Jamie Prenkert Begins Tenure as Carlson School Dean
Monday, July 3, 2023
A new era for the Carlson School of Management began today with the start of Jamie Prenkert’s tenure as dean.
In a welcome message to the Carlson School community, Prenkert expressed his excitement in leading the school.
“It feels good to be here permanently, focused on our joint endeavor to make the Carlson School the very best place to teach and learn, to research and discover, to find fulfillment in our work, and to serve our various constituents,” he said.
Prenkert joins the University of Minnesota after more than two decades at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Most recently, he served as the Charles M. Hewitt Professor and executive associate dean for faculty and research, overseeing the Kelley School’s research mission and serving as the chief administrator for approximately 380 Bloomington, Indiana-based faculty members in nearly 30 distinct degree programs.
Prior to that appointment, he served as associate dean of academics (2019–21); associate vice provost for faculty and academic affairs (2016–19); and chair of the Kelley School’s Department of Business Law and Ethics (2014–16 and 2019–20).
While at Indiana, Prenkert demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion: he convened and served as ex officio on the Kelley School’s first diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) committee; he organized a semester-long DEIB professional development series for faculty and staff; he created and supervised the position of Kelley Bias Incident Support Ombudsperson; and he envisioned, coordinated, and founded the Kinsey-Kelley Center for Gender Equity in Business, a collaboration with IU’s Kinsey Institute. He also led numerous short-term abroad experiences for students in South Africa, India, and Ghana.
As he starts his new position as dean, Prenkert shared his optimistic view of the Carlson School heading into the start of his tenure.
“The future of the Carlson School is bright,” he said. “We have a strong foundation upon which to build. And together, I know we can reach new heights.”
His message to faculty and staff gave insight into his leadership style. “I plan to be a listener and a learner. Now, that doesn’t mean I’ll be quiet; my former students and colleagues can attest to that. But it’s humbling to join you after spending my academic career in only one place. There’s a lot I still need to learn about the school, the university, and the state.”
An expert in employment discrimination, workplace harassment and retaliation, religion in the workplace, and business and human rights, Prenkert served as the editor-in-chief of volume 49 of the American Business Law Journal. Along with several of his former IU colleagues in the Department of Business Law & Ethics, he is the author of Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and Digital Environment, a leading textbook for legal studies in business.
Prior to joining the Kelley School faculty, he was a senior trial attorney for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and practiced law at Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Drinker). Prenkert holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.
His appointment as dean is the culmination of a national search for a successor to Sri Zaheer, who served in the position since 2012. Zaheer will return to her tenured faculty position as the Elmer L. Andersen Chair in Global Corporate Social Responsibility.