Indiana Names New Dean of Kelley School

PRAISED AS ‘SUPERBLY ACCOMPLISHED’

“The pool of candidates was outstanding, which shouldn’t be surprising because Kelley’s reputation is so strong,” Auer added. “Idie Kesner is quintessentially prepared for this job. She is superbly accomplished and is going to do amazing things for Kelley.”

Kesner will lead a school now in its ninth decade that is consistently ranked highly by peer academics, corporate recruiters, business developers and national business publications such as Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report. Kelley’s undergraduate program was ranked No. 1 in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek survey of corporate recruiters. Last fall, the school received three No. 1 rankings in MBA student surveys by the publication: career services, teaching quality and student satisfaction.

“Being selected as the dean of the Kelley School is an honor of a lifetime for me,” Kesner said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “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.

“The quality of the Kelley faculty and students, the support of the administration of Indiana University and the generosity of the Kelley School’s corporate partners, alumni and donors make this the top dean’s job of any business school in the nation,” she added. “I feel privileged to be stepping into the position, and I look forward to working with the faculty, students and all Kelley School partners for many years to come.”

WINNER OF 24 TEACHING AWARDS DURING HER CAREER

The Kelley School offers undergraduate and graduate education programs to about 5,600 full-time students on its Bloomington campus and another 1,600 students on its Indianapolis campus. Enrollment in its Kelley Direct online MBA program — which earlier this year was ranked third by U.S. News — also is close to 1,000 students.

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.

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