Fuqua Dean Steps Down

Sheppard will join Duke’s Kunshan project

 

Blair Sheppard, dean of the Fuqua School of Business since 2007, has accepted a new role in fundraising and business development for Duke Kunshan University, a partner campus in China set to open next year.

Sheppard—called by the Financial Times “one of the most innovative business-school deans in the business”—led Fuqua to improved rankings for student selectivity and faculty productivity. He oversaw several global initiatives, including a complete redesign of the Cross-Continent and Global Executive M.B.A. programs, and was an early champion of Duke’s Kunshan project. However, this summer, faculty members at Fuqua delayed the initial design of two graduate courses meant to be part of the initial programming at the Kunshan campus.

Sheppard had been appointed in April to a second five-year term as dean, which was to begin in 2012. “It is often the case that the person who drove significant change, especially through an extremely difficult economic time, is not the person to consolidate the change,” Sheppard said in a statement. “Now we need to consolidate the gains the school has made in all these areas, even as we move forward with our international plans and other goals.”

Sheppard will be succeeded by William Boulding, deputy dean and J.B. Fuqua Professor of business administration, who will serve a two-year term. The university will conduct an international search for a permanent replacement.

Boulding joined the Duke faculty in 1984 and has held a number of leadership positions at Fuqua, including senior associate dean for all programs and associate dean for the Daytime M.B.A. program. As the school’s chief operating officer, he oversees academic programs, student services, operational support, admissions, career management, information technology, and Fuqua’s global teams.

Sheppard will continue to teach in Fuqua’s Global Executive M.B.A. program and to serve as chair of Duke CE, the corporate- education venture he created and led as CEO for seven years before his appointment as dean.

 

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