Dean Search
Sam M. Walton College of Business

The University of Arkansas is seeking outstanding candidates for the position of dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business. Learn more about the search committee and timeline.

Founded in 1926, the Sam M. Walton College of Business ranks among the top business schools in the nation. The Walton College is recognized among U.S. News & World Report's 2023 "Best Business Schools,"  and its undergraduate supply chain management program was ranked No. 1 in North America in June 2022 by Gartner. The college’s Master of Business Administration program was also ranked No. 11 for best return on investment by The Wall Street Journal. The Princeton Review  ranked the college’s graduate entrepreneurship program as one of the top in the country for the first time in the 2022-23 school year. And in partnership with the Global Campus, the U of A’s online business degree program ranked No. 12 nationally among 214 institutions by U.S. News in 2023.

Combining outstanding academic programs with  experiential learning, the Walton College aims to connect students to world-class scholarship and real-world business practice.

Serving nearly 9,000 students, the Walton College offers 10 undergraduate majors, as well as multiple Master’s and Ph.D. programs in four buildings on the University of Arkansas campus — Willard J. Walker Hall, the Business Building, the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, and the J.B. Hunt Transport Services Center for Academic Excellence.

The mission of Walton College is to advance and disseminate business knowledge using a diverse, inclusive and global perspective and to encourage innovation in its primary strategic endeavors: Retail, Data Analytics and Entrepreneurship. The Walton College is named after a pioneering businessman best known for breaking convention and founding the retail chain Walmart, which grew to be the world's largest corporation.

The Walton College is located 30 minutes away from the headquarters of Walmart. In the past 20 years, over 300 Fortune 500 companies have established satellite offices in Northwest Arkansas to support Walmart. These companies provide students with unparalleled access to summer internships, part-time employment during the regular semesters, and lucrative job opportunities both in Northwest Arkansas and throughout the world after graduation.

For more information, we invite you to contact with our search consultants.

Zach Messitte, Ph.D. , Executive Director, Higher Education and Social Impact
Shana Schneider, Consultant
Russell Reynolds Associates
arkansas.waltoncollege@russellreynolds.com