Wharton School dean to leave for USC’s Marshall B-school in 2020

The Wharton School’s dean, Geoffrey Garrett, will be leaving at the end of the 2019-20 academic year, according to University of Pennsylvania officials.

Garrett, who started his current role at Wharton in 2014, will be joining the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles as dean, effective July 1, 2020.

“Geoff has done an absolutely superb job in leading Wharton for the past five years and in helping firmly establish Wharton as the world’s leading business school,” said Penn president Amy Gutmann in a statement.

“In partnership with Wharton’s incredible community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, he has expanded the Wharton standing faculty to more than 240 members and increased its breadth, depth, diversity, and eminence," she said.

On campus, a new Wharton Academic Research Building is under construction, and renovations to Vance Hall, Lauder Hall, and other Wharton facilities are ongoing.

Garrett previously served on the faculty at the Wharton School prior to becoming dean of the UCLA International Institute. He then returned to his native Australia, where he served as dean at both the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, returning to Penn as Wharton’s dean in 2014.

In preparation for Garrett’s departure, the university will initiate the process of forming a committee of faculty, students, and alumni to advise on the selection of the next dean of the Wharton School. Penn Medicine’s executive vice president and dean, J. Larry Jameson, will chair the committee.