DeRue Rises to Dean of Michigan Ross School of Business

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business has chosen to promote from within by naming the current head of its executive education arm, Scott DeRue, as its next dean.

It’s a year since Alison Davis-Blake, Michigan Ross’ first female dean, announced her intention to step down this summer, following the completion of a five-year term. The school has therefore had plenty of time to deliberate over its choice of successor and has ultimately opted for someone with almost a decade of experience on the Michigan Ross faculty and in appointments related to both executive education and leadership development.

“I have come to cherish the commitment to excellence and collaborative culture that define this school,” said DeRue, who will take over on July 1, 2016.

Leadership development instructor at Michigan Ross

As a management professor who first joined Michigan Ross in 2007, before making tenure in 2013, Scott DeRue has designed and taught leadership development courses at the school for both MBA and executive MBA students. Notable among these is ‘Leading People and Organizations’, a full-time MBA core course taken by all first-year students at Michigan Ross.

In 2011 – the year Davis-Blake was appointed dean – DeRue was chosen as faculty director of what is now known as the Sanger Leadership Center. The center, through which the school coordinates its leadership development programs and initiatives, is said to have worked with 3,000 students in the past academic year.

New dean behind the launch of tuition-free executive education

In 2014, DeRue became associate dean of Michigan Ross's executive education division, where he has overseen the growth of programs’ international reach and an expansion of its customized offerings – factors which enabled him to announce that executive education would be tuition-free for alumni of Michigan Ross’ degree programs, as part of a scheme called Alumni Advantage.

"Scott's deep knowledge of leadership and the value of continuous learning are evident in his research and teaching and will contribute to his effectiveness as dean of the Ross School," said Martha Pollack, provost at the University of Michigan, in announcing DeRue’s appointment.

Before entering professional academia, DeRue worked as a project manager for consultancy firm, Monitor Deloitte (previously Monitor Group) and as a senior marketing manager at a luxury yacht firm. He holds a PhD in business administration from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.