James G. Ellis

James George Ellis (born 9 Jan 1947 Tacoma, Washington) is an American academic, professor, and former business executive who, for the last years, was the dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The school teaches about a quarter of all USC undergraduates.

Most recently, Ellis served as USC's Vice Provost of Globalization, a position he held for 16 months. In that position, he developed a university-wide initiative encompassing international instructional and research programs, managing USC overseas offices and coordinating visits by foreign dignitaries.

He had been USC Marshall’s vice dean of external relations and spent a decade as a clinical professor in USC Marshall's Marketing Department, where he applied his expertise in commerce issues facing several Pacific Rim countries. In addition to his administrative endeavors, Ellis also taught upper-division courses in the Marketing department and the Freshman Honors Colloquium, a course designed to introduce incoming "business scholars" to highly successful leaders in a variety of fields. Ellis has received numerous teaching awards from student, alumni and other organizations.

Ellis had a lengthy career in the business world before joining academia, working in senior management or director positions with Broadway Department Stores, American Porsche Design, Miller's Outpost, and several other companies.

He has served on the boards of directors of such corporate and non-profit organizations as the Young Presidents' Organization, Kidspace Children Museum, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Chief Executives Organization and World Presidents' Organization.