Frank Oprandy has been named the executive director of graduate executive programs in the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University. In this role, Oprandy will oversee the highly ranked Executive MBA, Physician’s Executive MBA and Master of Real Estate Development degree programs.

“Having led our Graduate Career Services office for the past 14 years, Frank is well positioned to enhance our exceptional graduate executive education programs while introducing innovative offerings that reflect the evolving needs of today's executives,” said Michael Wesson, associate dean of graduate and executive programs. “We are excited and lucky to have him in this role.”

Oprandy replaces Kim Kuerten, who had served in the role for 25 years before becoming the administrative director of Auburn’s new Institute for Real Estate Development.

“Working with Dr. Wesson, our esteemed faculty and dedicated staff, I look forward to maintaining the standard of excellence our stakeholders have come to expect,” said Oprandy. “Together, we will continue to nurture a vibrant community of executives poised to lead with integrity, innovation, and a deep commitment to making a meaningful difference in the world.”

Oprandy noted that the overall executive business education field is currently facing some challenges, such as shifting expectations and increased competition among schools for students, so talking with Auburn executive programs’ faculty, alumni and students is key to addressing those challenges.

“I want to learn from our alumni, students, and faculty about what’s happening in the marketplace and how best to be responsive to those needs,” Oprandy said. “Our students are the tip of the spear, so they can tell us what they need to excel in their work.”

He added: “I’m excited about my new role and about the opportunity for growth. We’ve got a great team that’s doing great work, so I look forward to working with them to build on what Is here and taking it to the next level.”

Oprandy joined Harbert College in 2010, where he led the creation and implementation of the Graduate Career Services office, which provides job placement and career development for the college’s MBA, specialty master’s degree and executive students.

“I’m proud of being a part of the cultural transformation of developing, delivering and executing a robust graduate career services program,” he said. “Today, one of the reasons students give for picking Auburn is they’ve seen [the results of the] graduate career services and professional development offerings or they’ve talked to their friends who have been through our graduate programs.”

Under Oprandy’s leadership, Graduate Career Services provided new career and professional development courses and programming for students, forged strong relationships with employers and alumni and enhanced student hiring through career fairs and special events.

Oprandy has earned three degrees from Auburn—a master’s and Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering and an executive MBA (EMBA).

He said the EMBA degree not only allowed him to experience greater industry success, but it provides him with an understanding of what current executive degree candidates go through.

“I was working with GE clients, helping them run their businesses and interacting with C-level folks, when I realized I needed more knowledge and expertise,” he said, noting that the degree ultimately helped him become a CFO of a hospital.

“Now that I have responsibility for the executive degree programs, it’s that much more important to me to do good work because it’s the program that helped me become who I am,” he said.

A graduate of West Point, Oprandy served as an aviation officer and helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army for five years, which included a stint as an executive officer during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. After leaving the service in 1994, he entered the corporate world, spending more than 17 years working at companies such as American Express, General Electric and several healthcare firms.

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Learn more about Harbert College’s MBA programs and specialty master’s degrees.