The Fuqua school at Duke University in North Carolina has appointed Blair Sheppard, chief executive of Duke Corporate Education, as its next dean. Prof Sheppard, aged 54, will replace Douglas Breeden on July 1.
The announcement is both predictable and surprising. Prof Sheppard was widely tipped to succeed Rex Adams as dean of the school in 2000 but chose instead to launch Duke CE, a spin-off from Fuqua’s customised education business. The plan was for Duke CE to be a for-profit company in which Prof Sheppard and the other founders had a substantial share, and for outside equity to be sought.
However, after the dotcomm bubble burst and following the terrorist attacks of 2001, Duke CE was re-absorbed into the university - Duke University now owns Duke CE in its entirety - and the founders’ dreams of becoming multi-millionaires were shattered. Duke CE is now seeking tax-exempt status in the US.
Prof Sheppard said he had planned to hand over the operational reins at Duke CE in around three years time but that the offer from Fuqua has accelerated the move. He will take up the position of chair of the Duke CE board, but emphasises that he will hold the position as the organisation’s founder, not as dean of Fuqua.
Prof Sheppard says he is confident that his role as chief executive of Duke CE will be filled by an internal appointee.
He says his role in setting up Duke CE is now largely complete. “It’s a little early to say this, but my work at Duke CE is done. The job of a founder is to leave.”
Over the past six years, Duke CE has grown from a $10-15 million business to a $50 million business with 136 full-time employees. It is ranked number one in customised business education programmes by the Financial Times.
As the dean of Fuqua Prof Sheppard says he will be just one of three partners for Duke CE, the other two being the London School of Economics and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. One of the first things he plans to do as dean will be to develop stronger links between Fuqua and these schools, as well as any future partners that Duke CE enlists. Fuqua already partners with two schools in Germany and South Korea.
Prof Sheppard, a Canadian by birth, is known as one of the most creative minds in business education. As well as founding Duke CE he was the brains behind the Duke MBA - Global Executive, launched in 1996, which involves participants flying around the globe to study. Many business schools have subsequently imitated the model.
Prof Sheppard joined the Fuqua faculty in 1981 and rose to the position of senior associate dean before moving over to Duke CE.
