Dr. Lara Khansa is the Sonny Merryman Professor in Business Information Technology and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Human Resources at the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. A distinguished scholar and academic leader, Dr. Khansa also served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs from 2017 to 2023, where she oversaw a period of transformational growth in enrollment, student success, and curricular innovation.

Dr. Khansa joined Virginia Tech in 2008 as an Assistant Professor and rose through the ranks to become Full Professor in 2019. She was named the Sonny Merryman Professor in Business in 2020. As Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, she led the redesign of Pamplin's undergraduate business curriculum, launched interdisciplinary programs such as the Data Analytics Living-Learning Community, and introduced a predictive enrollment and resource planning model. Her efforts helped increase undergraduate enrollment by over 50% and culminated in Pamplin's highest career placement rate.

In her current role, Dr. Khansa provides strategic leadership over faculty hiring, retention, and development; manages HR operations across the college; and plays a pivotal role in accreditation, policy reform, and academic governance. She recently led Pamplin's successful AACSB reaccreditation process and directs initiatives that promote excellence, equity, and engagement across faculty ranks. In 2024, she earned the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from HRCI.

A multidisciplinary scholar, Dr. Khansa holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems, an M.B.A. in Finance and Investment Banking, and an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a B.S. in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Before academia, she worked as a software design engineer at GE Medical Systems.

Dr. Khansa's research spans human-computer interaction, healthcare analytics, online behavior, and information security. Her work has appeared in premier outlets such as the Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Management Information Systems, Decision Sciences, Communications of the ACM, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. She serves on the editorial board of Journal of Management Information Systems and has received multiple awards for her scholarship and teaching. With over 50 peer-reviewed publications, her research continues to shape theory and practice at the intersection of technology and human behavior.

Research Interests

Human-computer interaction (affective, social, and relational); human behavioral economics (psychoanalytic social theories); online behavioral analytics (nomological psychology); social commerce; B2B e-Marketplaces; integrated online security, online information privacy, security and resilience of IT information infrastructures. Healthcare analytics, including systematic healthcare analytics, financial healthcare analytics, and social media analytics in healthcare.

Experience

Ph.D., Information Systems, University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2008
MBA, Finance and Investment Banking, University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2003
M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2000
B.S., Computer and Communication Engineering (With Distinction), American University of Beirut, 1998