Erika H. James Named New Wharton Dean
President Amy Gutmann on February 26, 2020: "We are very pleased to announce our appointment of Dr. Erika H. James as the next Dean of the Wharton School, effective July 1, 2020. Erika is an award-winning scholar and teacher and a strong, proven leader who serves as Dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. A passionate and visible champion of the power of business and business education to positively transform communities locally, nationally, and globally, she is exceptionally well prepared to lead Wharton into the next exciting chapter of its storied history.
Erika’s career is notable for her commitment to meaningful cross-disciplinary collaboration, superb scholarship, passionate teaching, and excellence through diversity and inclusion. Since becoming dean of Emory’s Goizueta School in 2014, she has brought both bold thinking and a collaborative approach to academic leadership. As dean, Erika introduced and led an effort to build an innovation and entrepreneurship lab open to all undergraduate and graduate students on campus. She grew the Goizueta faculty by 25 percent by the end of her first term, building a critical mass of junior faculty and seasoned scholars in key academic areas such as behavioral and decision-based research, business analytics, and healthcare innovation. With strong faculty input and support, she also expanded corporate engagement with the creation of a research-based corporate think tank."
Read more in the The Daily Pennsylvanian.