North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University named Kecia Williams Smith dean of the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics. She has been the interim dean since July.
She’s the first A&T alumna and second woman to lead the college, which is ranked as the top HBCU business school in the U.S. Beryl McEwen was the dean from 2014 to 2017. It has ranked among the nation’s 100 top MBA schools for five consecutive years, officials said.
N.C A&T’s business school enrolls more than 2,100 students.
Smith is a member of the N.C. State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners.
“Dr. Smith has demonstrated exceptional leadership, a steadfast commitment to excellence and a deep regard for our students, faculty and staff,” said Catherine Edmonds, N.C. A&T’s interim provost.
Smith joined A&T in 2019 as director of the Master of Accountancy program and Center for Accounting Opportunities and associate professor of accounting and finance. Her career includes leadership roles at Deloitte and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). She was also a faculty member at Virginia Tech University.
Her research work has included audit quality, regulatory oversight, auditor judgment and the advancement of diversity in the accounting profession.
She received her bachelor’s in accounting summa cum laude from A&T and a Ph.D. in accounting from Texas A&M University.
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