D. Scott DeRue will be the new Edward J. Frey Dean of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, effective July 1. His five-year appointment was approved Thursday by the Board of Regents.
DeRue currently is the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration, associate dean for executive education, and professor of management and organizations in the Ross School.
He replaces Dean Alison Davis-Blake, who is stepping down after five years of service and will return to the faculty.
“Scott’s deep knowledge of leadership and the value of continuous learning are evident in his research and teaching and will contribute to his effectiveness as dean of the Ross School,” says Provost Martha Pollack.
“Under his leadership, the school will build on its already impressive contributions to business education at every level and achieve even greater distinction.”
DeRue earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in business administration from Michigan State University.
“I am honored and humbled to serve as the ninth dean of the Ross School of Business. In my nine years at Ross, I have come to cherish our commitment to excellence and community of students, alumni, faculty, staff and corporate partners,” says DeRue.
“I am excited about the future and look forward to working with our community to build on our success and propel Michigan Ross into the future. Go Blue!”
Prior to academia, DeRue had a successful career spanning private equity investments, management consulting and luxury yachts. In 2003, he enrolled as a doctoral student, lecturer and research assistant at Michigan State. During this time, he received a University Distinguished Fellowship and Lewis Quality Award from Michigan State University.
DeRue joined the Ross School as an assistant professor of management in 2007 and was promoted to professor with tenure in 2013.
During this time, he held multiple appointments in the Ross School, including Bank One Corporation Assistant Professor of Business Administration, faculty director of the Emerging Leaders Program, the Stein Research Scholar, faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center, and the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration.
In 2014, he was appointed associate dean for executive education, and later assumed responsibility for the part-time MBA and executive MBA programs. In this role, DeRue led the executive education organization to its best performance in more than a decade.
He also designed and delivered custom leadership development programs for executive clients throughout the world, including Fortune 500 companies, global professional service firms, international governments and technology startups. These programs focus on vision, power and influence, interpersonal and relational skills, team development, change management, and personal growth and development.
In 2011, Poets and Quants, a website dedicated to the coverage of business schools, highlighted DeRue as one of the top 40 business professors under the age of 40. He also has been recognized as one of 50 most influential business professors in the world by MBARankings.net in 2013.
