Jon Kaplan, former assistant dean of Chapman University's MBA programs, has been hired as the Haas School's new executive director of Part-Time and Executive MBA Programs, effective March 5. Kaplan's wide-ranging career also has included working at UCLA's Anderson School, directing operations in UCLA men's athletics, and even serving as a public announcer for the Harlem Globetrotters.
During his more than seven years at Chapman in Orange, Calif., Kaplan oversaw the school's introduction of a full-time MBA program to round out its flex and executive MBA programs and the creation of the business school's Career Management Center, which helped improve job placements. He also assisted in the creation of a MBA program in Prague and created a new joint program with the university's top-ranked school of film, which increased national awareness of the school.
"We couldn't be more delighted to find such a great match for this position at Berkeley-Haas," says Dean Rich Lyons. "Jon brings valuable experience expanding MBA programs both domestically and internationally at UCLA and Chapman, knowledge of the UC system, and strong leadership skills that are clear from all that he has already achieved."
Before Chapman, Kaplan spent four years as associate director of the Career Management Center and a year as associate director of full-time MBA admissions at UCLA Anderson. He worked as director of operations for UCLA's football and men's basketball teams for 12 years after playing varsity football at UCLA.
"I'm looking forward to moving to the Bay Area and playing a role in the extraordinary efforts launched by Dean Lyons at Berkeley-Haas," says Kaplan, a lifelong Southern California resident, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics and an MBA from UCLA. "The school's four Defining Principles really resonated with me. And during the interview process, the people at Haas got me even more interested in the position. They're smart and hard-working–everything you would want from your teammates."
While earning his MBA, Kaplan worked as an intern for Walt Disney World of Sports and landed a job working as a public announcer for the Harlem Globetrotters for one season on the West Coast. "It was the experience of a lifetime – 90 cities in 90 days," he says.
Kaplan, whose oldest son has type 1 diabetes, is an active board member of the Orange County Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Intensely dedicated to finding a cure, he looks forward to working in a similar volunteer position in the Bay Area after he settles in. Kaplan also has a daughter, 9, and a son, 24. His wife, Amy, is founder and director of West Coast Surrogacy.