Dima Jamali is currently serving as Dean of the College of Business Administration at
the University of Sharjah, UAE.
She has a fantastic career, having been in academia for over 20 years, primarily at
the American University of Beirut (AUB), where she served as a Tenured Professor and
Associate Dean for the Olayan School of Business (OSB) and Director for Strategic
Partnerships for the University. She made her way fast-track through the ranks to Full
Professor in 2010 and Endowed Chair in Responsible Leadership in 2014. Dr. Jamali
was ranked among the top 2% of most influential global scholars in the field of
sustainability by Stanford University for two years in a row (2020 and 2021) and
ranked 30 among the top 100 scientists in the UAE in 2022.
Starting in 2015, she has founded and served as President and National Representative
for the UN Global Compact Network Lebanon (GCNL), a network of businesses
committed to advancing Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) in Lebanon. She is also part of the Global Chapter Council for UNPRME
(UN Principles of Responsible Management Education). She has a Ph.D. in Social
Policy and Administration, from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, a Masters
in Sociology from San Jose State University, CA, and a BA in Public Administration
from AUB, Lebanon. Her research and teaching revolve primarily around
Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Social Entrepreneurship
(SE). She is the author/editor of seven books (CSR in the Middle East – Palgrave,
2012; Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East – Palgrave, 2015; Development
Oriented CSR – Greenleaf, 2015; Comparative Perspectives on Global Corporate
Social Responsibility – IGI- 2016; Handbook of Responsible Management – Edward
Elgar 2019; CSR in Developing and Emerging Economies: Institutions and
Sustainable Development – Cambridge University Press 2019 and Corporate
Governance in Arab Countries: Specifics and Outlooks, NTER Press 2019) and over
100 high-level international publications, which are highly circulated and cited on an
international scale, focusing on different aspects of sustainability in developing
countries in general and the Middle East specifically.
Besides making it to the Stanford list of the top 2% of most influential global scholars,
Dr. Jamali is also the winner of the 2016 National Council for Scientific Research
Excellence Award, and the 2015 Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, dubbed by
the Financial Times as “the Oscars of the Business School World” for pioneering
Faculty at the cutting edge of teaching and scholarship in their field. She is
also the winner of the Shield of Excellence for the Arab Region and designated as
The personality of the Year for CSR by the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility in
2015. She is also the winner of the 2010 Shoman Prize for best young Arab researcher,
which recognizes distinctive scientific works that contribute to addressing priority
issues at the local, regional, and international levels. In 2013, Dr. Jamali nominated
for the Eisenhower Fellows Program, joining a global network of leading
professionals committed to collaborating for a more prosperous, just, and peaceful
world; she set in 2007 for the British Academy of Management
Fellowship for South Asia and the Middle East, which identifies and supports scholars
with exceptional potential and trajectory from the Middle East. Dr. Jamali is also
winner of the AUB Teaching Excellence Award in 2006, which recognizes
outstanding educators from across the AUB campus.
As Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Sharjah, Prof.
Jamali managed within the first two years to gain the support and admiration of
administration, faculty, and students; put the AACSB accreditation of the College back
on track; update the Mission and Curricula of the College to reflect the latest trends;
forge multi-disciplinary collaborations with other Colleges (notably the College
of Engineering, the College of Computing, and the College of Arts and Design); build
excellent relations with the community and sign/activate several relevant MOUs with
Industry; run three major international Symposia on Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
Leadership, and Sustainability respectively, in partnership with industry which was a
resounding success; create engagement activities for students through competitions
and extra-curricular programs, and work on the enhancement of the skills of our
students and improving their employability. The College has advanced significantly in
the international rankings in the short span of two years, particularly concerning the
Times Higher Education Rankings and has been selected by Higher Education Digest
as one of 10 Must-Watch Business Schools for 2022. Dean Jamali is a firm believer
in the transformational role of Higher Education and in need to educate future
responsible leaders as architects and change makers of a better tomorrow.
She worked as an expert consultant for the United Nations on Social Policy and CSR
as well as various projects funded by the World Bank, the US Agency for
International Development and significant private and public firms across the region. For
the past five years, she has been championing the UN Global Compact Network for
Lebanon and working with leading firms from the private sector to advance the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN 2030 agenda in Lebanon through
practical national social, humanitarian, and environmental projects. She brings to the
table extensive consulting experience combined with significant practical experience
with PR, Talent Management, Communications, HR, and Sustainability. She also
brings extensive experience with forging mutually beneficial synergetic partnerships
and collaboration with a range of partners around common goals, having led
significant successful efforts in this regard, both in Lebanon and in the UAE.