Oregon State University has named Tim Carroll as the Sara Hart Kimball Dean for the College of Business, with the position going into effect July 30.

Carroll will be replacing Jim Coakley, who has been serving as interim dean since summer 2019. Coakley will be continuing as senior associate dean for analytics and operations in the College of Business. 

Carroll has a background as a faculty member and administrator at big state schools as well as at smaller private schools. 

He began his career at Georgia Tech as part of the faculty, and then moved to the University of South Carolina, where he worked as a faculty member, program director of the Master’s in Business Administration program and associate dean of executive education and multiple other academic centers for 12 years. 

Most recently, Carroll served as dean at the University of the Pacific in northern California, where he had a wider scope of responsibilities due to the school’s small size.

“I feel well-prepared for the College of Business dean role at OSU,” Carroll said

in an email.

Scott Ashford, dean of the College of Engineering, served as chair of the Search Advisory Committee for the new College of Business dean. He said in an email he feels Carroll is “well-equipped to step into the dean role” based on his previous experience. 

The search process for Carroll, according to Ashford, included listening sessions with College of Business faculty, staff, students, stakeholders and OSU leaders; development of the position profile to use as a recruitment tool; advertising and recruiting; vetting candidates; semifinalist and finalist interviews; evaluations; calls to candidates’ references; and a Criminal History Check.

The Search Advisory Committee served to advise Provost and Executive Vice President Ed Feser to make the final decision. 

“I’m very pleased to have Dr. Carroll joining Oregon State,” Feser said in an email. “He brings experience as a dean, a focus on student success and a record of achievement in engaging corporate partners and building professional development programs. He’s also committed to advancing the college’s research goals. He’s a good collaborator and respects shared governance [and] core values at OSU.”

Feser is also excited by Carroll’s experience with both public and private colleges. 

“He’s learned a lot in different contexts that inform his leadership approach,” Feser said. 

Carroll said the OSU College of Business is already working very well, but he has goals to help improve it as dean.

“One thing I’d like to look at is working with industry partners and alumni to enhance experiential learning opportunities for students,” Carroll said. “And given the strengths of the other colleges at OSU, I’d like to explore partnering with them to expand our interdisciplinary programs. Most of the biggest challenges and opportunities we face in society will be solved with an interdisciplinary approach.

“I’ve also consistently heard from business leaders that COVID-19 has accelerated changes that were already under way in many industries and jobs. Since we prepare students for lifelong success, there may also be opportunities to continue to adapt and evolve our academic programs.”

Though he has some goals in mind, Carroll said he is ready to hear from students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors about their own thoughts on improving OSU’s College of Business. 

Carroll said he is very excited to be the incoming dean for the College of Business. In particular, he is enthusiastic about the land grant mission at OSU, the opportunities to make a difference and being closer to family he has in Portland. 

“But more than anything else, I’m excited to be a part of the Oregon State community and the opportunity to work with students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors to have a greater impact,” Carroll said. “The people I’ve met so far have been fantastic, and I can’t wait to get to work.”