With the start of the fall semester and with it the start of a new academic year, Stevens welcomed many new faces to campus, one of which is the new Dean of the School of Business. Gert-Jan “GJ” de Vreede has taken over as the Dean since September 1, 2024, succeeding Gregory Prastacos, who retired at the end of his term in May 2024. Dean de Vreede joins Stevens after a holistic and highly selective process, and The Stute is eager to shed light on the new dean.
Dean de Vreede joins the university after his time as the interim dean of the University of Southern Florida’s (USF) Muma College of Business and as a professor at USF School of Management and Information Systems. During his time as the interim dean, the Muma College of Business experienced dramatic growth, seeing increased enrollment, getting greater funding for research opportunities, and rebranding and expanding USF’s fintech center into the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship.
Academically, Dean de Vreede holds a PhD in Information Systems and a Masters of Science cum laude from Delft University of Technology. He is also widely recognized for his research in areas pertaining to artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing, and collaboration engineering with his work being published in many prestigious journals and cited over 12,000 times. Prior to working at USF, Dean de Vreede held several positions at a multitude of universities such as being a professor in the International Summer School at Renmin University in Beijing, China.
Now, as the dean, de Vreede shares how he hopes to continue the work of former dean Gregory Prastacos and continue to elevate the School of Business and Stevens as a whole. A look at the past shows how under Prastacos’ leadership, the School of Business came into existence and now sits in the top 75 best business schools in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. The number of applications, number of incoming class sizes, and number of tenure stream faculty have all increased exponentially. In 2012, at the start of former dean Prastacos term, there were two program offerings at the undergraduate level, six at the masters level, one PhD program. At the conclusion of his term in May 2024, there were a total of 24 programs offered at the School of Business: eight undergraduate majors, 13 masters programs, and 3 PhD level programs.
With the torch being passed, Dean de Vreede states how he is eager to join the Stevens community and how he “looks forward to playing a key role in helping not just the School of Business but the entire Stevens community further develop the university’s profile as an ‘institution of choice’ for academics, research and innovation.”
President Farvardin shares how it is de Vreede’s impressive work regarding integration of the fields of artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and technology that aligns with the University’s long term vision and strategic goals. “Under his leadership, I am confident the School of Business will continue elevating its national reputation for developing the next generation of innovators and business leaders.” states Farvardin.
