Mary Frances Luce has been named interim dean of the Fuqua School of Business, according to a June 26 announcement by Provost Alec Gallimore.
Luce, Robert A. Ingram professor of business administration, will begin her two-year term Aug. 1. The announcement came over seven months after Gallimore and President Vincent Price formed an 18-person search committee to find a new dean for Fuqua.
In last week’s statement, Gallimore thanked the search committee “for their diligent work and their investment in the future of Fuqua.” The University has not publicly announced a plan for selecting a permanent dean to follow Luce’s interim term.
Luce succeeds William Boulding, J.B. Fuqua professor of business administration, who has served as dean since 2011 and will remain in the position until the interim dean’s term begins.
Luce received a Doctor of Business Administration from Fuqua in 1994 and has served on the school’s faculty since 2004. In addition to her role as a professor, she held positions as associate dean and senior associate dean for faculty affairs from 2009 to 2012 and 2015 to 2018, respectively.
“I am honored to serve my Fuqua colleagues and the Duke community in this interim role,” Luce wrote in the statement. “Due to the dedication and excellence of our current academic leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni, I believe Fuqua is extremely well positioned for the future.”
Luce has also been the associate vice president for the Office for Research & Innovation since February 2023, which supports Duke’s intellectual property, researchers and research facilities. In her role, she focuses on “social and behavioral sciences, humanities and the arts.”
Additionally, she recently served a term as the interim executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University and will remain a member of DKU’s Board of Trustees.
“Mary Frances is an outstanding leader who has earned respect and admiration within the Fuqua community and across the University,” Gallimore wrote. “Her deep knowledge of Fuqua will be an asset that enables her to move the school in new directions over the next two years, and I look forward to seeing her vision implemented.”
Luce holds a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University. After earning her doctorate at Fuqua, she worked for 10 years on the faculty of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Per the statement, Luce has worked for 30 years as a specialist in behavioral marketing with “a particular interest in the role of negative emotion in decision-making.” Her work was crucial in promoting the view that emotions are “deeply intertwined” with cognitive processes, and she has recently focused on the relationship between emotions and patient healthcare decisions.
She also served as the president of the Association for Consumer Research in 2016 and was co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research from 2011 to 2014.
“I am excited to re-engage with Fuqua stakeholders in my new capacity, and I will strive to take a fresh perspective on Fuqua’s many options and possibilities,” she wrote. “Our Team Fuqua spirit has always been a secret weapon, and I am excited to lead this team of extraordinary scholars, professionals and learners.”
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Michael Austin is a Trinity junior and managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.