Dean picked as business dean

Kenan-Flagler gig to begin Aug. 1

Longtime faculty member James W. Dean Jr. has been picked as dean of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Dean's hiring requires approval from the UNC board of trustees, likely in July; it would take effect Aug. 1, executive vice chancellor and provost Bernadette Gray-Little wrote Friday in a letter to students, faculty and staff.

The selection of Dean, 52, ends an eight-month national search that started when Steve Jones, who had been dean since 2003, announced he would step down by the end of this month.

Dean became a senior associate dean for academic affairs in 2007, and he is a professor of organizational behavior and strategy and a Sarah Graham Kenan distinguished scholar. He was associate dean of executive development from 2002 to 2007.

Dean was associate dean of the school's MBA program from 1998 to 2002, a period when the number of companies recruiting from the program rose significantly.

Under his leadership, revenue rose nearly 60 percent for nondegree programs such as continuing education for executives at Exxon, Duke Energy, Nucor and other companies, UNC spokeswoman Allison Adams said.

"He will make an excellent dean and has a compelling vision for how Kenan-Flagler can become even better in the future," Gray-Little wrote. "He is a respected teacher, researcher and industry consultant."

Dean said he plans "to continue a number of things started under Steve Jones."

Looking abroad

Three areas of focus, he said, will be leadership development, globalization and research. He said he wants to expand those areas by giving students more opportunities to develop leadership skills and travel abroad, particularly to Asia and Africa. He also wants to increase the amount of research and industry analysis the school performs.

Kenan-Flagler is known for programs designed with major companies in mind. It was recently ranked 17th among business schools by Business Week and sixth by The Wall Street Journal.

Dean has participated in research projects with major companies including Alcoa, Boeing, DuPont, GE and Honeywell.

He was raised in the Washington D.C., area and received doctorate and master's degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.