IU Kelley School Of Business Names Idalene Kesner Dean

Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has announced that Idalene “Idie” Kesner will head the school as its next dean, pending approval by the IU Board of Trustees.

Kesner, who becomes the first woman to lead the business school, has served as interim dean since October 2012. She succeeds Dan Smith, who left after a seven-year tenure as dean to become president of the IU Foundation.

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She joined the Kelley School faculty in 1995, coming from a titled faculty position at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Being selected as the dean of the Kelley School is an honor of a lifetime for me,” Kesner said. “As a graduate of the school, I can say with certainty that the successes I have had throughout my career are attributable to the great education and countless opportunities afforded to me by the Kelley School and its alumni network of nearly 100,000 living alums.”

Kesner received both her MBA and Ph.D. in business administration from IU; her doctorate was awarded in 1983. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University in 1979. Kesner has repeatedly been recognized for her teaching, winning 24 teaching awards during her career. Most recently, in 2012, she won a teaching award from Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, which has a joint MBA Program with the Kelley School.

She has taught in more than 100 executive programs and served as a consultant for many different national and international firms working on strategic issues. Her research has focused on the areas of corporate board of directors, chief executive succession, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions.

“Many of the school’s most prestigious programs, such as our full-time MBA program and department of management entrepreneurship, have Idie’s clear imprint on them, and her passion for IU and the Kelley School are unmatched,” said Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie in a statement announcing the news.

“I am confident that, under her leadership, the Kelley School will build on the outstanding legacy left by former dean and current IU Foundation President Dan Smith and continue to be home to some of the finest business educators, scholars and students anywhere.”