Dr. Jennifer Troyer Named Belk College of Business Dean
Dr. Jennifer Troyer – who has served at UNC Charlotte for 20 years – has been appointed dean of UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business.
Troyer, interim dean of the Belk College since October, will move into the permanent role this summer. She is the seventh dean in the college’s 50-year history and the first female dean.
“Jennifer is a forward-thinking leader who is dedicated to student success and is closely linked to our business community,” said UNC Charlotte Provost Joan F. Lorden. “She rose above other candidates as the right choice to lead Belk College.”
Lorden announced the appointment, which was approved by the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, in an email to faculty and staff on Wednesday, May 6.
Troyer will become the chief academic and administrative officer of the College and is responsible for leading strategy and vision, championing its fundraising efforts, and managing its budget and more than 160 full-time faculty and staff. The Belk College has more than 4,600 graduate and undergraduate students and more than 33,000 alumni.
“It has been my pleasure to serve the Belk College of Business for the majority of my professional career, and I am thrilled to be selected as the next dean,“ Troyer said. “With support from the University, committed alumni and our business partners in Charlotte, we are on a trajectory to become one of the top urban research business schools in the country and a driving force for economic development in our region. As we mark our college’s 50th anniversary this fall, I look forward to meeting with many of you to celebrate but also to look strategically ahead to create a shared vision for the college.”
Interdisciplinary Leadership
Since joining UNC Charlotte as a faculty member with a joint appointment between the economics and the Master of Health Administration programs, Troyer has demonstrated interdisciplinary leadership in a variety of roles.
As interim dean, Troyer has shown leadership during unprecedented times. In March, she reached out to students weekly with video messages and answered questions submitted by Belk College students.
Prior to becoming interim dean of the Belk College, she served as interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services.
In that role, she led the launch of a quarterly e-newsletter for alumni, donors, and supporters that highlighted the accomplishments of students, alumni faculty and staff in each unit. She also raised more than $520,000 in private funds and helped to foster and grow an annual commitment from Mecklenburg Public Health.
Previously, she held several administrative roles within the Belk College, including senior associate dean, associate dean for research and graduate programs, and chair of the Department of Economics.
As associate dean, she was Instrumental in the creation of three new graduate certificates and the Master of Science in Management (MSM) program. She also helped to successfully launch the first Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program in the Carolinas in 2017.
As a professor of economics, Troyer has taught numerous courses in health economics and econometrics. She has conducted policy-relevant research on the quality of U.S. nursing homes, the cost-effectiveness of medical interventions, and strategic behavior in the pharmaceutical industry. Her research has earned several awards and been funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Troyer holds a master’s and doctorate in economics from Florida State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Memphis, where she was a first-generation college student.
National Search
Troyer was appointed after a national search led by a committee of administrators, faculty, staff and business leaders.
“I want to thank the search committee, led by Artie Zillante, chair of the Department of Economics, for their hard work and engagement throughout the process,” Lorden said.
Troyer replaces Steven Ott, who stepped down in October after serving more than eight years as college dean.
The Belk College, founded in 1970, is one of the Carolinas’ largest business schools. The college has five academic departments, the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate, and the Turner School of Accountancy. Courses are taught at the Friday Building on UNC Charlotte’s main campus and at The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City in Uptown Charlotte. Programs include nationally ranked MBA and the Carolinas’ only DBA program.
The Belk College also collaborates on a number of interdisciplinary programs at the University, including the Carolinas’ first interdisciplinary School of Data Science, Organizational Science, and Public Policy. The college has global educational partnerships in 10 countries.
About the Belk College of Business
The Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte is North Carolina’s urban research business school. Accredited by AACSB International, the Belk College of Business offers outstanding business education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, along with executive education. The Belk College has been educating future business leaders for nearly 50 years. With more than 4,600 students, almost 160 full-time faculty and staff, and more than 33,000 alumni, the Belk College is one of the Carolinas’ largest business schools.
