Wake Forest, GW Name New Deans

Charles Iacovou will assume the deanship of Wake Forest University's B-school on July 1, 2014

Charles Iacovou will assume the deanship of Wake Forest University’s B-school on July 1, 2014

The business schools at Wake Forest University and George Washington University (GW) today (May 27) announced new deans for their respective institutions. Charles Iacovou will assume the deanship of Wake Forest’s School of Business on July 1, while Linda Livingstone will take the top B-school job at GW on August 1.

Linda Livingston is currently the dean of Pepperdine's

Linda Livingston was named the new dean of George Washington University’s B-school

Livingston’s hire follows the abrupt dismissal of former GW Dean Doug Guthrie for “fundamental differences about financial and operational performance,” according to a statement by Provost Steve Lerman. 

GW poached Livingston from Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, where she’s served as dean for 12 years.

Under her watch, the school initiated a $200 million expansion of its regional campuses and added new degree programs in management and leadership, applied finance, and global business. She also launched the Dean’s Executive Leadership Series, a lecture program that brings business innovators to campus, and introduced a business plan competition.

Linda Livingstone previously served as associate dean for graduate programs at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business in Waco, Texas.  She holds a bachelor of science in economics and management, a master of business administration, and a Ph.D. in management, all from Oklahoma State University.

During her tenure, Pepperdine fell slightly in Poets&Quants’ survey of full-time MBA programs from 78th in the first ranking in 2010 to 83rd in the 2013 survey. Meanwhile, her new school, George Washington, has drifted from No. 49 in the 2010 ranking to No. 50 in 2013.

WAKE FOREST SLIPS EIGHT SPOTS IN POETS&QUANTS’ RANKING

Wake Forest’s newly appointed dean, Iacovou, is an old hand at the school. Iacovou joined the school’s leadership in 2007 as director of the full-time MBA program and later served as senior associate dean of graduate programs and senior associate dean of faculty. He’s held the school’s vice deanship for the past two years.

Iacovou is credited with spearheading an initiative to integrate the graduate and undergraduate business schools at Wake Forest University. As vice dean, he led the development of a strategic framework for business education at Wake Forest, which is currently being implemented.

The resulting changes and reshuffling may have contributed to an eight-point fall in Poets&Quants’ 2013 composite ranking of the best full-time MBA programs in the U.S. The B-school slipped from No. 38 in 2012 to No. 46 in 2013. However, the school gained impressive ground in the part-time program rankings by released U.S. News & World Report, rising eight spots to No. 20 this year, up from No. 28 in 2013.

Iacovou was a faculty member at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University from 1997 to 1999. In 2001, he led European electronic bank Laiki eBank. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of British Columbia and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Vermont.

DON’T MISS: Why The B-School Dean Was Really Fired At George Washington or Dean Abruptly Gone At GWU B-School

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