James W. Dean

James W. “Jim” Dean Jr. became the 20th president of the University of New Hampshire in June 2018, elected unanimously by the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees to lead the state’s flagship public university.

Dean has more than 30 years of experience in public higher education scholarship, research, fundraising and leadership. Before joining UNH, he served as executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he was a professor of organizational behavior. He joined UNC in 1997 as an associate professor of management and was appointed dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2008 before becoming provost in 2013.

Dean believes that the nation’s public universities must rethink their efforts to better serve the public through teaching, research and engagement, and he adds that UNH is well-positioned to strengthen and even redefine its role as a leading public research university. Since joining UNH, he has met with hundreds of members of the university community, alumni and donors, New Hampshire business leaders, state lawmakers and state residents to discuss UNH’s challenges and opportunities. On January 24, 2019, he will share a new set of strategic priorities for UNH, developed in partnership with representatives from across the university.

He earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in organizational behavior from Carnegie Mellon University. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from The Catholic University of America.