John A. Elliott, dean of the UConn School of Business, has been elected vice chair/chair elect of AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the ‘gold standard’ accrediting body for business schools.

He begins his new role in July, and will carry out these volunteer duties in addition to his UConn responsibilities.

“In these rapidly changing times, it is vitally important for business schools to engage, innovate and impact practice,” Elliott said. “These are challenging and exciting times, as technology reshapes the skills that our students will use going forward, and alters the manner in which we educate them.”

Almost 800 business schools in 52 countries have earned the prestigious AACSB accreditation. Another 185 institutions, including UConn, hold an additional, specialized accreditation for their accounting programs.

“AACSB-accredited programs are committed to continuous improvement around their unique missions and strategies,” Elliott said. “We share ‘best practices’ and are committed to advancing management education in topics ranging from accounting to finance to innovation and entrepreneurship to data analytics, the internet of things and tomorrow’s emerging ideas.”

Elliott became the UConn School of Business dean in 2012 and is also the Auran J. Fox Chair in Business. He joined UConn after serving as the vice president and dean of the City University of New York’s Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, the largest business school in the U.S. and as a professor of accounting and associate dean at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business.

In addition to his many professional accounting achievements and publications, Elliott has been involved with the Ph.D. Project since its inception and is Chair of the Ph.D. Project Academic Advisory Council. The Ph.D. Project is a catalyst for African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans to return to academia to earn their doctorates and become business professors.

Since being elected to the AACSB board in 2013, Elliott has been involved with more than 10 committees and affinity groups, nearly 30 accreditation peer-review teams, and provided organizational guidance on the Executive Committee.

Elliott joins Dean Caryn L. Beck-Dudley of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, who will serve as Chair of the AACSB Board of Directors, and Dean Enase Felicia Okonedo, of the Lagos Business School of the Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria, who will be secretary-treasurer.