James (Jim) W. Dean Jr., is an educator and academic leader who has held several senior leadership roles at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School faculty in 1997 as a professor of organizational behavior and went on to serve as dean of the business school from 2008 to 2013. During his tenure, he helped expand executive education programs and launched an online MBA program that significantly increased the school’s reach and revenue. 

Dean was president of the University of New Hampshire from 2018 to 2024 and most recently served Carolina again as UNC-Chapel Hill’s interim executive vice chancellor and provost from 2025-2026, leading efforts to strengthen student success initiatives and improve retention and graduation rates. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The Catholic University of America and master’s and doctoral degrees in organizational behavior from Carnegie Mellon University.