The University of Virginia announced that Nicole Thorne Jenkins has been named the next dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, effective July 1.
Jenkins is currently vice dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, where she is also the Von Allmen Chaired Professor of Accountancy. She was previously on the faculty at Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Jenkins has been a member of the faculty at Gatton for the past eight years and has served as vice dean for the past four. In this role, Jenkins has managed a broad portfolio, overseeing all faculty, academic departments, diversity and inclusion efforts, and the school’s research enterprise, in addition to finance and budgeting, information technology, human resources and alumni relations.
Over the last several years, Jenkins – an award-winning teacher – has provided leadership on the formulation of joint degree programs in collaboration with the schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering, as well as international partner universities. She has also helped to develop new undergraduate, M.S. and certificate programs at Gatton. Throughout her career, Jenkins has worked to make business education more diverse and inclusive, launching targeted recruiting efforts and mentoring programs for women and first-generation and underrepresented students.
During her tenure as vice dean, Jenkins spearheaded the college’s strategic plan and designed and implemented a new college-wide financial reporting system. She also facilitated the creation of new vehicles for alumni engagement and was instrumental in fundraising for scholarships, staff development and faculty research. These research funds have supported new hires, research grants and initiatives to boost the external visibility and impact of faculty research.
Jenkins earned a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Iowa, where she participated in the Ph.D. Project, a national program founded to increase the diversity of business school faculty. She remains engaged with the program, now serving as a mentor and adviser to future generations of business professors.
Jenkins will be joined in Charlottesville by her husband, Toby, a couples and family therapist and executive coach, and their daughter Zoe, 16, and son Eli, 14.