The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill yesterday announced that Professor Douglas A. Shackelford has been appointed to serve as the school’s next dean. Shackelford, a professor of taxation and associate dean of the MBA@UNC Program, will assume this new role beginning February 1, 2014, pending approval by the UNC Board of Trustees.
UNC Chancellor Carol Folt and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost James W. Dean Jr. picked Shackelford for the dean’s position after an international search led by Susan King, dean of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“I had the opportunity to meet with the very talented candidates for this important role at UNC,” Folt said in a statement. “Ultimately, Doug became the clear choice to lead UNC Kenan-Flagler and ensure its continued success.”
Folt and Dean will recommend Shackelford as the next dean to the UNC Board of Trustees at their meeting this week. Shackelford succeeds Dean, who served as Kenan-Flagler’s dean from 2008 until he became provost on July 1, 2013. John P. Evans has served as interim dean since then.
A UNC alumnus and North Carolina native, Shackelford has served on the UNC faculty since 1990, researching and teaching on taxes and business strategy. He also has held a number of administrative roles, including serving as associate dean of the school’s online MBA program, MBA@UNC, since 2010. Prior to that he held posts as senior associate dean for academic affairs as well as associate dean of the Master of Accounting (MAC) program. And in 2001 he founded the UNC Tax Center and continues to serve as its director.
“Doug is uniquely qualified to serve as the next dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler,” Dean said in a statement. “He is a seasoned academic leader and an internationally recognized scholar and business educator. He loves the University and is a passionately engaged member of the UNC Kenan-Flagler community.”
Shackelford credits his UNC education with transforming his life. “When I made the journey from rural North Carolina to Chapel Hill to attend college, I knew I was on the road to a better life, but I couldn’t know then how truly powerful education can be,” he said in a statement. “I’m deeply committed to making sure that students in North Carolina and around the world receive the same kind of benefit so they can build better lives and contribute to their organizations and their communities,” he continued.
