from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
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Quinnipiac Today
The Way Forward Presidential Speaker Series
Judy Olian's “The Way Forward” Presidential Speaker Series offered thoughtful conversations about current social, economic and health challenges, and the trailblazing ideas that will drive solutions for tomorrow. The series was designed to connect members of the university community with leaders, visionaries and established professionals from across the country. Each event included time for Q&A with participants, and was free and open to the public.
"Leadership in Times of Crisis"
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
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"Travel and Hotels Post Pandemic"
Stewart Bainum, chairman, Choice Hotels
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"Innovations in Health Care and Health Technology Post COVID-19"
William Weldon ‘71, former chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson
Dr. David Feinberg, vice president, Google Health
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"Journalism and Managing the Newsroom During a Crisis"
Matt Murray, editor-in-chief, Wall Street Journal
Peter Spiegel, US managing editor, Financial Times
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"The Impact of the Pandemic on the Economically Vulnerable"
Arunan Arulampalam, JD '14, deputy commissioner, State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
Erik Clemons, CEO, ConnCAT
Will Ginsberg, CEO, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
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"Pandemic Effects on Food: Food Insecurity and the Restaurant Business"
Betsy McLaughlin, board member, Veggie Grill
Jack Hitt, food writer
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"Professional Sports: Managing the Current Crisis and Anticipating the Future"
Peter Guber, chairman and CEO, Mandalay Entertainment
Michael Zavodsky, chief business officer, Detroit Pistons
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"Approaching the Elections in the Midst of the Economic, Political & Racial Strife of 2020"
Ronald Brownstein, political journalist
Denise Merrill, secretary of state, State of Connecticut
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"Managing Global Supply Chains During and Post COVID-19"
Jim Loree, chairman and CEO, Stanley Black & Decker
Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO, Mattel
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"Advice for Young Leaders"
Chuck Saia, senior partner at Deloitte, author and board member at Quinnipiac University
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"Navigating Your Career Path Across the Private and Public Sectors"
Antoinette (Toni) Bush, executive vice president and global head of government affairs, News Corp
Elicia Pegues Spearman, JD, general counsel and vice president for human resources, Quinnipiac University
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"The Risks and Rewards of Private Equity: Is This the Industry for You?”
David Kaplan, co-founder, Ares
Vikrant Sawhney, chief administrative officer and chief operating officer, Blackstone
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"The Development and Marketing of Pharmaceutical Products”
Steven Sorrells, vice president of sales, Pfizer
Michael Benkowitz, president and chief operating officer, United Therapeutics
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“The Future of Entertainment”
Anne Sweeney, a member of the Netflix board of directors and former co-chair of Disney Media Networks
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president for Prime Video and Amazon Studios
Fritz Staudmyer, assistant professor, chair of film, television and media arts in the School of Communications
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“The Future of College Athletics”
Michael Schill, president of University of Oregon, chair of the Pac-12 CEO Group
U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut
Greg Amodio, director of athletics at Quinnipiac
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"Mattel CEO proves Barbie, legacy toys are big business”
Ynon Kreiz, CEO of Mattell
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“Leadership in the Airline Industry”
Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s chief executive officer
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