Robert Day

Interim Dean, School of Business

Office of the Dean

---

Robert “Bob’’ Day is the Interim Dean of the UConn School of Business. A professor in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) department, Bob previously served as Associate Dean for undergraduate business programs from 2017 to 2022.

He recently served as the Chair of the University Senate Executive Committee, leading the elected body that represents faculty, staff, and students, and serving as a liaison between university governance and top leadership.

In addition, Bob has been active in the university AI Governance Committee and was deeply involved in the formation of the new university-wide Common Curriculum. Those experiences have given him broad connections across the university, and the ability to unite people from varied academic programs.

Bob has been awarded the Robert Cizik Professorship in Manufacturing and Technology Management at UConn, recognizing his leadership and research abilities, and has been recognized with an Innovation in Teaching Award as well.

In his current role as Interim Dean, he is eager to enhance artificial intelligence education, grow experiential learning, and expand access for a growing number of students interested in business. He is committed to student retention, recruiting domestically and abroad, and supporting innovative programs on the regional campuses. He is also leading the school as it prepares for its AACSB accreditation review in November 2026.

Bob’s research focuses on combinatorial auctions, optimization, and market design, with his work used in billion-dollar spectrum auctions in Canada and Europe. His work has prioritized airport landing-slots, healthcare management optimization, and electricity and cell phone market assignments. Noble Prize-winning economist Paul Milgrom recognized Bob’s research during a Nobel lecture, highlighting their collaboration on auction theory and market mechanisms.

Bob earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, with a concentration in Operations Research, from the University of Maryland. He won the prestigious INFORMS George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award for his Ph.D. dissertation. Three years later he was awarded the INFORMS Computing Society Prize. Bob is also the founding President of the INFORMS section on Auctions and Market Design. He joined the UConn faculty in 2004.

Education/Professional Certification

PhD., 2004, Applied Mathematics, Concentration in Operations Research, University of Maryland, College Park. BA, 1999, Mathematics and Economics, Vanderbilt University.

Areas of Expertise

Auctions, Combinatorial (Package) Auctions, Airport Landing-Slot Auctions, Bidding Languages, Core Allocations, Matching and Allocation Problems, Healthcare Management, Operations Research, Mathematical Programming, Optimization. http://users.business.uconn.edu/bday/index.html