Duke Fuqua Names Mary Frances Luce As Dean

The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University has chosen continuity — and one of its own — to lead it into its next chapter.

Mary Frances Luce, who has served as interim dean since August 1, 2024, has been formally appointed dean of Fuqua. Duke Provost Alec D. Gallimore announced the decision Tuesday. Luce, who succeeds Bill Boulding who served as Fuqua’s dean from 2011 to 2024, will begin her term April 1.

It is a milestone moment for the school. Luce becomes the first Fuqua alumna to serve as dean. She earned her Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Duke in 1994, joined the faculty in 2004, and currently holds the title of Robert A. Ingram Professor of Business Administration.

“I am delighted that Mary Frances Luce will be Fuqua’s next dean,” Gallimore said in the announcement. “Mary Fran is a trusted leader with deep institutional knowledge who has led Fuqua through significant challenges as interim dean and won the respect of faculty, staff, and students for her integrity, transparency, and effectiveness. Her commitment to supporting rigorous faculty research, as well as her appreciation for Fuqua’s special culture, will be strong assets as she implements her vision for the school. I am grateful to the search committee for the time and care they brought to their task.”

FROM INTERIM TO PERMANENT 

Luce’s elevation follows a nationwide search led by a committee co-chaired by Fuqua faculty members Fernando Bernstein and David Robinson.

“Mary Frances Luce impressed everyone on the committee with her energy, her commitment to the school, and her vision for Duke’s role in the future of business education,” Robinson said. “We had the privilege of interviewing a truly impressive slate of candidates for this position, but one candidate stood out above the rest—our own Mary Fran.”

Her appointment formalizes what had increasingly looked like a natural progression. During her tenure as interim dean, Luce steered Fuqua through a university-wide strategic realignment and cost-reduction process while maintaining core operations. She reorganized faculty leadership, made improvements in recruitment for the Daytime MBA program, and oversaw significant growth in Executive Education, nearly tripling revenue while expanding Duke faculty participation and partnership.

Fundraising also surged. Under her leadership, Fuqua recorded its second-best fundraising year in history in 2025, including a record year for gifts to the Annual Fund.

“I am thrilled to be named dean of Fuqua at this moment in its history,” Luce said. “My experience as interim dean has only deepened my conviction that Fuqua’s future is extraordinarily bright.

‘THE MAGIC OF THIS SCHOOL IS ITS PEOPLE’

“The magic of this school is its people—the talent, commitment, and shared purpose of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners. Team Fuqua has always found opportunity in change. From pioneering AI tools that help students become more effective leaders by building stronger teams to bringing faculty thought leadership directly into the classroom, every member of the Fuqua community is important for translating academic rigor into meaningful results. I look forward to leading Fuqua during this new season of opportunity.”

Luce brings to the deanship a wide range of academic and administrative experience.

Before becoming interim dean, she served six years as associate dean and senior associate dean of the faculty. At the university level, she was associate vice president in Duke’s Office of Research & Innovation — the first to focus on the humanities, arts, and social sciences — where she facilitated cross-school collaboration, launched the Explore Seed Grants program, and strengthened support for community-engaged and international scholarship.

She also served as interim executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, overseeing the launch of the Phase 2 campus expansion and the institution’s return to full in-person operations following the Covid-19 pandemic. She continues to serve as one of three Duke representatives on the DKU Board of Trustees, which oversees strategic planning and fiduciary responsibilities for the joint venture university in China.

RESEARCH FOCUS HAS BEEN ON EMOTION AND DECISION-MAKING

Academically, Luce’s research centers on emotion and decision-making, particularly in health contexts. She has developed courses in healthcare marketing and value-based care, contributed to curricular innovation in health sector management, and taught across all ten of Fuqua’s degree programs. Nationally, she has served as president of the Association for Consumer Research and as co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Before returning to Duke as a faculty member, Luce began her academic career at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught for ten years and earned tenure. She holds a bachelor of science degree from Ball State University.

For Duke, the choice signals stability at a moment when business schools everywhere are grappling with enrollment shifts, financial pressures, and the rapid integration of AI into both curriculum and operations. In appointing Luce, the university is betting that deep institutional knowledge, faculty credibility, and a steady hand through transition matter as much as — if not more than — an outsider’s fresh start.

For Fuqua, it marks the ascent of a dean who knows the school not only from the corner office, but from the classroom — and from the inside.

DON’T MISS: Duke Names A Two-Year Interim Dean For Fuqua or Duke Hires A Headhunter & Names A Search Committee To Find A New Fuqua Dean

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