Leadership Change in Poole College

Annette L. Ranft, dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair in NC State University’s Poole College of Management, is stepping down at the end of July to become dean of the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business at Auburn University. Frank Buckless, currently associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in the college and KPMG Professor of Accounting, was appointed as interim dean, effective August 1, 2018. NC State Provost Warwick Arden announced the appointment Friday, June 15, 2018.

Ranft transitions out of the dean’s office after two years of extraordinary leadership of a college with more than 3,500 students, nearly 100 full-time faculty, more than 15 academic program concentrations and seven centers devoted to research and corporate engagement. Ranft joined Poole College July 1, 2016, succeeding Ira Weiss, who served as dean since 2004.

Prior to joining Poole, Ranft provided strategic leadership as associate and senior associate dean at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business, and as department chair for management at Florida State University’s College of Business. Ranft also held faculty positions at Wake Forest University’s Calloway School of Business and Accountancy and West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics. Prior to her academic career, she worked in industry as a systems consultant at AT&T and as an account manager at EDS.

“We’ve had an amazing couple of years at Poole College, during which we celebrated our first 25 years as NC State University’s college of management. We’ve become recognized as a place that pairs rigorous data-driven thinking with creative problem-solving…that celebrates innovative approaches to business management education. I have enjoyed being part of Poole College and working as a team to generate and sustain this momentum,” said Ranft.

Buckless is uniquely qualified to take on the interim dean position. He was recently promoted into a newly created leadership position at the college, associate dean of faculty and academic affairs, competitively selected following a national search. Prior to assuming the associate dean role June 1, Buckless served as head of the accounting department for more than 18 years and held multiple leadership positions across campus.

Provost Arden announced his office will begin a national search for the next dean in the fall.