Dr. Cathy L. Z. DuBois will join the Ball State leadership team as the next Bryan Dean of the Miller College of Business, President Geoffrey S. Mearns announced. Dr. DuBois’ appointment begins July 1, 2023.
Dr. DuBois joins Ball State after a distinguished career at Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship in Kent, Ohio, where she most recently has served as associate dean for graduate and online programs.
“I am excited to welcome Dr. DuBois as our next Bryan Dean of the Miller College of Business,” President Mearns said. “Throughout our search process, Cathy stood out with her passion, her administrative experience, and her values-based leadership. I look forward to working with Cathy to continue to build on the strengths of our Miller College of Business and to advance our University’s mission and strategic plan.”
Dr. DuBois will serve as the chief executive and academic and administrative officer of the Miller College of Business. She’ll be responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating the college’s operational, personnel, budgetary, fundraising, and student activities and providing leadership and direction in the development and implementation of curricula and academic programming.
Dr. DuBois will also foster interdisciplinary collaborations within the college and across campus and facilitate strategic planning across the academic departments and units in alignment with the campus’s broader strategic plan.
“I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to serve as the next Bryan Dean at the Miller College of Business,” Dr. DuBois said. “I am drawn to Ball State University by its compelling mission to empower students to pursue fulfilling careers that will inspire them to lead meaningful lives. The comprehensive, university-wide dedication to improving the lives of others provides the ideal context for our students to learn how business can be a force for good. Miller College of Business students will be sought for their civic-minded and innovative capacity to create business value and positive societal impact as business and community leaders. I extend my gratitude to the Board of Trustees, President Mearns, the search committee, and the entire leadership team at Ball State for this wonderful opportunity.”
Dr. DuBois enjoyed 20 years as a faculty member at Kent State University, receiving numerous teaching awards as she progressed from assistant professor to associate professor and professor. She entered administration in 2012, serving as associate dean for administration. In 2018 she switched to the role of associate dean for graduate and online programs. In this role Dr. DuBois led significant graduate program innovation, enrollment growth, and program rankings achievements. She also led the roll-out of the first online MBA program in the nation to earn Quality Matters (QM) program design and learner success certifications, with all core courses QM certified. Two additional master’s degrees are well along this same QM path of achievement.
Through her leadership, the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship has become an advanced signatory to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and an associate member of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI). Dr. DuBois launched the Crawford College Responsible Leadership Initiative, an initiative to embed responsible management and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals into research and teaching throughout the college.
Dr. DuBois has actively engaged with the business education accrediting body, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). She co-facilitated the AACSB Seminar for New Associate Deans since 2016, and served in leadership positions for several AACSB affinity groups: Graduate Business Education, Responsible Management Education, Associate Deans, and Women Administrators in Management Education. She has also been invited to present at numerous AACSB Conferences.
Prior to joining the dean’s office at Kent State, Dr. DuBois served as professor of management and information systems, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in human resource management and organizational behavior. Her core research has addressed performance and training issues in human resource management, as well as diversity and sexual harassment issues. Her cross-disciplinary research has addressed the role of the human resource function in organizational sustainability initiatives and workplace public health issues. Her research has appeared in prestigious journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Resource Management, and Psychology of Women Quarterly. She currently sits on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Management Inquiry.
Dr. DuBois has also served as a visiting associate professor at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, and was a guest faculty member at the ESC Rennes School of Business in France. She earned her doctorate in industrial relations and human resource management from the University of Minnesota, and her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas.
In addition to announcing Dr. DuBois’ appointment, President Mearns expressed his gratitude to Dr. Stephen Ferris for his service as Bryan Dean of the Miller College of Business. He also thanked the dean search committee for its work.