Lynn Perry Wooten is an American academic administrator serving as the 9th president of

Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a ...

since 2020. She is its first Black president. Wooten was the David J. Nolan Dean and Professor of Management and Organizations at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

from 2017 to 2020.

Life

Wooten was raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

where she attended an all girls high school. She earned a B.S. in accounting in 1988 from

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public university, public, Historically black colleges and universities, historicall ...

. She completed a M.B.A. from Duke University

Fuqua School of Business The Duke University Fuqua School of Business (pronounced ) is the business school of Duke University, a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina. It enrolls more than 1,300 students in degree-seeking programs. Du ...

in 1990. In 1995, she earned a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Michigan

Ross School of Business The University of Michigan Ross School of Business (branded as Michigan Ross) is the business school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school was originally established ...

. Her dissertation was titled, ''Strategic Management of Professional Service Firms: Balancing the Demands of Human Resource Management, Client Service, and Financial Performance''.

Stuart L. Hart Stuart L. Hart is an American academic, writer and theorist and the founder of Enterprise for a Sustainable World, a non-profit dedicated to helping businesses make the transition to sustainability. A Fortune 100 consultant, Hart is one of the ...

was her doctoral advisor. Wooten was an assistant professor of management at the

Warrington College of Business The Warrington College of Business is the business school of the University of Florida. About 6,300 students are enrolled in classes, including undergraduates and graduate students, including Master of Business Administration and Ph.D.-seeking st ...

. In 1998, she joined Ross School of Business as a faculty member. She later served as its senior associate dean for student and academic excellence. From 2017 to 2020, Wooten was the David J. Nolan Dean and Professor of Management and Organizations at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at

. On July 1, 2020, she succeeded Helen Drinan as the 9th president of

. She is its first Black president. Her investiture ceremony was delayed until April 11, 2022, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Wooten is married to marketing professor

David Wooten David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wooten, Lynn Perry Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Educators from Philadelphia North Carolina A&T State University alumni Fuqua School of Business alumni Ross School of Business alumni Ross School of Business faculty University of Florida faculty Cornell University faculty Simmons University faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Women heads of universities and colleges African-American women academic administrators American women academic administrators African-American academic administrators 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American women academics