J-School Dean Leads Kenan-Flagler Dean Search

CHAPEL HILL – Your local University’s business school might have a tough decision to make in finding its next dean.

“This year we may be the leading school that is in the market for a new dean,” says Susan King, Dean of UNC’s School Journalism and Mass Communication and chair of the Dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School search committee. “So, those who have it in their plan to move into administration one way or another will be looking at us, I’m sure.”

She says she’s spoken with a number of different business schools and that she’s hearing that this will be a very sought-after job. In the U.S. News and World Report 2014 Best Colleges rankings, UNC was named No. 5 in the top public schools, and Kenan-Flagler was named No. 20 in the best business schools.

Jim Dean served as the business school’s dean from 2008-2013. Before that he served as the senior associate dean from 2007-2008; associate dean of Executive Development from 2002-2007; and associate dean of the MBA Program from 1998-2002.

King says Dean asked her personally if she would lead the search committee.

“I think it’s an honor to do that,” King says. “Especially to find the successor to such a successful dean at Kenan-Flagler who now happens to be our provost. So, I’m really honored to have been asked to do it.”

King says the process is likely to take a few months. She says the first task was to create the search committee which is now made up of 12 members, not including King.

“I think it’s a very strong search committee,” King says. “There are members of the faculty; there are members of the staff at Kenan-Flagler; there are also very successful alums; there is one student. So it reflects the many constituencies of the Kenan-Flagler school.”

She says the first goal of the committee was to decide the best way to find the top candidates.

“We decided that we needed to hire an outside search firm that would really have a national and in fact a global perspective on what the talent pool would be,” King says. “That firm was chosen at our last meeting out of three firms.”

King says Korn/Ferry International has been contracted to assist in the search.

The most recent meeting of the search committee was August 22; the next meeting has not been posted, and all meetings are likely conducted in closed session as authorized by the N.C. Open Meeting Law.

King says the next task for the committee is to create a job description so it can officially begin advertising the position and start accepting applications.

Long-time faculty member and former dean of Kenan-Flagler, Jack Evans, has agreed to fill the position in an interim role until the position is filled; King says he told her he didn’t want it to be a prolonged stay.

“We’re hoping that we can interview candidates in this semester and identify someone for the Chancellor and for the Provost so that we could know by next semester who the dean would be,” Kings says.

Search Committee

Deb Anderson, school alumna and executive director of the Center for Real Estate Studies;
Greg Brown, professor of finance;
Jennifer Conrad, senior associate dean for academic affairs at Kenan-Flagler;
Jean Elia, associate dean for strategy at Kenan-Flagler;
Dave Hofmann, professor of organizational behavior;
Nancy Millett, school alumna and partner at Deloitte;
Pat Parker, associate professor of organizational communication in the College of Arts and Sciences;
Preston “Chip” Rich, school alumnus and associate professor of surgery in the School of Medicine;
Brad Shafer, associate dean for advancement at Kenan-Flagler;
Jeff Tucker, school alumnus and chief operating officer at Century Bridge Capital;
Amy Wittmayer, director of the MBA Career Management Center; and
Joe Zakierski, president of the MBA Student Association.

J-School Dean Leads Kenan-Flagler Dean Search

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