Shailesh Kulkarni

Shailesh Kulkarni, 48, of Denton, professor of business analytics in the Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, died July 6. He had worked in the College of Business since 1999 and was named a full professor in 2016. He was the curriculum coordinator and curriculum committee chair for the department’s master’s degree programs and was known as an engaging and patient mentor with a passion for decision sciences.

He was nationally and internationally respected and well-known in the operations research community as a researcher and as an organizer for large annual conferences, including those of the Decision Sciences Institute and the Production and Operations Management Society. He was vice president of finance and a board member of POMS. He also served as faculty advisor for UNT’s student chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Bombay, and a second master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. His wife, Rohini Patankar ('03), works in decision support services at UNT.

Funeral services will take place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at Flower Mound Family Funeral Home, 3550 Firewheel Drive in Flower Mound. Visitation is from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and a eulogy and life tribute by family and friends will follow.

The College of Business is initiating two funds for donations in his memory: The Shailesh Kulkarni Memorial Scholarship and The Shailesh Kulkarni Faculty Research Fund.

Shailesh Kulkarni, 48, of Denton, professor of business analytics in the Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, died July 6. He had worked in the College of Business since 1999 and was named a full professor in 2016. He was the curriculum coordinator and curriculum committee chair for the department’s master’s degree programs and was known as an engaging and patient mentor with a passion for decision sciences.

He was nationally and internationally respected and well-known in the operations research community as a researcher and as an organizer for large annual conferences, including those of the Decision Sciences Institute and the Production and Operations Management Society. He was vice president of finance and a board member of POMS. He also served as faculty advisor for UNT’s student chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Bombay, and a second master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. His wife, Rohini Patankar ('03), works in decision support services at UNT.

Funeral services will take place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at Flower Mound Family Funeral Home, 3550 Firewheel Drive in Flower Mound. Visitation is from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and a eulogy and life tribute by family and friends will follow.

The College of Business is initiating two funds for donations in his memory: The Shailesh Kulkarni Memorial Scholarship and The Shailesh Kulkarni Faculty Research Fund.