Faculty & Teaching - Fall 2026

Scaling Global Hope

Since its inception in 2023, the Humanitarian Operations (HOPE) Lab has become a premier global hub for humanitarian innovation, showing how business expertise can be a powerful tool for global equity. Founded by Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, the Greg and Patty Fox Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, the lab helps humanitarian organizations better respond to urgent crises with actionable research and insights.

Recent research from the lab focused on preventive hand water pump maintenance in sub-Saharan Africa. Analyzing more than 47,000 hand pumps, the researchers found that fixing them before breaks is most efficient, challenging the prevailing wisdom that preventive hand water pump maintenance is too expensive for NGOs. 

Their work is the subject of a What Would You Fight For? feature, debuting fall 2026 during halftime of a Fighting Irish football game. 

Much of the Lab’s research is conducted by faculty and Ph.D. students, but undergraduate students can propose their own projects as well. Ben Mills (ND ’26) investigated the long-term impacts of catastrophic flooding on low-income housing in San Diego, while David Buckley (ND ’27) explored the structural resilience of an NGO during the humanitarian surge from the war in Ukraine. 

The lab hosted its inaugural HOPE Research Workshop in September 2025. The first U.S. workshop dedicated exclusively to humanitarian operations research, it convened nearly 50 scholars from 20 institutions, strengthening the international community of scholars with in-person collaboration. Junior researchers shared their work on critical issues like climate displacement and food insecurity, while senior scholars offered feedback and facilitated discussions of papers in progress. The second annual workshop convenes September 2026.

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WORLD-CLASS RESEARCHERS

Nine Mendoza faculty members were named to the 2025 Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List, a global ranking that recognizes the world’s most-cited researchers. Representing disciplines from finance and management to accountancy and IT, these scholars, including Dean Martijn Cremers and Dean Shepherd, Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Jason Colquitt, Franklin D. Schurz Professor of Management, were honored for their significant contributions to scientific impact. This recognition underscores the College’s strategic priority of elevating research that “grows the good in business” by addressing complex global challenges and contributing to human flourishing.

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AI BUSINESS MENTORSHIP

Marketing Professor Frank Germann and co-principal investigator Father Arthur Ssembajja (MBA/MGA ’22) are piloting an AI-driven mentor to support entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Supported by the Notre Dame Poverty Initiative, the randomized controlled trial in Kampala, Uganda, provides small-business owners with a custom large language model on their phones. This surrogate mentor offers on-demand marketing and business advice, aiming to democratize access to high-quality guidance. 

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A VISIONARY LEGACY

After 31 years, Robert Easley, the John W. Berry Sr. Department Chair and Professor of Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations (ITAO), retired from Mendoza in June 2025. Easley was the visionary force behind the 2016 launch of the ITAO department, anticipating the critical role of big data in modern business. His commitment to interdisciplinary excellence helped establish business analytics as one of the University’s most popular majors. In recognition of his lasting impact, Easley received the 2025 Faculty Award for his transformative contributions to Notre Dame’s academic landscape.

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RISE IN RESEARCH RANKINGS 

In the recently released Financial Times ranking of MBA programs, the Notre Dame MBA moved up seven spots to #28 among U.S. schools. 

The College’s research ranking saw a significant rise to No. 9 in the U.S. from No. 25 in 2025. Worth 10% of the overall ranking, the research rating is based on the number of articles by full-time faculty in 50 internationally recognized academic and practitioner journals. The rank combines the number of publications from January 2023 to May 2025, weighted relative to the size of the faculty at the business school.

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MEDIA SPOTLIGHTS

Mendoza faculty lend critical expertise to major newsrooms. Professor Vamsi Kanuri’s research on maintaining customer loyalty after bank fraud garnered attention from more than a dozen outlets, including U.S. News & World Report and The Last Show with David Cooper. Meanwhile, the ITAO department’s Mike Chapple was a go-to source for The Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show and many others following the massive Amazon Web Services outage. 

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TAMONI LEADS NDIGI

The Mendoza College of Business named Andrea Tamoni, associate professor of finance, as the faculty director of the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing. An expert in asset pricing and macro-finance, Tamoni guides the Institute’s research agenda and fosters collaboration between academic scholars and industry leaders.

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IN MEMORIAM

Professor Emeritus William “Bill” Nichols passed away on October 13 at age 79, leaving behind a legacy of selfless service spanning four decades. Joining the accountancy faculty in 1977, Nichols served in vital leadership roles, including associate dean for graduate programs. Known for his humility and deep devotion to students, he later served as a faculty advisor for the Meyer Business on the Frontlines program.

Satya VenKata Ravi Sriram Somanchi, associate professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, passed away unexpectedly on May 31, 2025. At 39, Somanchi was a brilliant scholar whose pioneering research in social science and machine learning sharpened healthcare analytics. A recipient of the Zac Plantz Memorial Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, he was celebrated for his academic rigor and his ever-present smile.

2026 Magazine Issue