Technology may be changing the business world, but it is Wharton School Dean Patrick Harker who hopes to transform undergraduate business education.
After serving as Wharton's interim dean since last July, Harker was named to the business school's top post in February, where he has been working with faculty to integrate a number of technology initiatives into the curriculum.
At 41, Harker is the youngest dean ever to oversee Wharton's undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs, but his leadership as a respected member of the Wharton faculty and as an expert in technology has suited him well for the job.
As interim and deputy dean, Harker helped develop the MBA program's e-commerce major as well as expand Wharton's distance learning initiatives.
A graduate of Penn's undergraduate and doctoral programs in the Engineering School, Harker does not hold a business degree. But he has been involved in a number of successful business ventures for which he holds several patents and copyrights and has also had a distinguished career as a scholar of the financial services sector.
Before serving in Wharton's administration, Harker was the chairman of the Operations and Information Management Department and was also once head of the Systems Department in the Engineering School.
