TCU Neeley Names A New Dean: Long-Time Notre Dame Prof Craig Crossland

Craig Crossland will be the next dean of Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business

Craig Crossland has covered a lot of ground in his academic career — literally. A native of Australia, Crossland has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Queensland, an MBA from Ireland, and a Ph.D. from Penn State University. For the last decade-plus he has been a professor of management at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

Now Crossland is on the move again — this time to Fort Worth, Texas, where he will become the John V. Roach dean of Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business on June 30. After a nationwide search, Crossland was picked to replace Hettie Richardson, who became the interim dean in February 2023 when Daniel Pullin assumed TCU’s presidency.

“I’m deeply honored to serve as the next John V. Roach dean of the Neeley School of Business,” Crossland says in a news statement. “It was clear from the beginning of the interview process what a special place TCU is, how strongly people identify with this outstanding university, and the extent of the positive momentum already in place.”

NEELEY’S UNDERGRAD PROGRAM RANKED TOP-25 IN THE U.S.

The Neeley School has more than 3,400 students across eight undergraduate degree majors and seven graduate degree programs. Neeley is ranked 25th overall in Poets&Quants‘ 2024 ranking of undergraduate business programs (down from 21st in 2023) and No. 8 for Undergraduate Academic Experience; it is P&Q‘s No. 1 undergraduate B-school in Texas. On the graduate side, TCU Neeley ranks 57th in P&Q‘s 2023 MBA ranking, up from 61st, and it lands in the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report‘s most recent list.

Neeley’s entrepreneurship program was ranked 22nd by P&Q last year and also landed in U.S. News‘ top 25. The school’s undergraduate and graduate supply chain programs are ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. by Gartner.

According to the latest class profile, Neeley’s MBA program is 35% women and 24% students from outside the U.S.; half the class is non-business majors. The class has an average age of 27, six years’ average work experience, and an average undergraduate GPA of 3.42. The average Graduate Management Admission Test score is 612.

Following graduation, 98% of Neeley Class of 2023 undergraduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school; full-time MBA grads last year had a 96% job placement rate.

‘INNOVATIVE MINDSET & PROVEN LEADERSHIP’

At Notre Dame Mendoza, Crossland was responsible for leadership of five undergraduate majors, nine undergraduate minors, and eight graduate programs. He worked with other leaders at the school on a college-wide strategic plan and program-level strategic plans, and he co-led building the college’s first Ph.D. in management. Crossland also led the process of reconfiguring Mendoza’s Executive MBA program into a Global EMBA.

Among his other extensive leadership and administrative experiences are serving as associate editor of Strategic Management Journal and his current role as director, treasurer, and officer of the Strategic Management Society. He holds a Ph.D. in business administration from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA from the University College Dublin in Ireland and a bachelor of physiotherapy from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Crossland’s “innovative mindset and proven leadership at one of the top business schools in the country will enhance and accelerate TCU Neeley’s already growing stature among the top 50 undergraduate and graduate schools nationally,” TCU President Pullin says in the school’s announcement of Crossland’s appointment. “With Crossland joining our amazing team of academic deans, we eagerly anticipate reaching greater achievements together.”

Adds the newly appointed dean: “In my new role, I look forward to working with Neeley students, staff, and faculty to provide an integrated, world-class student experience, enhance the school’s reputation for research excellence, build new collaborations across campus and with the business community, and further strengthen the Neeley School’s renowned culture of inclusive excellence.”

DON’T MISS MEET TCU NEELEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2025