The dean of Johns Hopkins University’s business school is the second candidate for the University of Iowa’s provost position, officials announced Thursday.

Yash Gupta is scheduled to give a presentation during a public forum at 1:30 p.m. today in the Bijou.

The dean is the second of three provost candidates to visit campus, following the announcement of interim Provost P. Barry Butler’s candidacy earlier this week.

Gupta’s position at Johns Hopkins’ Carey School of Business is just one of many administrative positions in which he’s served.

Before joining Johns Hopkins in 2008, he was the dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California from 2004 to 2006. While there, he raised more than $55 million and improved the school’s Wall Street Journal ranking, according to his website.

Prior to his position in California, Gupta served as the professor and dean of the University of Washington’s business school from 1999 to 2004.

James Jiambalvo, the present dean of the University of Washington’s Foster Business School, said Gupta is "energetic."

"He had a major effect on the culture of the business school," said Jiambalvo, who replaced Gupta as dean in 2006. "[Gupta] is a real agent for change."

Jiambalvo said Gupta worked to update programs, processes, fundraising, and recruiting at the University of Washington.

"When ideas came up from the faculty, he wanted a meeting on it the next day to discuss how we make it happen," Jiambalvo said.

Gupta also held the positions of dean and professor at the University of Colorado-Denver from 1992 until 1999.

Heidi Boerstler, a professor of health administration at that school, said Gupta was an enthusiastic and positive hard worker.

"Whatever he does, he puts 150 percent effort," she said. "If you choose this guy, this will be a mile-a-minute push."

Boerstler, a graduate of Northwestern University, said Gupta’s goals would fit in with Big Ten academic standards.

Though Gupta served for seven years in Colorado and five years at the University of Washington, he left after a brief stint of only two years at the University of Southern California.

But at least for Colorado officials, Boerstler said, his departure wasn’t an issue.

"I don’t see him as a short-time guy, I really don’t," she said. "That wasn’t my experience with him."

Gupta received a B.S. in engineering from Panjab University in India in 1973, then went on to receive a master’s in production management from Brunel University in London in 1974. In 1976, Gupta earned a doctorate in management sciences from the University of Bradford in Britain.

The third and final provost candidate will be announced a day before an open forum scheduled for May 4.

Richard Fumerton, a co-chairman of the Provost Search Committee, said he could not directly speak about the candidates, but the public forums held for each candidate will be beneficial.

"I think that everybody in the university community has an obvious interest in who the next provost is going to be," he said. "And we want the community to be able to ask the questions they feel are important."