Emory business school dean leaving to lead Wharton

First woman, African American to hold prestigious position.

Emory University business school dean Erika James is leaving at the end of the semester for a position at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School, officials there announced Wednesday.

James will be the first woman and African American to lead Wharton, the nation’s first collegiate business school, founded in 1881. She starts July 1.

“This is an exciting time to be in business education,” James said in a statement. “The scope and platform of the Wharton School provides an opportunity to create farreaching impact for students, scholars, and the business community.”

James became dean of Emory’s Goizueta Business School in 2014. Wharton officials lauded her for increasing the business school faculty at Emory, creating an entrepreneurship lab open to all students on campus and for leading student and faculty workshops on topics such as unconscious bias. The Emory school received a record $30 million donation in December for new learning initiatives including virtual reality simulations for experiential learning and expanding entrepreneurship programs.

James told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview for a January 2019 article on pay gaps between male and female faculty that she looked for more female doctoral degree candidates at other colleges and universities, particularly at schools Emory typically didn’t consider, who could someday teach there. Under her leadership, Emory hosts a conference specifically for female MBAs and prospective MBA students. Forty-five percent of Goizueta’s faculty hires since 2014 have been women, the university said.

“I have to walk the talk as much as anyone else,” James said.

Erika James