On April 1, Mary Frances Luce will begin her term as dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Luce’s story with Duke begins with having earned her PhD in business administration there in 1994 — making her the first Duke graduate to be appointed dean. She joined the Duke faculty in 2004, most recently teach as the Robert A. Ingram Professor of Business Administration. Luce served six years as Fuqua’s associate dean and senior associate dean of the faculty before becoming the interim dean in August of 2024.
“I am delighted that Mary Frances Luce will be Fuqua’s next dean,” Duke Provost Alec D. Gallimore said in the school’s announcement. “Mary Fran is a trusted leader with deep institutional knowledge who has led Fuqua through significant challenges as interim dean and won the respect of faculty, staff, and students for her integrity, transparency, and effectiveness.”
As interim dean, Luce made significant strides, having reorganized faculty leadership and improved recruitment for the Daytime MBA program. She is also credited with driving significant growth in Fuqua’s Executive Education programs, nearly tripling revenue and expanding Duke faculty relationships. Fuqua also hails her leadership for its second-best fundraising year on record, 2025.
“I am thrilled to be named dean of Fuqua at this moment in its history,” said Luce. “My experience as interim dean has only deepened my conviction that Fuqua’s future is extraordinarily bright. The magic of this school is its people—the talent, commitment, and shared purpose of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners. Team Fuqua has always found opportunity in change. From pioneering AI tools that help students become more effective leaders by building stronger teams to bringing faculty thought leadership directly into the classroom, every member of the Fuqua community is important for translating academic rigor into meaningful results. I look forward to leading Fuqua during this new season of opportunity.”
Luce previously served as associate vice president in Duke University’s Office of Research & Innovation, where she advanced cross-disciplinary collaboration, launched the Explore Seed Grants program, and strengthened support for community-engaged and international scholarship. She has also held leadership roles including interim executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University and president of the Association for Consumer Research, while teaching across all ten of Fuqua’s degree programs. She began her academic career at Wharton, where she taught for ten years and earned tenure.
Her appointment follows a nationwide search by a committee co-chaired by Fuqua faculty Fernando Bernstein, William and Sue Gross Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, and David Robinson, James and Gail Vander Weide Distinguished Professor of Finance.
“Mary Frances Luce impressed everyone on the committee with her energy, her commitment to the school, and her vision for Duke’s role in the future of business education,” Robinson said. “We had the privilege of interviewing a truly impressive slate of candidates for this position, but one candidate stood out above the rest—our own Mary Fran.”
