Erika H. James Becomes First Black Person And Woman Named Dean Of Penn State’s Wharton School
Erika H. James is taking her talents to Philadelphia – and she’s making history while she’s at it. James has been named the new dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (affectionately called Penn State). She is the first Black person and woman to hold the position, according to the HuffPost.
The announcement was made Wednesday, Feb. 26, by Penn State’s President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett. It is published on in the university’s publication, PennToday.
“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,” Gutmann said. “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.”
Currently serving as dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, James will begin her new role on July 1. During her six years at Emory, James was instrumental in strengthening the business school’s faculty and course offerings.
According to a statement released by Emory, James “sparked a culture of collaboration within the school and the broader university community” and “grew the faculty by 25 percent in strategic areas including behavioral science and analytics, launching a master’s of science degree in business analytics in 2017.”
James also has PhD and master’s degrees in organizational psychology, a bachelor’s in psychology and a very impressive resume of preceding roles as an educator at esteemed institutions like the University of Virginia, Tulane University and Harvard Business School.
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Named one of the Top 10 Women of Power in Education by Black Enterprise and one of the Power 100 by Ebony Magazine, James said she is excited about the opportunity.
“This is an exciting time to be in business education,” James said. “The scope and platform of the Wharton School provides an opportunity to create far reaching impact for students, scholars, and the business community.”
She received an outpouring of support and congratulatory messages when she posted the news on Twitter. New Jersey Governor Phil Murray said James’ appointment made him “proud of his alma mater.”