Former Fox School of Business Online MBA academic director Darin Kapanjie has been replaced by Bora Ozkan, an assistant professor of finance, officials announced to the school on Thursday.
Interim dean Ronald Anderson announced the change in leadership in an email to faculty on Thursday, the Inquirer reported.
“When I stepped into this role, I promised to make the necessary administrative and personnel changes to realign our operations to the mission of Russell H. Conwell, who was committed to providing access to superior educational opportunities for academically talented and highly motivated students, regardless of their backgrounds or means,” Anderson wrote in an email to faculty.
It is unknown why Kapanjie is being replaced and if he chose to step down. Kapanjie joined Fox in 2003 as a statistics professor. He then moved into the role of academic director for the Online MBA and BBA programs when they launched in 2009. Kapanjie will remain a member of the faculty, the Inquirer reported.
In his email, Anderson thanked Kapanjie for serving as the academic leader for the programs and wrote that he was “instrumental to student success, academic excellence and an innovative curricular design.”
Ozkan, who is also the academic director for Fox’s Online BBA program, joined Fox in 2014 after previously teaching accounting, finance and economics at Tulane University and Southeastern Louisiana University.
“His background and approach to education, as well as his experience teaching in the Online MBA program, make him well-suited for this role,” Anderson wrote. “I am excited for him to join my leadership team, and I believe he will continue to enhance the quality and outcomes of the Fox Online MBA and Online BBA programs.”
This replacement comes after the university uncovered more misreporting within at least six Fox School of Business programs submitted to U.S. News & World Report. University officials found through an independent review that Fox had submitted falsified data for years to be ranked the No. 1 Online MBA program.
Temple has since taken steps to prevent further misreporting university-wide, like implementing a new data submission process to ensure integrity. All deans and heads of university offices must follow this new process.
The university is continuing to respond to the ongoing investigations by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Department of Education.
“That means either he was in on it or, forgive me for saying this, he was too dumb to see what was going on. Either way, I cannot have a man like that workin’ here.”
– Sam (Ace) Rothstein, Casino