UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State University announced Corey Phelps was named as the new dean of the Smeal College of Business on Friday, June 14.
Phelps, who will start the position on Monday, July 15, will replace Charles Whiteman, who will retire at the end of June.
Smeal College of Business was ranked 21st in the country in 2023 for undergraduate education by the U.S. News and World Report, with five of its specialty disciplines ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Phelps currently is dean of the University of Oklahoma’s Michael F. Price College of Business. He also served as associate dean of executive education and worked as an associate professor of strategy and organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He also worked at HEC Paris and the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
Phelps holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration from San Diego State University and a master’s and doctorate in business administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
“I am delighted to have a leader of Corey’s caliber join the outstanding team that we already have in place at the Smeal College of Business,” said Tracy Langkilde, Penn State interim executive vice president and provost, in a statement. “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. 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.”
Phelps will work as the principal academic and administrative officer of the Penn State college, and will oversee the six academic departments, which include undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs; graduate certificates; and executive education programs.
Smeal College of Business has over 350 full-time faculty and staff support members, over 5,800 undergraduate students and 1,910 graduate students.
“Phelps will be charged with making a positive and constructive impact in charting the evolution of the college; leading the creation of a compelling and innovative vision for the future of Smeal; growing the college’s research excellence and impact; supporting student success; and continuing to build a more equitable and inclusive community in the college,” shared a statement from Penn State.
“I am extremely excited to take the handoff from Chuck Whiteman and build on the momentum and foundation he’s helped create at the Smeal College,” Phelps said in a statement. “Smeal stood out for me in every way possible — it has an incredibly strong foundation of programs, centers, facilities, relationships and reputation. There is substantial momentum on multiple fronts and an energy to excel. Beyond Smeal, Penn State possesses strength after strength in its other colleges, which Smeal can both complement and benefit from. Most importantly, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the quality, collegiality and commitment of the people I’ve met across the college and 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. I can’t wait to get to work on this noble effort.”
