UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

UND chooses leaders for College of Business & Public Administration and Center for Innovation

Amy B. Henley picked for business dean and Amy Whitney accepts top job at entrepreneurship hub

Amy B. Henley and Amy Whitney
Amy B. Henley (left), currently executive director of MBA Programs at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, has been named the new dean of the UND College of Business & Public Administration (CoBPA), and Amy Whitney (right), who now serves as director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Massachusetts’s Clark University, will join the University as the next director of the Center for Innovation.

UND Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Tom DiLorenzo announced today two strong leadership hires that solidify the University’s strategic commitments to business education, civic engagement and innovation outreach.

Amy B. Henley, currently executive director of MBA Programs at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, has been named the new dean of the UND College of Business & Public Administration (CoBPA), and Amy Whitney, who now serves as director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Massachusetts’s Clark University, will join the University as the next director of the Center for Innovation, according to DiLorenzo.

Henley will take over for Steve Light, who has been serving as interim CoBPA dean since the departure of the last permanent dean, Margaret Williams, in 2017.

Whitney will assume duties now being handled by Center for Innovation Interim Director Barry Horwitz.

“I couldn’t be more delighted to welcome two of the more innovative leaders in business and entrepreneurial education to the University of North Dakota,” DiLorenzo said. “Both Dr. Henley and Amy Whitney bring an impressive breadth of experience and commitment to excellence in their respective fields. UND is lucky to have them but our students will be the true winners.”

DiLorenzo also thanked the two respective search committees that produced highly qualified pools of candidates from which Henley and Whitney rose to the top.

Henley is expected to being her new duties at CoBPA on Aug. 1, while Whitney is expected to take over at the Center for Innovation on July 1.

About Henley

In addition to serving as head of MBA Program, Henley also teaches and researches in a tenured appointment in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State.

She holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and psychology from the University of Texas in Arlington, and teaches students primarily in the master’s and doctoral programs at the Coles College. Prior to her current position, Henley was assistant chair of the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at the Coles College of Business.

Henley has taught management courses at the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Texas at Arlington, and Kennesaw State. Her teachings focus on organizational behavior and human resources, and she has served as doctoral advisor for multiple successful doctoral students. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi and her MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. She also worked in Dallas, in transportation logistics and financial analysis, prior to earning her doctoral degree.

“I couldn’t be more excited about joining the UND community,” Henley said. “I have been so impressed with the outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni at the College of Business & Public Administration.

“I chose to come to UND because of the strong commitment to student development and faculty research.  I can’t wait to get started and look forward to leading this college into our next chapter of success together.”

Amy Whitney
During her visit to UND in March, Amy Whitney, the next direct of of the Center for Innovation, recognized the importance of mentoring programs, internships and experiential learning opportunities in creating a forward-looking educational environment. Photo by Tyler Ingham/UND Today.

About Whitney

Whitney was the only one of six candidates for the Center for Innovation director position to be interviewed on campus.

Whitney has been with the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program at Clark University for seven years. She has worked with curriculum development, hiring adjunct faculty, strategic planning, student mentorship and collaboration with the community, alumni and university.

Before joining Clark University, Whitney served as an adjunct faculty member teaching online management courses at the Community College of Vermont in Montpelier, from 2002 to 2016. Before that, she served as state program coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Boston and Texas, from 2002 to 2009, and as executive director for the MADD Greater Boston Chapter from 1998 to 2002.

Whitney earned her bachelor’s degree in American government and MBA from Clark University, and expects to earn her doctorate in educational leadership this year from Northeastern University in Boston.
Whitney has been touted as someone who can take the UND Center for Innovation to the next level through her entrepreneurial knowhow, savvy and knack for town-gown relationship building.

“I’m most excited to think about how the Center can be a place of opportunity for the students, for the faculty and the University, but also for the community here in Grand Forks,” she said. “I want to help create those synergies between them so that we can create a more vibrant Grand Forks and University.”

Other campus updates:

Vice President for University Relations: UND President Mark Kennedy announced during his University Council address on Wednesday that current Interim Vice President for University Relations Peter Johnson, who’s been serving part time since last June, will continue in a halftime capacity, at least, until the end of the next state legislative session. The decision was made after the University was unable to find a suitable match in its latest pool of candidates for the permanent vice president for university affairs (VPUR) position.

Kennedy said it’s important to have Johnson’s abilities and experience on board while the Legislature meets. A new VPUR search could happen as early as December, after North Dakota Gov. Burgum reveals his executive budget during the 2019-2021 Legislature’s organizational session in Bismarck.

INMED Director: Dr. Donald K. Warne has been named associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion and director of the Indians into Medicine (INMED) program at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Warne served most recently as chair of the Department of Public Health in the NDSU College of Health Professions. He assumes the role of Eugene Delorme, who retired last June. Dr. Joycelyn Dorscher had been serving as interim INMED director.