Mary Margaret Frank named dean

Dear Carolina Community,

We are excited to announce that Mary Margaret Frank (BSBA ’92, MAC ’92, PhD ’99), senior associate dean for faculty development at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, has been selected as the next dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, effective Aug. 15. She is an award-winning educator, scholar and university citizen.

Frank has distinguished herself as an exceptional leader with a deep understanding of the opportunities at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Since graduating, she has continued her involvement with the school by teaching in the Master of Accounting Program, collaborating with PhD students and faculty on research and serving as an academic fellow to the UNC Tax Center.

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. She brings a demonstrated passion and understanding of the positive impact business can have on communities.

As senior associate dean at Darden, Frank has been responsible for designing, coordinating and managing recruitment and development of over 100 tenure and non-tenure track faculty. She also created a faculty development plan that aligned the school’s mission and strategy, leading efforts to address the impact of the pandemic on faculty and create new channels for connectivity across the school.

As the John Tyler Professor of Business Administration at Darden, her academic interests include the integration of business principles and public policy objectives, cross-sector collaboration and leadership and sustainable investing.

In her role as a founding academic director of the Institute for Business and Society, she raised $12 million to endow the Institute and led its initiatives on cross-sector collaboration.

Specifically, Frank created the Tri-Sector Leadership Fellows program, which trains graduate students at the University of Virginia to navigate and connect public, private and social sectors. She also forged a partnership with the U.S. Department of State and non-profit Concordia to recognize leading cross-sector initiatives that improve communities around the world.

Prior to joining the Darden faculty in 2002, Frank taught at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. She also served for over a decade on the board of directors and led the audit committee of a small publicly traded company with a mission to empower women to protect their health.

Frank joins UNC Kenan-Flagler as we prepare to serve even more future leaders through the building of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s new Steven D. Bell Hall and the expansion of our world-class undergraduate business program. Her expertise and experience will be invaluable to a school already known for excellence in cultivating discerning, collaborative problem-solvers through research and teaching.

We want to thank the search committee, co-chaired by Lissa Broome, Burton Craige Distinguished Professor in the School of Law and co-director of the Dan K. Moore Program, and Jack Evans, UNC Kenan-Flagler emeritus faculty, for their diligence in this search and their work in selecting outstanding candidates for this role.

We are grateful to Jennifer Conrad, Dalton McMichael Distinguished Professor of Finance, for leading as interim dean while we conducted this search. Please join us in thanking Jennifer for her service and welcoming Mary Margaret back to Carolina.

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor

J. Christopher Clemens
Provost and Chief Academic Officer