Derek Yonai is first ESU business dean candidate
Emporia, KS (04/29/2026) — The first of three candidates being considered as the next dean of Emporia State's School of Business and Technology will meet the community at a forum on Thursday, April 30.
Derek Yonai, director of the Brown Innovation Center at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, will meet community at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at Breidenthal University House, 1522 Highland St.
A second on-campus open presentation will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, in Cremer Hall Room 205, the Roe R. Cross Room.
Yonai previously served as an associate professor of business at Emporia State from 2017 to 2023. He earlier served at Southern Methodist University, Florida Southern College and Campbell University.
He holds a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in English from University of California, Irvine; a juris doctorate from Whittier Law School; and both a master's degree and Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.
Yonai's full curriculum vitae is online.
Two more candidates will visit Emporia on May 4-5 and May 7-8. The next dean follows Ed Bashaw, who retired from ESU at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Internal administrators have served as interim deans since May 2025.
About Emporia State University
Emporia State University offers a range of academic programs through its seven schools: Applied Health Sciences, Business and Technology, Humanities and Social Sciences, Library and Information Management and Library and Archives, Science and Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts, along with The Teachers College.
ESU stands out for its innovative education practices. It ensures accessible education by offering in-state tuition rates to full-time undergraduate students from all lower-48 United States. Additionally, full-time undergraduates benefit from flat-rate tuition - students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours with at least one credit hour on campus pay a flat rate.
For more information on how to build your future at Emporia State University, please visit www.emporia.edu.
Emporia State University
Gwendolynne Larson, ESU director of media relations, (620) 341-5528, glarson1@emporia.eduShare this Story
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