Biography

Erika H. James became the dean of the Wharton School on July 1, 2020. Trained as an organizational psychologist, Dean James is a leading expert on crisis leadership, workplace diversity, and management strategy.

Prior to her appointment at Wharton, Dean James was the John H. Harland Dean at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School from 2014 to 2020. An award-winning educator, accomplished consultant, and innovative researcher, she has paved the way for women in leadership both in education and corporate America. Dean James has been instrumental in developing groundbreaking executive education programs, including the Women in Leadership program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School.

Dean James is a sought-after thought leader whose expertise has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and numerous other media outlets. She has been widely recognized as one of the most powerful and influential women in business and education by Barron’s, Black Enterprise, and Ebony.

In addition to her academic responsibilities, Dean James is a board member of Morgan Stanley, The Economic Club of New York, Pomona College, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc., and organizations that align with her passions for education and advancing women in business. Additionally, she serves as an advisory board member to Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and as an executive board member to the Indian School of Business.

Her latest book is The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before (Wharton School Press) which she co-authored with Lynn Perry Wooten, President of Simmons University. She and Wooten are also co-authors of Leading Under Pressure: From Surviving to Thriving Before, During, and After a Crisis.

Dean James holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.

“While both Wharton and the world at large have evolved dramatically since our founder’s birth 200 years ago, the central purpose he established continues to anchor us: Business, when it’s at its best, serves society — and we must prepare leaders to understand that responsibility.”

-Erika H. James
Dean, The Wharton School