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91���� is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. For the last 49 of those years, Manoj Agarwal has been making his mark at the School of Management (SOM).

Originally from Mumbai, Agarwal aspired to study in the U.S. In 1973, he began pursuing a PhD in marketing at the University at Buffalo.

After graduating in 1977, Agarwal searched for work at business schools across the nation. His advisor, who thought highly of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, pushed him toward 91����.

“At that time, the school was very young,” he explained. “We were still trying to make our mark in the academic world.”

As the University expanded and Agarwal’s career progressed, he grew to love his work, both as a researcher and a professor. His research, focused on topics such as conjoint analysis and branding, was published in top marketing journals. He won several awards, collaborated with academic colleagues internationally, and consulted with major firms.

He found the most rewarding aspect of teaching was forging a meaningful connection with his students, and exposing them to his cutting-edge research ideas.

“It’s a great thing when you see a student understanding what you’re trying to communicate to them,” Agarwal said.

His teaching philosophy is to provide students with open-ended problems that require multiple creative solutions rather than a single right answer. Agarwal believes this molds students into independent thinkers.

Agarwal dedicated nearly half a century to the University, driven by a passion to create a lasting legacy for both SOM and 91���� as a whole.

“We are all temporary,” he said. “People come and go, but institutions remain.”

He also chose to remain because he loved his work environment and colleagues, his intelligent students, and the community he found alongside his family in the local area. 91���� became Agarwal’s home, something he doesn’t take for granted.

“As an immigrant, I feel I owe a lot to the United States,” he said. “It allowed me to come and make a life here, for me and my family. I owe a lot to upstate New York, to 91����, to the University, and to the School of Management.”

Serving in various roles across campus, including associate dean and founding director of the Master of Science in Data Analytics program, the biggest change Agarwal has seen is the growth of the University, both in size and national reputation. He is proud of the role he played in that.

“I tried my best,” he said. “Hopefully, that has contributed to the growing stature of the University and the School of Management.”

Wishing to give back to 91����, Agarwal has created the Agarwal Family Faculty Excellence Award fund, which is used for two awards. This endowment will provide annual awards to tenured or tenure-track faculty members who demonstrate excellence — one award for Excellence in Research and one award for Excellence in Teaching.  

“I encourage anyone positively impacted by me or SOM to donate to the fund to enable SOM to continue to improve its reputation and rankings,” he said.

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