Duke University recently announced that Blair E. Sheppard will take over as dean of the Fuqua School of Business on July 1st. Sheppard will succeed Douglas Breeden, dean since 2001, who will return to Fuqua’s full-time faculty. Sheppard is the founder and current CEO of Duke CE, named the number one customizable business education program by the Financial Times. Through his work with Duke CE, Sheppard has developed strong partnerships with the London School of Economics and the Indian Institute of Mangement in Ahmedabad and says as dean he plans to strengthen links between these schools and Fuqua. For more on Blair Sheppard, Fuqua’s announcement, or Sheppard’s plans for his tenure, check out the official press release and coverage in BusinessWeek and the Financial Times.
In other news, United Nation’s Secretary General Kofi Annan announced late last week that the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium will be the first management school to work with the Kofi Annan Business School Foundation. The school will host up to 40 Kofi Annan Fellows, who are promising students or young professionals from underdeveloped or isolated areas of the world. The foundation will cover all tuition and fees, but students will be required to return to work in their native regions following graduation. While in school, Fellows will complete projects in their home countries with the goal of stimulating local entrepreneurship. If the three-year pilot program is successul, the model may be extended to other business schools in the EU and US. To read more about the Kofi Annan Fellows, check out a recent FT article or the press release from one of the partner schools.
