Haas names 2 new assistant deans to lead MBA Admissions and Programs

UC Berkeley Haas has named two new assistant deans to lead its MBA admissions and degree programs operations, doubling down on its focus on student experience and developing leaders who move business forward.

Sabah Khan has been appointed assistant dean of MBA Admissions and Enrollment Management, and Julia Hwang has been named assistant dean of MBA Programs. Both appointments take effect this spring.

“I’m so excited to welcome these experienced leaders to our team as we head into a new strategic chapter for Haas,” said Erika Walker, senior vice dean for instruction. “We are remarkably fortunate to already have a high level of talent within our ranks, and these appointments represent an exciting opportunity to build upon that foundation under seasoned strategic leadership.”

Khan and Hwang bring a combined five decades of higher education leadership to two of the school’s most critical student-facing functions.

Haas Dean Jenny Chatman said that both leaders embody the school’s unique culture. “Haas has long held that the Defining Leadership Principles, Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, Beyond Yourself, are not just aspirational values but a genuine differentiator, a secret sauce that shapes who thrives here and what they go on to build. Attracting students who embody those principles, while ensuring the MBA experience delivers measurable returns on a significant investment, is central to our vision for the school.”

That vision for where Haas is headed is reflected in a new strategic plan set to launch this fall and a refreshed narrative that builds on the school’s legacy of questioning the status quo and embraces the critical role of human leadership in the age of AI.

Sabah Khan 

Khan arrives at Haas with nearly 20 years of leadership experience, including a decade leading MBA enrollment strategy at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. As a director, she managed a large team, overseeing the entire candidate lifecycle from market research through yield.

Her tenure at Stanford produced measurable results. She helped admit the school’s most diverse MBA class in the school’s history and launched a $20 million fellowship portfolio that generated 30-fold growth in applications from targeted pools. 

More recently, Khan was an operator at Stripe, where she shaped people strategy for one of the world’s fastest-growing and highest valued fintech companies. She served as Stripe’s head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and later as chief of staff to Stripe’s head of Human Resources.

Khan holds a master of arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a bachelor of arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

In her new role, Khan will serve as chief enrollment strategist for Haas MBA Programs, including the Full-time, Evening/Weekend, and Executive MBA programs. 

Khan said two things drew her to Haas: the clarity and foresight of Dean Chatman’s vision for what business education must become in an AI era, and the fact that Berkeley is a public institution “with a genuine responsibility to make that future more equitable.”

“Admissions is where a school’s values are realized,” she said. “Every class we build is a statement about who belongs in business leadership and what we think the world should look like. I couldn’t imagine a more meaningful place to do that work.”

Julia Hwang

Hwang spent 12 years at Haas from 2004 to 2016, serving first as executive director of the Full-time MBA Program Office and later as assistant dean of the Career Management Group, where she led the team serving all MBA students and alumni across Full-time, Evening/Weekend, and Executive programs. During her tenure, graduate job placement rates rose by 8%.

She brings nearly 30 years of higher education leadership to the role, with experience spanning admissions, student affairs, curriculum, career services, and program management at Haas, NYU Stern School of Business, where she served as assistant dean of MBA Admissions, and UCSF School of Dentistry, where she built and led the Learner Success Center, integrating admissions, student affairs, and curricular services into a unified student-focused operation.

Hwang holds a bachelor of arts in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and a master of arts in International Education from New York University.

As assistant dean of MBA Programs, Hwang will oversee the strategic direction of curriculum delivery, student affairs, academic policy, and the overall student experience across Haas MBA Programs.

“Returning to serve this incredible community of learners, faculty, and staff is a moment of pure gratitude for me,” Hwang said. “I’m so inspired by the leadership of both Dean Chatman and Chancellor Rich Lyons. With our world-class MBA program team and Haas faculty and staff, I am ready to continue building the future of Berkeley Haas,” she said.

Khan and Hwang will work closely together, reporting directly to Walker. They will also collaborate with faculty, Marketing, Career Services, Financial Aid, and program leadership, with a shared focus on student outcomes.