Arun Pillutla

About Me

Dr. Arun Pillutla is an Assoc. Professor of Management and was the Associate Dean of the College of Business at Central Washington University. He teaches Principles of Management and Strategic Management, serves as a Board member for a financial cooperative, and a peer reviewer for Higher Learning Commission.

Dr. Pillutla, in his previous academic roles, served as Full Professor and Associate Dean of Patricia VanBruwaene College of Business at St. Ambrose University. He created and served as the Director of American Business Experience (ABE) program there from 2010 to 2016. He served as Chair of Management Department at St. Ambrose University and Director of Master of Business Administration and Master of Organizational Leadership programs.

Arun’s expertise is in Business Strategy, Corporate Governance, and Entrepreneurship. His award-winning research articles on organizational visioning, small and medium enterprise growth, and political ideologies in organizations are presented internationally and appeared in the Harvard Business Review, International Small Business Journal, The CASE Journal, and Group & Organization Management (GOM). He was a recipient of the Doctoral Alumni Research Fellow award. He received the prestigious Fulbright award to teach in Mongolia, 2022.

Arun’s extensive board level experience includes his two-decade long service as a board member of RIA Federal Credit Union ($750+ in assets), during which time he served in many roles including Treasurer, Chair of Membership and Funds Management committees, and Vice Chair. He served on the Board of the Midwest Academy of Management (2016-2020), as Program Chair for 64^th Annual Conference of the Midwest Academy of Management in 2021 and the President of the Midwest Academy of Management, 2021-22. As an experienced board member, he mentored many colleagues of diverse backgrounds.

He has extensive higher education and corporate governance experience in the US. He also taught in Europe, India, South America, China, Mongolia, and Nepal. As a peer reviewer (15+ years) for the Higher Learning Commission, he reviewed ~25 institutions, including minority and religious institutions. In his academic administrative roles, he hired and mentored diverse individuals. As an academic leader, as a credit union board member, as a peer reviewer and in all his other roles, Arun advocated for excellence and community well-being.

Arun was born and raised in Southern India, lived and worked in Northern India, earned his doctorate in the Pacific Northwest from Washington State University, lived briefly in Tennessee, had a long academic career in the Midwest, and returned to Washington State! His bachelor’s degree is in engineering, and graduate degrees are in business. He enjoys running and movies.

CV