Meet Dr. Thomas Horan

A nationally recognized scholar and innovator, Thomas A. Horan, the H. Jess and Donna Senecal Endowed Dean of the School of Business & Society, is leading the University of Redlands into a new era of 21st-century business education.

As dean, Horan has created a strategic approach to advancing the school’s mission and has led a new set of initiatives and programs to enhance student-centeredness and success, embrace corporate and pathway partners, and implement new programs in leadership and spatial analytics. The quality of his leadership has already been recognized, as he played a crucial role in securing the School of Business’s accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in early 2018.

A New England native, he moved to California after finishing his B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Vermont to pursue an M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University. After completing his Ph.D. in 1988, he spent five years as a senior analyst at the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C. and two years as a senior fellow at George Mason University. He returned to Claremont Graduate University in 1995. Over the following 23 years, Dean Horan first rose to full professor, then dean of the School of Information Systems and Technology, followed by dean of the Drucker School of Management.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Horan has made a substantial impact on research and practice. He has directed over $10 million in research and led centers in health informatics and spatial analytics. Dr. Horan has published more than 130 articles and three books, as well as served on over 30 dissertation committees. He has testified before the U.S. Congress, served as a technology consultant for the U.S. Department of Transportation, was a health informatics appointee to the American Health Information Community by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and was twice recognized by the White House for his health and safety innovations using GIS. In the private sector, Dr. Horan has served as researcher and consultant to numerous entities, including Salesforce, Mayo Clinic, Continuum Development, Smart Traveler, Vital Data Technology, and Inland Empire Health Plan. Several of his innovations have affected health care and emergency response practices. Dr. Horan’s relationship with Esri spans 20 years and includes numerous research studies and collaborations in health, technology, supply chain, and economic development.

Dr. Horan has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota, and University of Hawaii. Most recently he served as a Visiting Scholar at Hong Kong University’s Centennial College, where helped lead the development of a master’s degree in management as a liberal art.