Dean of Goizueta Business School Erika H. James will leave Emory to serve as the dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania effective July 1. James is the third senior administrator, including outgoing University President Claire E. Sterk and former Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Dwight A. McBride to announce their departure from Emory University in the past five months.
James, who was hired to the position in 2014, is the first woman and first black dean of the Business School, according to Emory Director of Enterprise Communications Gana Ahn.
During her first year as dean, James emphasized in an interview with the Wheel her desire to strengthen the Business School’s “relationship with corporations and the leadership that exists in the Atlanta community."
Under James’ tenure, the Business School has seen the largest grant in its history, a $30 million donation from the Goizueta Foundation in December 2019. James also grew the faculty by 25% by the end of her first term and launched a master’s of science degree in business analytics in 2017, according to a University of Pennsylvania press release. She serves on the board of directors of SurveyMonkey and the Graduate Management Admissions Council.
Before coming to Emory, James served as the senior associate dean for executive education at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and as an assistant professor at the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University (La.). The Atlanta Business Chronicle listed James as one of the most admired CEOs in education in 2017, and Ebony Magazine named her one of the “Power 100” in 2014.
“This is an exciting time to be in business education,” James said in the press release. “The scope and platform of the Wharton School provides an opportunity to create far reaching impact for students, scholars, and the business community.”
