Business school dean Nancy Bagranoff to step down, remain on faculty

Nancy Bagranoff, dean of the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond, announced her plans to step down effective June 30, 2019 in a press release earlier today. 

Bagranoff will continue to teach at the university as a professor of accounting after stepping down. Business school majors received an email around noon today announcing her leave.

"The decision to step down has not been an easy one as I have enjoyed this job tremendously," Bagranoff wrote in the email. "Last year, we accomplished so many things that I hoped for us, including passing the entrepreneurship minor and analytics concentration. We have a new Strategic Plan, and I will lead us through accomplishing several of the initiatives this year."

Bagranoff has served as the business school dean since 2010, beginning her tenure the same time the business school neared completion of a new academic building. 

As dean, Bagranoff prioritizes engagement with business school students through the Student Advisory Council she created in 2011 that meets monthly to discuss student concerns and questions. 

Students have lauded her commitment to students, exemplified by her continuation as a professor of accounting even as a dean, and her efforts to help them achieve their goals.

"She has been amazing with engaging students and reaching out to them -- I believe she truly cares about the well-being of the students," senior business student Rachael Overland said. "I have had the opportunity to go to her Student Advisory Council meetings, and she listens to the students as they bring concerns to her, she is looking to make changes based on feedback, and she is always ready to celebrate their wins, personally or for their organizations."

Bagranoff serves as a role model for aspiring female business students. 

"I have always looked up to Dean Bagranoff and loved having such a strong and successful woman as the dean and as someone I could look up to as I went through undergrad business," Overland said. 

Bagranoff has been a vital resource to students to help them explore the real-life business world as a student, Overland said. Each year, Bagranoff's office coordinates the Robins Speaker Series, which brings CEOs, CFOs, authors and more to UR to participate in C-Suite Conversations and the Robins Executive Speakers Series. 

Her credentials in teaching and practical business made her an excellent dean, and her dedication to excellence will be missed, said Darrell Walden, the accounting department chair and an associate professor of accounting. 

“As accounting department chair, I have served under three deans, and Nancy by far is the best," Walden said. "She has been a terrific mentor to me personally, and I have sincerely enjoyed working with her over the years."

Among Bagranoff's achievements as dean is her election to the board of directors for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

She has brought contacts from her position as past president of the American Accounting Association, her deanship at Old Dominion University’s College of Business and Public Administration, and through serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce in Hampton Roads to create corporate relations for Richmond business students.

Bagranoff looks forward to working with students in the classroom next year, she said. 

"I first became an academic because I loved working with students," Bagranoff wrote in the email to students. "I look forward to the years ahead when I am once more in the classroom, spending time with you in the role of Teacher Scholar."

Bagranoff leaves big shoes to be filled for the next business school dean, Walden said. 

“We have worked well together, and her success and accomplishments set a very high standard for the next dean of the Robins School,” Walden said. 

Contact news writer Nancy Lam at nancy.lam@richmond.edu.