Organisation of the Faculty of Economics
Dean’s office
The Dean’s office is formed by the Dean and Vice Deans. The Dean, assisted by the Vice Deans, leads and manages the Faculty by implementing the decisions of the Faculty Council and the Board of Professors. The Dean represents the Faculty in the USI CouncilI. More information are available in the Faculty statute.
Current Dean's office members:
Gianluca Colombo
Dean of the Faculty of Economics
Gianluca Colombo is Full Professor of Management at the Faculty of Economics. Previously he was Full Professor at Università dell’Insubria, and Associate Professor at Bocconi University in Milan and at Università degli Studi in Pavia. His other previous roles: Deputy Professor at the Sapienza University of Rome; Visiting Professor at the EM Lyon business school, at Aix-Marseille III University, and at Università Federico Santa Maria di Valparaiso (Chile). Prof. Colombo is member of EURAM (European Academy of Management), and of the Academy of Management. He has published several books and academic articles in the fields of strategic management, M&A, complexity theory, entrepreneurship, and family business –the latter for which he is a consultant. Prof. Colombo is the Director of the USI EMBA - Executive Master of Business Administration. He is Dean of the Faculty of Economics from September 1st, 2019.
Giovanni Pica
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics
Giovanni Pica is Full Professor at the Institute of Economics (IdEP). After completing his Ph.D. at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, he held positions at the University of Southampton, the University of Salerno and the University of Milan. He is also affiliated with Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano, CSEF, Centro Baffi and fRDB. His research concentrates on the labour market effects of financial market imperfections, globalization and labour market institutions. He is currently working on the role of internal capital and labour markets within organizations, on the labour market impact of the financial crisis, on the link between social mobility and macroeconomic outcomes, and on occupational licensing. His work has been published, among other journals, in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Economic Journal, the Journal of European Economic Association, the Journal of International Economics.
Alberto Plazzi
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics
Alberto Plazzi is Full Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Economics, USI. He holds a PhD in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. His research interests include Empirical Asset Pricing, Real Estate, Institutional Investors, and Financial Econometrics. Prof. Plazzi’s research has been published in leading finance journals. He has taught asset pricing, corporate finance, and risk management for the master, executive master, or doctoral programs of various universities. In 2014, he was awarded the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching at USI.
Faculty Council
The Faculty Council exercises its authority on all general matters related to the interests of the Faculty, especially those pertaining to teaching and research activities. More information are available in the Faculty statute.
Board of Professors
The Board of Professors identifies the Faculty members that are called upon to sit in a commission for the appointment of professors, assigns courses to lecturers, and proposes the awarding of Honoris Causa and Professor Emeritus. More information are available in the Faculty statute.
Graduate Studies Committee, Board of Studies, Director of Examinations, Bachelor Student Adviser
The Graduate Studies Committee is in charge of managing the Faculty PhD programmes (admission, education …).
The Board of Studies is a permanent working party that carries out a strategic analysis of the study curricula proposed by the Faculty, reporting periodically to the Faculty Council.
The Director of Examinations is responsible for the correct enforcement and application of the Study Regulations for all aspects related to preparing, organising and taking examinations. The current Director of Examinations is Prof. Edoardo Beretta.
The Bachelor Student Adviser is a member of the Faculty who acts as an advisor for Bachelor students. The current Bachelor Student Adviser is Prof. Gianluca Colombo.
Institutes
According to the USI statute, Institutes are training and research units supported by one or more Faculties, subject to approval by the University Council.
The responsibilities, tasks, organisation and members of the Institutes are defined by specific agreements between the Faculties and the Rectorate. These agreements set the scope and limits within which an Institute can engage in its own right with third parties. The contract has limited duration and is renewable.
The Institutes do not have a distinct legal personality and are headed by a Director appointed among professors (Full or Associate) of the Institutes, according to the terms of agreement. Specialised sub-units (centres, observatories, laboratories, groups ...) can be created inside or in cooperation between the institutes, with the aim of carrying out specific research projects and/or handling specific aspect of the training.
The list of the Institutes supported by the Faculty of Economics is available at this page:
www.eco.usi.ch/en/faculty-economics/institutes
