Lexington, KY - The University of Kentucky has named David W. Blackwell as the new dean of UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics.
Currently Blackwell serves as associate dean for graduate programs at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School. He's expected to begin at UK in the spring 2012 semester, pending approval by the UK Board of Trustees at its meeting on Dec. 13.
Blackwell, 52, earned his bachelor's degree in economics and his doctoral degree in finance from the University of Tennessee.
He has nine years of experience in academic leadership positions at A&M, serving as head of the department of finance from July 2002 until January 2008, when he assumed the role he's now departing.
Blackwell previously held faculty positions at the universities of Georgia, Houston, and Emory University.
He also has served as a director for accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.
"I am very excited and energized about becoming dean at the Gatton College," Blackwell said in a release from UK.
"Gatton is a strong business school that is well positioned to raise its level of accomplishment and profile. There is a solid foundation in the college with a gifted faculty.
And, the UK administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing and improving Gatton's position in spite of the currently challenging economic environment."
At A&M Blackwell's responsibilities included the full-time MBA program at the main campus in College Station with 150 students, the Executive MBA program in Houston with 100 students, six specialized master's degree programs totaling 550 students and the school's Graduate Business Career Services.
Under his leadership, the Mays Business School's MBA programs consistently rank highly in national quality assessments done by a number of leading publications, including Financial Times, U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, and the Wall Street Journal, according to the release from UK.
"Dr. Blackwell has the right set of skills and experiences to move the Gatton College to an even higher level," UK Provost Kumble R. Subbaswamy said in the release.
"He has been very entrepreneurial in finding support for his initiatives at Texas A&M.
This experience will serve Gatton's students, faculty, and all of its constituencies very well."
Blackwell will replace Merl Hackbart who has served as interim dean of the college since May when Dean D. Sudharshan left after 8 years.