Doug Shackelford, the dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC, announced Friday he is resigning from the role.
Shackelford made the announcement over a brief Zoom message shared to the school, saying he will step down effective Monday. The dean and UNC alumnus described that he was on vacation with his family and is stepping away “after much reflection.”
“Serving as dean has been the greatest honor of my life,” said Shackelford in the video. “This decision has not been easy and I know it will be surprising to many of you.”
“In brief, I’m very tired,” he added. “I’m not physically ill and I’m sure I’ll be fine with some rest. But I need to hand the baton to another who can run at the pace this school deserves. Please know that this school is far bigger than any single person and it will continue to thrive.”
Shackelford, who holds a Ph.D. in business administration, returned to UNC’s campus in 1998 as the associate dean of the Master of Accounting Program. He later became the director of the UNC Tax Center after its founding in 2001. He also led UNC’s online MBA program in 2010 as first associate dean before assuming the deanship of the entire Kenan-Flagler school in February 2014.
While dean, the business school experience significant growth and marked several achievements. In a release on Shackelford’s retirement from the role, UNC pointed to record enrollments in the school’s undergraduate, Master of Accounting and MBA programs. Kenan-Flagler also started an online version of its MAC program and further grew its MBA@UNC program. The university also marked the business school’s recent expansion to Charlotte, where it launched the Charlotte Executive MBA program.
The school is also about to physically grow as well. In 2020, two donors committed $50 million to build an expansion to Kenan-Flagler, which donor Steve Bell told Chapelboro was partially driven by the recent success of the business school.
“Doug’s tenure at UNC Kenan-Flagler is marked by numerous achievements that leave the school in a position of strength,” said Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Chris Clemens in a statement. “We are grateful for everything he has accomplished and wish him well in his next endeavors.”
The news of Shackelford’s retirement comes after Kenan-Flagler and some of its faculty members were named in a racial discrimination lawsuit by a former student. Rose Brown, who worked in the school’s Ph.D. program from 2020 until 2021, filed the federal lawsuit on August 31. She alleges members of the organizational behavior program pushed her toward or away from project ideas based on her race, as well as held her to a different standard when requesting work extensions or attending optional events compared to her non-Black peers.
Shackelford made no mention of the lawsuit during his video message on Friday. He said Guskiewicz and the university will name an interim dean soon and that the school’s community is “in good hands.”
“I want to thank you for your support of me over all these years,” he said in closing. “Kenan-Flagler is a wonderful place and will always be my home.”
UNC’s release confirmed an interim dean will be appointed next week, as the university launches a nationwide search for Shackelford’s successor.
Photo via UNC-Chapel Hill.
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