Eric Zuniga, Campus Carrier news editor

James Fox, Campus Carrier deputy news editor

Sandeep Mazumder, the current dean of the business school at Baylor University, was just one of the nearly 200 candidates who applied to be Berry’s next president — yet when he sat down for his first interview with the search committee in October, he quickly knew that he had found the right place for him. 

“The search committee and I just really hit it off straight away — I think that bodes well for the future of our relationship,” Mazumder said. “We believe in the same things, and we have the same goals in mind. Even though that was about two weeks ago, from that moment on, things just moved really quickly.”

That feeling of a perfect match was shared by the 12-member search committee, who unanimously recommended Mazumder from a field of four finalists to the Board of Trustees. John Coleman (04c), the committee’s chair, said Mazumder’s commitment to Berry’s mission and values was apparent from the start. 

“Dr. Mazumder stood out throughout — he made the decision easy for us,” Coleman said. “He felt a real calling for the students Martha Berry said she wanted to serve. He loved our new mission and vision statement and the values we put together eight months ago or so by President Briggs. He feels that this is exactly the kind of environment where he wanted to work.”

Professor of Philosophy Michael Papazian, the committee’s faculty representative, said he was immediately struck by Mazumder’s genuineness.

“There was a warmth and a genuineness that I felt from Dr. Mazumder that really stood out,” Papazian said. “There was also a sense in which he seems like someone who has high ambitions. He’s competitive, and he’s really genuinely interested in making Berry an even better place.”

Mazumder brings with him a distinguished career in academia. Born and raised in London to Indian parents, he decided to study economics after learning about pollution trading in a class at his grammar school. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge, where he learned from Nobel Prize laureates. 

Though Mazumder initially considered staying in London for his PhD, he chose to attend Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, earning a professorship at Wake Forest University in 2009. During his time there, he became the chair of the economics department and authored several widely-cited papers. 

Mazumder recounted an early presentation he gave to an audience of economics luminaries as one of the highlights of his career.

“These were Federal Reserve chairs and former chairs, heads of the IMF, a couple of Nobel Prize winners — these were the crème de la crème of macroeconomists,” Mazumder said. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, pinch myself — this is amazing. I’m about to present in front of these unbelievable, accomplished scholars of my field.’”

Papazian said that Mazumder displayed the ability to strengthen Berry’s academic programs, which was his top consideration as the committee’s faculty representative. 

“It seemed to me he has that ability to do that, given his accomplishments at Wake Forest and Baylor and also just his general mindset,” Papazian said. “I think he’ll have some really interesting ideas going forward to improve and enhance our existing programs.”

In 2021, Mazumder took his current role at Baylor, succeeding a dean who had presided over a growing business program for 24 years. Coleman said that Mazumder — who has focused on increasing the research output of Baylor’s business school in his time there — stood out for his strong leadership experience. 

“We wanted a president who was an entrepreneur, and I think we got that with Dr. Mazumder,” Coleman said. “It’s a rare thing to find an institutional leader like this who also has a passion for innovation 
and entrepreneurship.”

It was Mazumder’s ability to articulate a vision for Berry’s future that ultimately secured him the job, according to Coleman. 

“He really took the time throughout the process to understand both our history and the current state of Berry,” Coleman said. “As you would expect from an accomplished academic, he dug in really deeply. He came with a lot of great ideas that were deeply aligned with our history and the foundation of our values but were exciting as we think about our future.”

One of Mazumder’s chief goals is to raise Berry’s visibility and reputation for academic excellence, both nationally and internationally. 

“Raising the national profile — I think that’s just something that has to be done,” Mazumder said. “Every time the Davidsons, the Williams, the Haverfords of the world are getting talked about, I want Berry to be talked about in the same breath and conversation, and there’s no reason why we’re not being talked about with those schools.”

Mazumder also wants to expand Berry’s scholarship programs for lower-income students, drawing on Martha Berry’s mission to educate the poor children of Appalachia. 

“I think that’s something Berry needs to be doing and is in keeping with how Martha Berry started the school,” Mazumder said. “How do we keep providing scholarship opportunities for students who are coming to Berry so we get the young men and women who should be there? Let’s do everything we can to enable that to happen to the fullest extent.”

Although Mazumder will be leaving an administrative position at a large research university, he said he grew to enjoy teaching in his PhD program. One lesson he learned from his teaching career, he said, is that colleges do not often apply the business principles taught in introductory economics classes.

“I know [colleges] are not businesses, but it doesn’t mean that the good practices and policies shouldn’t be used in the process, so that’s what made me interested in taking on more leadership,” Mazumder said. “I’ve enjoyed working with business students, but I deeply believe in the liberal arts. At heart, I’m still a liberal arts guy myself, even though I’m a business school dean.”

While Berry is not affiliated with any religious denomination, the school’s founding on Christian principles attracted Mazumder to the school. Mazumder — who, in a 2021 podcast interview, said he converted to Christianity when he first met his wife in the United States — comes to Berry from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the largest Baptist university in the world.

“I love the fact that Berry is based on Christian values — I’m a man of faith myself,” Mazumder said. “I know that Berry is an open place that welcomes people from all faiths and backgrounds, which is exciting. I love the opportunity that Berry will have to serve all people, but the fact those values are at the heart of the college is important to me as well.”

Mazumder will have the benefit of a college already in good shape when he takes office. While many schools are struggling with budgetary issues and declining enrollment, Berry is in good financial health and admitted its target number of new students this year. The college will be opening a Physician Associate program and a new health sciences building in his first year as president. 

“Part of this role is what has been successful already and to build upon that,” Mazumder said. “I think it’s important for Berry to know what is it that we’re strong at, and let’s focus on those things. Let’s just be deep and strong in those areas. That’s part of my leadership style.”

Much of that foundation has been laid by Berry’s current president, Steve Briggs, who has led the college since 2006. The search for his successor began in April after his retirement announcement, when a search committee consisting of nine trustees as well as faculty, staff and student representatives was formed. 

The committee reviewed nearly 200 applications in a few months, whittling down the field to nine semifinalists. That field was again narrowed down to four finalists after in-depth interviews. 

All members of the search committee spent two days with each of the finalists. After the committee decided to recommend Mazumder, he was given the chance to meet all members of the Board of Trustees. The board appointed Mazumder in a unanimous vote about two weeks after he was brought in for his first interview — a departure from the search process that selected Briggs, in which two candidates were presented to the board for a final vote. 

“It honestly shocked all of us that it was unanimous, because throughout the six months we were working on this, we had a lot of debates,” Coleman said. “I think it’s really a testament to Dr. Mazumder’s background and performance and experience that that happened.”

While the majority of the search committee was made up of trustees, Papazian said his input as a faculty member was valued throughout the process. 

“I never felt like I was a fly on the wall listening to the big shots making decisions,” Papazian said. “Even if I didn’t say something, board members would ask me, what do you think about whatever? I was very, very pleased with the way the other search committee members interacted with me.”

Coleman said there should be opportunities for Mazumder to come onto campus over the next six months. 

Mazumder will begin his new position in July 2025. Briggs is already in regular communication with his successor, and the two will overlap in their positions next summer. 

“I think we’re positioning ourselves for the future; we’re thinking ahead of where the college needs to be,” Coleman said. “I think we’re extremely well positioned to encounter the trends of the next five to ten years, and the board takes very seriously the obligation to do that while staying true to our roots.”

Mazumder is looking forward to getting to know the Berry community when he moves into the president’s residence next July. 

“I really want to get out soon after I start next summer, getting out there and into the community and meeting people,” Mazumder said. “I have my wife and three kids — we’re all coming. The entire Mazumder family will be part of Berry College, and we just look forward to being part of that community there.”