Vikram Gulati, MAChair of the Department of Management, Acting Dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Assistant Professor of Management

Vikram Gulati has been the CEO of multiple IT services organizations. He has mentored numerous startups and actively consults technology services and private equity firms in strategy and value creation. His interests are strategy, leadership technology, building a culture of high-performance teams, and exploring the role of the development of consciousness in leadership development in high-velocity technology-based businesses. Vikram is a 2021 MSR-Fetzer scholar Fetzer Scholars and has actively participated as a speaker in the AOM-MSR interest group’s professional development workshops. He teaches strategy and research courses. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in business management.

Naveed Abbasi, MBA Chair of the Department and Instructor of Business Analytics and Technology, Director of the Professionals MBA with Speicalization in ERP & Analytics

Professor Naveed Abbasi is Assistant Professor of Business Administration and Director of the MBA SAP specializations. He earned a BS in Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, a BS in Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation from the University of Karachi, and an MBA from Maharishi University of Management. Naveed brings more than 10 years of valuable experience in implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for multi-national corporations. Besides teaching SAP courses, he teaches financial modeling and data analysis.

Michael Zwell, PhDDirector of the EdD and Professor of Transformational Leadership & Coaching

Michael Zwell, Ph.D., is Professor of Transformational Leadership and Coaching at MIU, and was Chancellor and co-founder of the Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential. He is also Managing Director of the Human Emergence Group. He is a certified coach for the Great Game of Business, a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and immediate past President of the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching. The author of several books, he has a Ph.D. from Yale University and an A.B. from the University of Chicago. He is Director of MIU’s Ed.D. program in Transformational Leadership and Coaching.

Ayako Huang, PhD Director of the MBA in Sustainable Business, Associate Professor of Management

Ayako Huang’s work focuses on both private and governmental organizations that are seeking to improve their sustainability. Professor Huang has been participating in and presenting her sustainable management curriculum in the Sustainable Mindset Group offered by the Principles of Responsible Management Education platform, a United Nations-supported initiative that aims to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world. She contributed a chapter to the textbook, Revolutionizing Sustainability Education: Stories and Tools for Mindset Transformation. Currently, she serves as the Program Director of the MBA in Sustainable Business. Curriculum Vitae >

Victoria Alexander Herriott, JD, LLM Co-Director of the MA in Leadership and Workplace Conflict Resolution, Professor of Law and Government

Victoria (Vicki) Alexander Herriott graduated as a Durant Scholar with a BA in Psychology from Wellesley College, then received a JD from Boston University of Law and an LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law. She worked as a tax associate with Sullivan and Worcester, a large Boston law firm. She teaches Business Law, Taxation, Human Resource Management, Mediation and Negotiation, and Environmental Law. She is also the coach of the MIU mediation team and serves on the Board of Directors of the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, the Institute for Bio-Integrity, and the International Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education.

David Weisman, MBA, MA, MFA Director of the BA in Business & Entrepreneurship, Assistant Professor of Business Administration

David Weisman is a passionate educator with a gift for conveying things simply and elegantly, and for involving students in the learning process. A skilled college educator, business person, creative marketer, writer and entrepreneur with experience and expertise in a diverse range of business and educational areas, David teaches principles of business success, marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Winston Mohammed, DBADirector of the BA in Business & Entrepreneurship for South Africa, Assistant Professor of Management

Winston Mohammad has over 20 years of executive management experience in the heavy industry contractor maintenance and plant pre-commissioning sector specializing in methanol, ammonia, fertilizer, and liquified natural gas plants. Over 15 years of small business entrepreneurship and business development experience in multiple business sectors, including telecommunications, cosmetics, non-alcoholic beverages, retail pet supplies, family entertainment, and fast food delivery fleet supply and maintenance. Three years of senior management plantation experience in the large-scale cultivation and harvesting of sugar cane.

William W. Graff, MBA, CPA, CMADirector of the Professionals MBA in Accounting, Assistant Professor of Accounting

William Graff has extensive experience in teaching internationally. He has been teaching at the University’s partner institution in China and has previously been the director of the Maharishi School of Management in Limuru, Kenya. Professor Graff has consulted with the World Bank on finance and accounting systems for the government of Uganda. His continuing research interests include the implications of Accounting as a self-referral feedback system and the experience of Transcendental Consciousness as the basis for business success.

Jane Schmidt-Wilk, PhDDirector of the PhD in Management, Professor of Management

Jane Schmidt-Wilk is Professor of Management, Dean of Teaching and Learning, and Director of the Center for Management Research at MIU. Her publications explore the role of the development of consciousness in business and management education. She teaches management and organizational behavior, qualitative research methods, communication skills, teaching, and academic writing. She was past editor of Management Teaching Review and the Journal of Management Education and serves on the editorial boards of other academic journals. Jane is an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the MOBTS Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society, a member of the Academy of Management, and a member of the Midwest Academy of Management. Curriculum Vitae >

Nakita Bruno Green, PhD Associate Director of the PhD in Management, Assistant Professor of Management

Nakita Bruno-Green received her BA from the University of Mississippi and her MBA and PhD degrees from MIU. She is a member of the Academy of Management and The Global Union of Scientists for World Peace. Her PhD research explored why and how the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Young Champions of the Earth create innovations for a flourishing planet and revealed a process model where innovations are created in four stages. Her dissertation research was presented at the annual Academy of Management Conference and the 1st International Academic Conference on the Sustainable Development Goals in Utah. Curriculum Vitae >

Dennis P. Heaton, EdD Professor of Management

Dennis Heaton earned his EdD in educational leadership. His areas of research interest include consciousness, holistic health, peak performance, and higher stages of human development and their implications for leadership. Dr. Heaton is Dean of the College of Business Administration and Professor of Management. He has been directing PhD students’ research in areas of socially and environmentally responsible business, including financial impacts of responsible management, sustainable ethnic tourism, the effects of green buildings on human resources, consumer attitudes toward genetically modified food, moral development and ethical decision-making in accountants, and the role of human resource management in implementing sustainability. Curriculum Vitae >

Scott R. Herriott, PhDProfessor of Management

Professor Herriott received his PhD in Management Science and Engineering and MA in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University. He is the author of scholarly papers in the areas of economics, organization theory, and business strategy. His most recent books are Feasibility Analysis for Sustainable Technologies and Metrics for Sustainable Business. His research interests include cooperative strategy in business policy. Specific projects include studies of electric utility power pools, cooperative advertising, risk pooling, partial acquisitions, information channels in markets, and the implications of Maharishi Vedic Science for theories of motivation, job design, and management decisions. Curriculum Vitae >

Maxwell Rainforth, PhDProfessor of Statistics

Maxwell Rainforth received his BSc (Hons.) from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) and his MA, MS, and PhD from Maharishi International University. He teaches courses on research methodology and statistics. He has collaborated with leading researchers to investigate the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique and has served as a statistician on 22 research studies funded by U.S. government agencies and by private foundations. His research in the fields of business, health, psychology, and education has resulted in over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference presentations.

Anil Maheshwari, PhD Professor of Management

Anil K. Maheshwari is Director of Executive Education and Professor of Management. He has published over 25 research papers and book chapters in the fields of leadership, technology, and consciousness. He is active in the Management, Spirituality and Religion (MSR) division of the Academy of Management. He teaches courses in data analytics, strategic management, leadership, and enterprise performance management. He is the author of a dozen books on technology, management, and spirituality. Dr. Maheshwari brings 20 years of IT industry experience. He earned a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, and a Ph.D. in Management from Case Western Reserve University. Curriculum Vitae >

Yunxiang Zhu, MBA, DWPProfessor of Management

Yunxiang Zhu is Vice-President of Asian Expansion and Professor of Management. He graduated from the Foreign Language Department of Anhui Fuyang Teachers’ College and was then he employed by Fuyang Teacher’s College as a teacher in its Foreign Language Department. He later held a teaching position at the University of Science and Technology of China as an instructor in the Foreign Language Department. He later earned an MBA. The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco awarded Yunxiang the gold medal of World Culture Development for his contribution in facilitating the cultural and educational exchanges between China and the United States. Curriculum Vitae >

Lisa Sanden, EdDAssociate Professor of Transformational Leadership & Coaching

Dr. Sanden is an Associate Professor of Transformational Leadership and Coaching. In addition to her work with MIU, she is also a Montessori consultant and speaker, a corporate trainer with the Human Emergence Group, and a coach with over 10 years-experience. Her master’s and doctorate are in Transformational Leadership and Coaching.

Sabita Sawhney, PhD Associate Professor of Management

Professor Sawhney teaches courses in operations management, supply chain management, marketing management, and marketing research. Her areas of research interest include green supply chains, buyer-supplier partnerships, self-development, and trust. She has presented papers at several prestigious conferences including the Purchasing and Operations Management Society (POMS), the Decision Science Institute (DSI), and the Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA).

Bruce McCollum, PhD, SRICAssistant Professor of Management

Bruce McCollum has taught courses in management information systems, communications skills, operations management, statistics, and introduction to business courses. He served as director of administration for a branch campus of a university. His dissertation topic was leadership development through self-development. He received his BA (Philosophy), MBA, and PhD from MIU.

Naghmeh Sabermajidi, PhDAssistant Professor of Marketing

Dr. Naghmeh (Melody) Sabermajidi is Assistant Professor of Marketing. She holds a PhD in Business, with a particular focus on Social Media Marketing, from Taylor’s University in Malaysia and an MBA with a specialization in Multimedia and Marketing from Multimedia University in Malaysia. Dr. Naghmeh’s current research focuses on Digital Marketing, Sustainable Marketing, Green Marketing, and Creativity and Innovation in Marketing Strategies through Consciousness-Based Education. She has published her previous research in leading marketing and information technology journals.

HaiYan Song, PhDAssistant Professor of Management

Dr. HaiYan Song has over 18 years of teaching experience in the universities of China, Canada and USA. Fields of research interests and expertise include: Sustainability Reporting by SMEs, Creative Entrepreneurship, training in the philosophy and tools of lean six-sigma management (with yellow belt certification). She received her BA in English Literature from South-Central University for Nationalities, P.R. China, her MA in Applied Linguistics, Wuhan University, P.R. China, her Waldorf Teacher Certification from Toronto Rudolf Steiner Center, Canada, and her MBA and PhD from MIU. Curriculum Vitae >

Alexandre G. Carvalho, LLM, MBAAssistant Professor of Law and Government

Alexandre Carvalho is Assistant Professor of Management. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and law from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), a LL.M. in American Legal System from the Syracuse College of Law, and an MBA from the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Before joining MIU, he had experience in management, insurance regulation for the Brazilian government, business and consumer law, and employment and immigration law in the US. He has an interest in business law, regulation, and privacy law.

Sun Liang, PhD, CFA, FRMAssistant Professor of Finance

Professor Sun Liang, PhD, CFA, FRM, has been on the faculty since 2006. His expertise is in finance. Besides teaching topics in the financial field at the university, Professor Liang is also a practicing portfolio manager. This has made him an experienced professor with practical knowledge in his field. Professor Sun Liang’s research interest is in the field of strategic management and disruptive innovations.

Yick Oi Janet Ho, PhDAssistant Professor of Management

Yick Oi Janet Ho is Assistant Professor of Management and Director of the BA in Business Administration for South Africa. She was Curriculum Developer and Coordinator of educational programs in Hong Kong for students with special needs and later was honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Hong Kong Red Cross. She earned a Teacher’s Certificate from Northcote College of Education, Bachelor of Education from Hong Kong Baptist University, VA in Religious Studies from Pontifical Urbaniana University, and Master of Education from Hong Kong Baptist University. She received an MA in Maharishi Vedic Science, an MBA, and a PhD in Management from MIU.

Lijuan Cai, MBAInstructor of Business

Lijuan Cai is Instructor of Management. As Director of Asian Student Life, she provided counsel and advice to students who needed help adjusting to a new life away from their home country. She also directed Chinese students to establish cultural clubs and helped to organize yearly Chinese New Year celebration events with performances participated by students from different countries and cultural backgrounds. She has also organized MIU students to visit China for a month to teach English to primary school students. Lijuan Cai played a key role of managing the operations of MIU’s MBA and PhD programs in China, including training Chinese partners, interviewing new students, tuition collection, accounting, finance, and teaching.

Gordon Medlock, PhDAdjunct Professor of Transformational Leadership & Coaching

Dr. Medlock is a Professor in the MIU EdD in Transformational Leadership & Coaching. He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Co-Chair of the Research Committee of the Graduate School Alliance for Education and Coaching (GSAEC). He is also a licensed clinical social worker with over 30 years’ experience as a psychotherapist and coach. He has published over a dozen articles in the fields of humanistic and existential psychology, positive psychology, and coaching theory and practice. He also has a doctorate in philosophy from Yale university, where he focused on the study of phenomenology and the nature of consciousness.

Debra J. Louis, PhDAdjunct Associate Professor of Management

Debra Louis is an Associate Professor of Management.  Her main area of expertise is Organizational Behavior with additional teaching interests in Leadership, Teams, and Cross-Cultural Management.  Prior to joining the faculty at MIU, she was Dean of the College of Business at Trident University International, Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University.  Before entering academia, Dr. Louis spent 10 years working in the areas of government and law.  She has also been active as a consultant to a variety of organizations ranging from small community-based organizations to Fortune 100 firms, mostly in the areas of strategic planning and diversity management. She received her PhD in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University. Curriculum Vitae >

Rachel Goodman, PhDAdjunct Associate Professor of Management

Dr. Rachel Goodman has completed seven research studies on trends in government and quality of life; authored several papers on government trends, collective consciousness, and world peace including two in the conference proceedings of the Midwest Political Science Association and the American Political Science Association; edited or co-edited three books of theoretical and research studies including Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, Consciousness-Based Education and Government, and The Transcendental Meditation Program in Criminal Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention. She also has a chapter in the book, Perspectives on Human Security: National Sovereignty and Humanitarian Intervention. Curriculum Vitae >

Venkata Voruganti, MBA, CPAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Accounting

Venkata Voruganti is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst, and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He specializes in ERP implementation, software quality assurance, and project management in information technology. His focus areas are implementing and supporting financial and business intelligence applications, application lifecycle management, learning management systems, and test automation. He has taught banking operations, foreign exchange business, and bank computerization. He currently teaches accountancy, business management, financial information systems, and data analytics. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, an MBA in Finance, and a Bachelor of Laws. Curriculum Vitae >

Ripunjay Bhargava, BA, LLB (Hons), LLM, MA Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law and Government

Ripunjay Bhargava received his LL.M in Environmental Law from the University of Oregon School of Law. He worked on public interest litigation with a senior Supreme Court lawyer of India, MC Mehta, and also taught as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Petroleum Energy Studies, India. He teaches Environmental Law, Business Law, Organizational Change Management for Sustainability, Principles of Economics and Mediation & Negotiation, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Communication Skills for Managers. Professor Bhargava is an Assistant Professor of Law and Government and Co-Director of the MA in Leadership & Workplace Conflict Resolution.

Tejasvi Sharma, MBA, PhDAdjunct Assistant Professor of Sustainable and Regenerative Living

Dr. Tejasvi Sharma is dual faculty member in Sustainable and Regenerative Living and Management. Dr. Sharma is passionate about energy technologies, their socioeconomic aspects, deployment, and their impact on society. His research is in alternative energy, specifically in the use of biomass for biochar and electricity production. He has participated in collaborative research initiatives with the University of Brazil, as well as several startup energy companies in California and Iowa. He holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA. He has also participated in the Climate Change and Energy Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Curriculum Vitae >

Kenneth Cavanaugh. PhDProfessor Emeritus of Applied Statistics

Ken Cavanaugh received his AB (cum laude) from Yale University, his MPA (Master of Public Affairs) from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, his MA (Psychological Studies in Education) from Stanford University, and his PhD in Economics from the University of Washington. His main research interest is the impact of the group practice of the TM-Sidhi® program on world peace and societal well-being; Time series analysis. He has published extensively on this topic. Curriculum Vitae >