ASHLAND — Ashland University has appointed Derek K. Yonai, Ph.D., an accomplished
academic leader known for fostering innovation and linking business and liberal arts education, as dean of the Dauch College of Business and Economics following a national search.
He will begin his duties Aug. 1.
“Dr. Yonai’s commitment to student success and faculty excellence, combined with his strategic vision for business education, will strengthen the Dauch College and prepare our students to lead with integrity and innovation,” said Dr. Jon Parrish Peede, president of AU.
“He brings a dynamic blend of academic leadership and real-world business insight to Ashland University.”
Yonai has been the director of the Brown Innovation Center and the Peter and Sue Freytag Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Business at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, since 2023.
He also serves as a senior research fellow at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics.
“I am deeply honored to join Ashland University and the Dauch College of Business and Economics,” said Yonai. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners to build on the college’s strong foundation while expanding high impact learning opportunities for students and empowering our graduates to be principled value creators and difference makers in their communities.”
At Flagler, Yonai developed the Brown Innovation Center into a campus resource that encourages multidisciplinary collaboration and addresses pressing challenges. A champion for cultivating innovation and human progress, Yonai also has directed interdisciplinary centers at Southern Methodist University and other universities.
Yonai held academic positions at those institutions as well. He was a tenured associate
professor of business at Emporia State University, a research associate professor at SMU, an associate professor of economics at Florida Southern College and an associate professor of economics while serving as the Lundy Chair of the Philosophy of Business at Campbell
University.
He earned the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award at Campbell and a Spirit of Inquiry Award from the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy for his “World of
Business” course.
Yonai’s research interests include the economic role of property rights and the law and the importance of economic freedom. He has been published in many academic journals and written numerous op-eds that have appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the Orlando Sentinel, the Detroit News and the Miami Herald.
He has also given many public lectures on humanizing business education.
Yonai earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California at Irvine and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. He also holds a juris doctor, having graduated with honors from Whittier Law School.
AU’s Dauch College of Business and Economics offers a wide variety of undergraduate programs, ranging from traditional disciplines such as accounting, finance, management and marketing to more specialized areas such as entrepreneurship, fashion merchandising and brand management, industrial systems and engineering and sport management.
The college also offers an MBA degree, M.S. in Business Analytics and M.S. In Supply Chain Management in several formats and specializations to advance one’s career.
The Dauch College of Business and Economics also houses the Burton D. Morgan Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship, devoted to encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of all AU students, no matter their major. The center provides expertise, support, education and connections to help turn one’s passion into a profitable business idea.
Ashland University is a mid-size, private university conveniently located halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. Offering undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, AU puts the “Accent on the Individual” by combining strong applied academic programs with a distinguished faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.