Penn State Names Corey Phelps Dean Of Smeal College Of Business

Corey Phelps, the former dean of Oklahoma’s Michael F. Price College of Business and professor of entrepreneurship, has been named the next John and Karen Arnold Dean of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.

Phelps will succeed Charles Whiteman, who is retiring at the end of June 2024, and will report to interim executive and vice president and provost, Tracy Langkilde beginning July 15.

“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,” Langkilde said in a release. “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.”

Before working at Oklahoma, Phelps served as associate dean of executive education and associate professor of strategy and organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Prior to McGill, Phelps served on both faculties of HEC Paris and the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. After earning a bachelor of arts and master of business administration (MBA) degrees from San Diego State, Phelps earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in business administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Phelps has lived and worked in the United States, France, and Canada, and has taught or consulted in more than 30 countries around the world. His research has been published in top management journals, intersects strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation, and he co-authored a book published in 2018.

While being a member of the Academic Leadership Council and the Council of Academic Deans at Penn State, Phelps will help lead and promote university-wide goals, including implementing Penn State’s newest budget model.

“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. “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.”