UNC picks new dean of Kenan-Flagler business school, the first woman to hold the role
Mary Margaret Frank, a senior associate dean at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, will be the new dean of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC announced Tuesday.
Frank, a three-time alumna of Kenan-Flagler, will be the first woman to hold the dean’s position permanently, following two women who previously held the role in interim capacities. Frank will start Aug. 15.
Frank succeeds former dean Doug Shackelford, who resigned in September after roughly eight years in the role. Shackelford’s resignation as dean came shortly after a former Kenan-Flagler graduate student filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination at the school.
“It is an honor to return to UNC Kenan-Flagler, where I felt valued as a student and launched my career,” Frank said in a statement provided by the university. “UNC Kenan-Flagler has established a world-renowned portfolio of academic programs and research, and I welcome the opportunity to continue to innovate with the community of accomplished scholars, passionate educators, dedicated staff, talented students, and loyal alumni where together, I am confident we can create positive, sustainable impact in the state and around the world.”
In a message to the university Tuesday, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Chris Clemens described Frank as “an award-winning educator, scholar and university citizen.”
“Her appreciation of the world-class education she received from the faculty and supported by the State of North Carolina drives her commitment to return and serve the school and the University,” they wrote. “She brings a demonstrated passion and understanding of the positive impact business can have on communities.”
As senior associate dean for faculty development at UVA’s Darden business school, Frank designed, coordinated and managed recruitment and development of more than 100 faculty, UNC’s announcement said. She is the founding academic director of Darden’s Institute for Business and Society, where she raised a $12 million endowment and led the institute’s “initiatives on cross-sector collaboration.”
As a professor, Frank’s “academic interests include the integration of business principles and public policy objectives, cross-sector collaboration and leadership and sustainable investing,” UNC said.
Prior to joining the Darden faculty, Frank was a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Frank has remained involved with Kenan-Flagler since her graduation, the university said, including by teaching in the school’s Master of Accounting program and serving as an academic fellow at the UNC Tax Center.
The announcement of Frank as the UNC business school’s new dean comes at a time of expansion for Kenan-Flagler, with construction underway on a “transformative” $150 million project that includes a new building, Steven D. Bell Hall, which will allow the school to expand its undergraduate program. The project is jointly funded by the General Assembly and through private funding.
Some funding for the project could be in question, as the state Senate’s budget proposal, released last month, would reduce the amount of state support. Legislators are in the process of drafting a compromise budget between the Senate and the House, which did not include cuts to the business school project in its budget proposal.
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 8:43 AM with the headline "UNC picks new dean of Kenan-Flagler business school, the first woman to hold the role."
