Bartley Hall at Villanova School of Business. Courtesy photo

Joyce E. A. Russell, the William O’Toole dean of the Villanova School of Business, plans to step down in May at the end of this academic year, the school has announced. She will remain at VSB as dean emeritus and professor of management and operations.

Russell came to VSB in August 2016, making this her seventh year leading the school. Last month, she welcomed students back for the 100th First Day of classes.

She is the business school’s first female dean in its 100-year history. In 2018, she created the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and has made a special effort to hire and promote more women and underrepresented minorities into leadership positions during her tenure.

“When I first came, there were very few endowed professors or chairs who were women. We had a smaller percentage of women faculty, smaller percentage of women students. So we’ve really made concerted efforts to get more women into the business school as well as students of color,” she tells Poets&Quants.

“I have placed a number of women on my leadership team who were never leaders before, so I think the school certainly has transformed in that regard. We’ve really tried to say, “What are we doing to help you get yourself promoted?” We encourage women to look at their credentials, and put their name in if they’re qualified.”

A RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM

In August, Russell told Poets&Quants that she loved and missed the classroom. This year, as dean, she will teach negotiations to undergraduate seniors. Her transition to professor of management and operations will allow her to focus on her professional passions—teaching students, working on research and writing projects.

Joyce E. A. Russell took over as dean of the Villanova School of Business on August 1, 2016. She is the first women to lead the school in its history. Courtesy photo

“I also absolutely love our teacher-scholar model. I take a lot of pride in the fact that at Villanova, I know the other leaders across campus, we’re all working collaboratively,” she tells P&Q. “We care so much about teaching, scholarship, and service, that it’s how we recruit people, as well as how we reward and promote people.”

Prior to VSB, Russell was senior associate dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland where she led both undergraduate and graduate business programs as well as corporate and global partnerships. Before that, she was full professor in the Department of Management at the University of Tennessee.