Penn State has selected the next dean for its Smeal College of Business.
Corey Phelps, who is currently dean of University of Oklahoma’s Michael F. Price College of Business, will begin leading Smeal on July 15. He succeeds Charles Whiteman, who previously announced he would retire at the end of June.
“With his proven experience as dean of a state flagship business school, Corey has the vision and capacity to build upon the strong foundation that Dean Whiteman has established at Smeal over many years,” Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost, said in a statement. “With his emphasis on community values, his exciting ideas for collaborative initiatives, and his commitment to research and teaching excellence, I look forward to the Smeal College reaching even greater heights of success under Corey’s leadership.”
As Smeal dean, Phelps will lead a college that “is experiencing significant growth,” according to the university. He will oversee six academic departments, more than 350 full-time faculty and staff, 5,800 undergraduates and 1,910 graduate students.
He will be tasked with creating “a compelling and innovative vision for the future of Smeal,” according to Penn State, growing the college’s research enterprise and supporting student success and collaborating with other university departments on alumni and donor relations, among other duties and initiatives.
Phelps, in a news release, praised the work done by Whiteman and the strengths of colleges throughout the university.
“Smeal has the incredible opportunity and obligation to transform business education to prepare all qualified and motivated students, regardless of background or finances, to be the type of future-ready leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs Pennsylvania and the world need,” he said. “I can’t wait to get to work on this noble effort.”
Phelps has led Oklahoma’s Price College of Business since 2020. In 2022-23, the college had $61 million in revenue, a nearly $6 million surplus and an endowment of $192 million. During his tenure as dean, Phelps led the creation of a five-year strategic plan, helped raise $107 million, guided a 23% increase in student enrollment, increased research funding and created First Year Experience office for new students.
He previously was an associate dean of executive education and faculty member in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal. He has also been a faculty member at HEC Paris in France and the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
Phelps earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from San Diego State University and a doctorate and master’s degrees in business administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
His research on strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation published in leading management journals has been cited more than 9,500 times, according to the release.
