VCU names business school dean
Ed Grier takes office March 8 after being chosen in a national search by VCU.
By Karin Kapsidelis
Published: February 9, 2010
Updated: February 9, 2010
A retired top executive of the Walt Disney Co. has been named the new dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business.
Ed Grier said the collaborative leadership skills he learned during 29 years with Disney will translate well to his new job. But he said he also will bring "a willingness to learn" about academia when he starts work March 8.
He credits shepherding his three sons through college -- his youngest is at Stanford University -- with his interest in stepping into the academic world.
Grier retired in October as president of Disneyland Resort, including the park and resort facilities, in California. He had held that position since 2006.
His work with Disney took him from Paris to Tokyo and gave him the type of global perspective that he said his students will need to be competitive.
Bringing national recognition to the business school will be among his primary goals, as well as making sure the technical skills students learn will translate to the real world of business, he said.
Grier, who grew up in Atlanta, made his first visit to VCU last fall and was impressed by the university's infrastructure, he said. He found "a very welcoming" environment both "literally and figuratively" from the university and business communities.
Grier was among six finalists named in October in the search for a successor to Michael Sesnowitz, who retired as dean last year but remains at VCU as an economics professor.
David Urban, a marketing professor who has been interim dean since July, yesterday was named executive associate dean.
This year, all three area universities have been seeking business deans. The University of Richmond and Virginia State University are still searching. UR plans to bring finalists for the job to campus in March and expects to have a new dean in place by July. No decision is imminent at VSU, a spokesman said.
Grier, who will earn $250,000 annually at VCU, received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He began his professional career with Ernst and Young as a member of the audit staff in Pittsburgh and joined Disney in 1981.
He served in several leadership roles, including manager of marketing development at Disneyland Paris, general manager for operations at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla., and vice president, representative director, of Walt Disney Attractions Japan in Tokyo.
