Indian American designer, researcher, and entrepreneur Anijo Mathew has become the new dean of the University of Southern California Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, effective August 1.
Mathew comes to USC from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he has served as a professor of entrepreneurship and urban technology and as dean of the Institute of Design.
His work focuses on human-centered design, systems-based design, and urban technologies. In his new role, Mathew leads the academy’s interdisciplinary model, which integrates technology, design, and business.
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Established through a 2013 gift from music industry veterans and Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, the academy uses a project-based approach where students frequently launch startups prior to graduation.
Mathew succeeds Thanassis Rikakis, who stepped down last July to return to teaching, taking over leadership from interim Dean Josh Kun. USC President Beong-Soo Kim noted Mathew’s focus on interdisciplinary work, while co-founder Jimmy Iovine praised his understanding of where technology and education are heading.
Born in Kottayam, India, Mathew spent part of his childhood in Muscat, Oman, before returning to India at age 14 to complete his education. His connection to technology began in 1984, when his father, an accountant, introduced him to an original Apple Macintosh computer, an experience Mathew credits with sparking his initial interest in digital tools.
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Mathew trained as an architect in India and went on to co-found one of the first digital design firms in Mumbai. He later earned a Master in Design Studies degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a doctorate in Design Computing from The Open University in the United Kingdom.
Prior to his dean role at Illinois Tech, Mathew served as head of the Department of Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from 2019 to 2021.
He has also taught as a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In 2015, he founded Vamonde, a Chicago-based startup that developed digital storytelling platforms for cities using augmented and virtual reality.
As emerging fields like artificial intelligence, extended reality, and robotics change higher education and industry, Mathew plans to expand collaborations between the academy and USC’s 22 other professional schools and academic units.