Thomas Dean

Thomas J. Dean is the Kemble Family Fellow and Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprise in the College of Business and School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State University. A pioneer in the field of sustainable and environmental entrepreneurship, he authored the first environmental entrepreneurship course in 2001, won accolades for his rigorous theoretical examination of environmental entrepreneurship in 2007, and published the first textbook on sustainable venturing in 2013 (Sustainable Venturing: Entrepreneurial Opportunity in the Transition to a Sustainable Economy). His research, teaching, and executive consulting focus on business strategies and economic opportunities present in emerging social and environmental trends. Professor Dean also led nationally regarded and top-ranked entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprise programs at the University of Tennessee, the University of Colorado, and Colorado State University, including a third place national ranking in social entrepreneurship for CSU’s MBA program. During his tenure at the University of Colorado, Professor Dean led the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship in his role as Academic Director. While at the University of Colorado, he founded the nationally ranked Sustainable Venturing Initiative, the Sustainable Opportunities Summit, and the Cleantech Venture Challenge. He also co-founded the Sustainability, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship Conference, an international conference focused on research at the intersection of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and ethics. Professor Dean teaches in CSU’s Global, Social, and Sustainable Enterprise MBA Program and has consulted with numerous companies and start-ups. He previously served as Chair of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management and received the Dr. Alfred N. and Lynn Manos Page Prize for Sustainability Issues in Business Curricula. He has published over sixty manuscripts and book chapters including articles in journals such as Science,Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Management, andJournal of Business Venturing. Google Scholar lists Professor Dean as having over 4,500 citations of his work. Professor Dean holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Management from Penn State University, an M.B.A. from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Colorado.