Leadership of Business Schools

UK business schools have grown rapidly over the last forty years1. Despite a tentativestart, when many commentators (including some vice-chancellors) appeared toquestion the status of management as an academic discipline, business schools havenow come of age. They account for a substantial proportion of students and overallincome (especially from overseas), with one in seven undergraduates and one in fivepostgraduates studying business and management related subjects. Underlying thisrobust picture, where business schools are integral to their universities’ successes,some interesting issues arise about the future for business schools and particularlythe leadership pipeline. Business schools, like other professional schools inuniversities face a challenging, complex and ambiguous future2 and there appearsto be a limited pool of candidates applying to become deans.[...]