Dean Amy Zeng Biography
An accomplished educator and leader in experiential and project-based learning and a recognized scholar in the fields of supply chain management and global logistics, Dean Zeng has brought to the Sawyer Business School a strong passion and a clear vision for active and applied learning, cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations, and global engagement—all of which are central to Suffolk and the Sawyer Business School’s approach to education.
Dean Zeng led the School to finish the development of a new Strategic Plan during her first year and has been implementing the Plan and achieved remarkable results in terms of a better-articulated school brand, rankings, fundraising, and tighter connections with alumni and external partners. Under her leadership, the School enhanced its educational approach by launching an eye-tracking X Lab for education and research, Suffolk-in-the-Hub student-run Marketing Agency, the 2nd student-managed investment fund – Tremont Fund, Suffolk Consulting Clinic, and a multi-year partnership with the Boston Celtics to support a new interdisciplinary Sports Management program. The School is one of the recipients for the “2023 Inspiring Business Programs Award” from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
Prior to her current position, she was the Dean of the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford in Connecticut for two years. In that capacity, she oversaw a renovation and expansion project that provided state-of-the-art instructional and social spaces; she established and cultivated dozens of new partnerships with corporate companies, professional associations, individuals, educational institutions (K-12 and community colleges), and international partners to expand the School's visibility, global footprint, and resources. She led efforts to revise the strategic Plan and career-ready curriculum by integrating experiential education. In addition, she helped execute the inaugural Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, and Manufacturing (FIRM) Executive Leadership of the Year Award event in 2018. She was on the advisory board for the 2019 event. Under her leadership, the two events raised nearly $1M to support student scholarships, programming enhancements, and the School's initiatives. She helped plan most of the 2020 event before her departure from the university.
Prior to her first deanship at the University of Hartford, Dr. Zeng spent 19 years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she held numerous faculty and administrative positions. Dr. Zeng has extensive experience with corporate outreach and engagement, having advised and co-advised more than 60 company-sponsored student and research projects. With her combined education in engineering and business, she has been quite effective and adept at cultivating cross-discipline, cross-sector collaborations, and partnerships. Additionally, she is a three-time grant recipient from the U.S. Department of Education; grants totaling nearly $600,000 plus the same amount of matching funds have provided a solid foundation for establishing the China Hub, WPI's largest global engagement initiative.
Dr. Zeng's research expertise lies in supply chain risk management and tactics, reverse and sustainable supply chain analysis and design, and global logistics process improvement. She has published 100+ articles, garnered 3,800+ Google Scholar citations, and delivered 120+ speeches spanning a wide range of locations and occasions.
Dean Zeng holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Penn State's Smeal College of Business Administration, a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Washington, and a bachelor's degree in industrial management engineering from Beihang University in Beijing, China. She has also obtained certificates from Harvard University’s Management Development Program and HERS Wellesley Leadership Institute’s Women Leaders in Higher Education.
Dean Zeng's Activities around Women Leadership
Invited Deans’ Panelist, Women of Color in the Academy Conference, Northeastern University, April 29, 2022
Invited panelist, "Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion with Women Leaders at Suffolk University," hosted by the Sawyer Business School Ambassadors, March 8, 2022
Contributor to the article, “What Is the Cost of Success for Women in Academia? 7 Women Deans Discuss the Biases They Have Encountered and the Support That’s Helped Them Break Through”, March 8, 2022
Contributor to the article, “Women Deans Leading through Covid-19,” March 5, 2021
Keynote speech, “My Academic Leadership Journey as an Asian Woman,” Asian Women Leadership Virtual Conference, NECINA and Silicon Valley 101, January 23, 2021