Rohan Williamson, a finance professor in the McDonough School of Business since 1997, will serve as interim dean of the MSB from August 2, according to a campuswide email sent by University President John J. DeGioia today.

MSB Dean David Thomas announced in July he would step down after five years at Georgetown on Aug. 1.

Williamson also currently serves as the Bolton Sullivan and Thomas A. Dean Chair of International Business.

Williamson has had a significant impact on the MSB outside of his work as a professor, according to DeGioia. Williamson has served on the Academic Leadership Council, as area coordinator for finance from 2004 to 2009 and 2011 to 2014 and as chair of both the MBA curriculum design committee and the MSB undergraduate curriculum committee.

Williamson has served on several university committees, including the MSB Dean Search Committee from 2010 to 2011 – which helped select Thomas – and the university’s Diversity Committee from 2000 to 2006.

Williamson will inherit a MSB that has undergone significant change and growth under Thomas: The MSB recently exceeded its capital campaign goal by $30 million and has launched a host of new centers and programs in the past five years, including the Master of Science in Finance degree, the MSB’s first online program.

Williamson received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton, an MBA from Clark Atlanta University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University.

DeGioia announced in July that he will select a committee to appoint a permanent replacement dean.