Simon Sheather became the eighth dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky in July 2018. He currently holds the Truist Chair in Data Analytics.
Prior to joining the University of Kentucky, Dean Sheather served for 13 years in various senior leadership roles at Texas A&M University, including being the Academic Director of MS (Analytics) and Online Programs in the Department of Statistics. While at Texas A&M, he personally started two professional Master’s programs, both of which make innovative use of technology.
Under Dean Sheather’s leadership the number of incoming freshman at the Gatton College have more than doubled. Since Fall 2019, Dean Sheather has started 10 new academic programs at the Gatton college, including an MS Strategic Human Resource Management and Analytics. In addition, he has lead development efforts which have raised more than $85M.
In 2021, Professor Sheather earned the distinction of being named among the top 2% of researchers worldwide, as measured by the impact of his research publications over a twenty-year period. According to Google Scholar, his research work has been cited more than 16,000 times.