The Boler College of Business went through extraordinary changes this year, as President Miciak left behind his role as the Dean of Boler to step into his current role as President of JCU. Consequently, this sudden shift caused the Dean position to be empty for the 2021-2022 term. However, Boler has found a fitting replacement. Beginning this year, Elad Granot heads the Boler College of Business as the new Dean. 

Granot, originally born in Israel, was raised in New York as a child. One of Granot’s favorite childhood memories was standing beside the Twin Towers and marveling at them as a young boy. Growing up in New York, he remembers those sparkling towers that symbolized globalization and economic prosperity. 

His mother was born in Germany, surviving the Holocaust by escaping with her family to British Mandate Palestine (now Israel). She is a world-renowned researcher of the Yiddish language and retired as a school principal in the past decade. 

His father served as a Lt. Colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces. After fighting in multiple defensive wars, he developed a knack for peace-making and pursued a career in diplomacy. 

Prior to igniting his passion for business, Granot moved back to his home roots in Israel and served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In 1994, he made a switch to international business as a sales manager for a US-based freight forwarding company. Ever since then, Granot found a purpose in all avenues of business with his experience ranging from international business, marketing, management, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Granot did not intend to become involved in the academic environment as most of his career encompassed business. However, he is glad to have formed this relationship and believes that his expertise in business has been instrumental in his duty to lead Boler. “[Business] is fundamental in who I am as the business Dean,” Granot states.

In elaborating on his mission as Dean of Boler, Granot acknowledges five core business values, which he deems the “Boler Effect,” that he plans to institute as part of the business curriculum. He centers his values on the need of a societal impact, serving others and benefiting the community as a whole. “We are a Jesuit business school in Northeast Ohio,” says Granot about the Jesuit tradition.

The next value pertains to the concept of learning by doing, in which internship experience initiates that goal. Starting next fall semester, all business majors will require at least one internship in order to graduate. “The only business majors without an internship requirement are accounting and supply chain management. Most of those majors complete internships anyways,” he says.

As an international businessman, Granot feels that a global perspective in business affairs is of paramount significance. His next goal aims to increase international content within the Boler curriculum. 

The fourth goal actuates a technological understanding that Granot believes intertwines with modern business. “We sincerely believe that every business school is a tech school.” A concept similar to the JCU integrative core, he and his team plan to establish a couple courses to create a tech core for business majors. 

The last goal Granot established focuses on the business graduate programs at JCU. “We have the Master of Business Administration, the Master in Science for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Master of Nonprofit Administration,” he proudly says. 

Following Dr. Granot’s rise to Dean, more individuals graciously rose to leadership positions in the business school. Tina-Facca Miess recently accepted the role of chair of the Management, Marketing and Supply Chain (MMS) department. In addition to that, she is the Associate Professor of Marketing.

When asked about Granot’s arrival to JCU, Facca-Miess said, “he brings a new energy to Boler. He is a doer and supporter of innovative ideas.” 

“He’s quite a visionary and that’s what we need,” she concluded.

Granot encourages students to stop in and chat with him. He insists that it is his privilege to be here for us and to offer insight in our young career. “Please come talk to me whenever you need. My door is always open.” More information about the new Dean can be viewed on Granot’s profile on the Boler website.