ABSTRACT
This paper draws from my experiences as an accounting professor who has served as the dean of a business school for over seven years. It is based on my Presidential Scholar Lecture to the virtual 2020 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting. The challenges and opportunities that scholars face in their research and teaching differ substantially from those that deans face in leading and managing schools. Nonetheless, I have found many similarities between the behaviors of the best scholars and the most successful deans. Because the dean has a major impact on the success of a school, the academy should identify professors who have an interest in and skill for managing and leading early in their career and encourage, mentor, and develop them. This is particularly true for accounting professors because their understanding of financial information provides them with a competitive advantage in administration.
