Duke Selects Dean for Business School

By The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Jan. 11–DURHAM — Duke University has selected a dean for its Fuqua School of Business — Blair H. Sheppard, the chief executive officer of Duke Corporate Education, an executive education company owned by Duke.

If approved by Duke’s trustees later this month, Sheppard will become dean July 1. He would succeed Douglas Breeden, who will return to the Fuqua faculty after six years as dean.

Sheppard, 54, joined the Fuqua faculty in 1981. He has headed the corporate education company since 2000. A decade ago, he helped establish the global MBA program, an 18-month program for executives that combines online learning with sessions in Asia, South America, Europe and the United States.

Under his leadership, Duke Corporate Education has been ranked No. 1 in the world for executive education by both BusinessWeek and the Financial Times for several years. Over the past six years, Duke Corporate Education has grown from a $10-million to $15- million business to a $50-million business with 136 full-time employees, according to a news release.

The new dean also will serve as chairman of Duke Corporate Education. Sheppard was selected after a seven-month search that included nearly 250 candidates, Duke officials said Wednesday.

—–

To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.