For the second time in four years, Edward McLaughlin, the Robert G. Tobin Professor Emeritus of Marketing, has taken the reins as interim David J. Nolan Dean of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

A Dyson faculty member from 1983 until his retirement in 2019, McLaughlin served as Dyson’s interim dean in 2016-17, following the establishment of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Before the college was formed, McLaughlin served as the associate director of the Dyson School, and for 20 years he directed the undergraduate business program, the largest undergraduate major at Cornell.

McLaughlin returned to the position July 1 following the departure of Lynn Wooten, who served as dean for three years.

“With his background and experience, Ed was the right choice to lead Dyson at this critical point in time,” said Kevin Hallock, dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. “He knows the players and he knows the policies – in fact, he helped formulate many of them.”

“I have a chance to do something useful for an institution that has been very good to me for a long time,” McLaughlin said. “I’m very happy to be back as part of this team.” 

McLaughlin in 2006 was named a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Cornell’s highest award for distinguished teaching. Recognized as a distinguished expert in the efficiency of food distribution systems, his research appears in numerous academic journals, including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, and the Journal of Retailing, where he has won several best paper awards. He is also the author or co-author of three books.

McLaughlin’s other honors include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Research and Communication from the Food Distribution Research Society; the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching; and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Professor of Merit Award, among other teaching accolades.

McLaughlin’s outreach roles have included work with food industry companies, trade associations and public policymakers.

McLaughlin earned a Ph.D. in 1983 from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in 1977 from the University of Vermont. In 1970, he received a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University.

A version of this story appears on the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business website.

Janice Endresen, M.A. ’81, is an editor at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.