Mark Zupan
President's Office
Biography
As Alfred University’s 14th president since 2016, President Mark Zupan has developed a profound understanding and appreciation for what it means to be an Alfredian. The quality of the people and the supportive community drew President Zupan here because Alfred University is not just about earning an education. It is about uniting people through common goals.
As a son of Yugoslavian immigrants, President Zupan recognizes the dangers of emphasizing differences rather than what unites people. Through emails and conversations, President Zupan is an ardent champion of inclusivity and celebrating the ways in which Alfred University graduates, students, faculty, and staff have made the world a better place. He encourages Alfredians to live the university motto: “Fiat Lux!”– Let there be light!
Prior to Alfred University, Zupan was dean and professor of economics at two leading business schools: The University of Rochester, Simon Business School (2004-2016) and the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management (1997-2003). Before that, he was on the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business (1986-1996) attaining tenure there while also serving as associate dean for master’s degree programs. He was a visiting professor in the Amon Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the fall of 1995.
As a member of the USC faculty, Zupan won several awards, including the university-wide Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Outstanding Scholarship, and a Golden Apple award for MBA teaching excellence. During the years, he has served on the editorial boards of such academic journals as Public Choice, Economic Inquiry, and the Journal of Business Economics.
While earning his Ph.D. degree in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Zupan taught in the economics department at Harvard University, where he earned his B.A. degree in 1981, twice receiving the Allyn Young Teaching Prize from the economics department and earning the university-wide Joseph B. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize.
His fields of specialization include industrial organization, regulation, and political economy. He has published more than 20 refereed articles in leading scholarly journals and three books. His commentaries have appeared in media outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Arizona Republic, BusinessWeek.com, Huffington Post, Kiplinger, Financial Times of London, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
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