Lisa Ordoñez

EDUCATION: RSM Dean Successfully Implementing 5-Year Plan

As the only second dean of the UC San Diego Rady School of Management (RSM), Dr. Lisa D. Ordóñez is transitioning RSM from an innovative and forward-thinking startup focused on providing business expertise to San Diego's scientists and technologists, to a nationally ranked UC business school known for excellence in both its educational and research endeavors. By careful visioning and strategic partnerships, the school is maximizing the potential of the San Diego region with initiatives serving the military, health and biomedical industry, and the cross-border region.

In her first two years on campus, and during a global pandemic, Dean Ordóñez completed a five-year strategic plan – “Ideas to Impact, 2021-2026” – that focused on five strategic intents: enhancing faculty research; elevating the student experience; fostering strategic community partnerships; demonstrating a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion; and building an adaptive infrastructure. The aim of this plan is to demonstrate the school's value in the community and progress already underway.

Dr. Ordóñez was named by the San Diego Business Journal as 2022 Business Woman of the Year for public companies with 50 to 249 employees.

Significant Impact

Dr. Ordóñez has only been in the San Diego area a short time and yet has already made a significant impact in the region.

She led the Rady School through an unprecedented pandemic, emerging stronger than ever with the highest enrollments in the school's 18-year history. Under her guidance, the RSM launched the Rady School Business Recovery Coalition to help businesses in the San Diego region navigate the unprecedented challenges faced by COVID-19. This initiative drew on expertise from the UC San Diego community to provide immediate pro bono assistance and guidance to San Diego businesses during these extraordinary times.

In the last year, Dean Ordóñez hired seven new faculty members with a cluster hire in inclusive excellence to support equity, diversity, and inclusion at the school and in business practice more broadly. She approved several fellowships to provide opportunities for UCSD employees, veterans, and medical professionals for the MBA and MS in Business Analytics part-time programs. Dean Ordóñez also successfully navigated RSM through a successful AACSB reaccreditation.

Recently the Rady School partnered with the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC) to provide research support for SDMAC's Military Economic Impact Report (MEIR) – an independent annual study to comprehensively quantify the impact of defense-related expenditures on the San Diego region's economy which is used to demonstrate the importance of the military on our region.

Deep Academic Background

When Dr. Ordóñez was appointed Dean of Rady School of Management in September 2019, she brought with her a deep background in academia. She spent 25 years of her career at the University of Arizona, serving the last four and half years as Vice Dean of the Eller College of Management.

Dr. Ordóñez is a recognized expert in the field of ethical behavior in organizations, and her research examines the negative aspects of goal setting. She has published scholarly articles and chapters in her field of expertise and received a National Science Foundation grant to support her work on ethical decision making.

Dr. Ordóñez is a graduate of UC Berkely, where she received a bachelor's degree in psychology, a master's degree in marketing and her Ph.D. in Philosophy and Mathematical Psychology.