Santanu Chatterjee, a professor and associate dean for graduate programs in the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, has been named interim dean of the college, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost S. Jack Hu announced today.

“Dr. Chatterjee is a highly distinguished scholar and teacher, and his leadership has been instrumental in expanding the impact of the Terry College through its highly competitive graduate programs,” Hu said. “I am thrilled that he has agreed to guide the Terry College during this transition. Thanks to the commitment of its faculty, staff, students and alumni, Terry has built a well-deserved reputation as one of the nation’s best colleges of business, and I’m confident Dr. Chatterjee will provide the leadership to continue its impressive trajectory.”

Chatterjee, the Harold A. Black Distinguished Professor of Economics, also serves as director of both the full-time MBA and the Master of Science in Business Analytics programs in the Terry College. He will begin his tenure as interim dean on June 30. Benjamin C. Ayers, dean of the Terry College since 2014, was recently appointed UGA’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“Dr. Chatterjee’s administrative experience and deep familiarity with the Terry College and the university provide an excellent background for him to serve as the interim dean,” Ayers said. “I greatly appreciate his valued service and look forward to Terry continuing to reach new heights as one of the nation’s top business schools.”

Terry’s full-time MBA program has achieved international recognition since Chatterjee was named director in 2014. The program was ranked the No. 1 value for the money globally by the Financial Times in both 2024 and 2025. In separate rankings, the program placed No. 11 among public business schools and No. 29 overall in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report survey. This marked the eighth consecutive year the survey has ranked the UGA MBA among the top 20 full-time programs at public universities.

Chatterjee was promoted to associate dean in 2021, with a focus on graduate program enhancement and growth. He has worked to expand interdisciplinary offerings through the creation of new dual-degree programs with the College of Engineering, the School of Law and the College of Pharmacy. He also helped develop Terry’s Pathway MBA for undergraduates in STEM majors and its 2+2 Early Admissions Program, which provides an opportunity for UGA undergraduates to secure an early admissions decision and deferred enrollment to the full-time MBA.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve the college in this capacity and know that we are approaching this transition from an exceptionally strong foundation,” Chatterjee said. “I am excited to support our faculty, staff, students and alumni as we work together to advance the college’s mission.”

Chatterjee has earned several honors for his teaching, research and service at the college and university levels. In 2018, he was named a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, the university’s highest award for instruction. He received the Richard Reiff Award for Campus Internationalization in 2021 in recognition of his exceptional contributions to global education at UGA. Chatterjee has received the George P. Swift Award for Outstanding Teaching in Undergraduate Economics three times, and he received the university’s Hugh O. Nourse Outstanding MBA Teacher Award in 2018.

Chatterjee has published extensively on economics in refereed journals and books, and he is frequently invited to present his research at national and international conferences and seminars.

Chatterjee has served the university community as a member of the University Council and its Educational Affairs, Program Review and Assessment, and University Libraries committees. He is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy and a fellow of the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program.

Chatterjee earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Washington, his master’s in economics from Delhi University and his bachelor’s in economics from the University of Calcutta. He joined the UGA faculty in 2001 as an assistant professor in the Terry College.