Dean of Gies College of Business announcement
July 9, 2024 1:01 PM

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to share that W. Brooke Elliott has been selected to serve as the next dean of Gies College of Business and Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be dean of Gies College of Business and Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business designate. The appointment will begin August 16. 

Through a national search Professor Elliott’s dedication to and vision for the college’s future, along with the passion she brings to her current work, made her the clear choice to lead Gies College of Business. I am confident she will be an outstanding leader who enables the college to make continued strides toward its strategic goals in the years ahead.  

Currently, Professor Elliott serves as executive associate dean of academic programs at Gies and has been a member of the Illinois faculty for over 20 years. She is a tenured professor in Accountancy and the EY Distinguished Professor in Accounting. She previously served as an associate dean overseeing online programs at Gies and, prior to that, was the first female head of the Department of Accountancy.

She is an accomplished scholar whose research program has advanced our understanding of how investors’ use of accounting information affects individual and market-level outcomes. Professor Elliott has developed and taught several financial reporting and analysis courses to learners ranging from undergraduates to executives.

During her time at Gies, Professor Elliott led a group that designed the existing undergraduate core curriculum and created a collaboration structure across academic program units to facilitate operational programmatic efficiencies and innovations. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering, for chairing the search committee and to thank all the members of the committee for their thoughtful and measured work throughout the process. 

I also want to thank and acknowledge Jeff Brown for his time as dean of Gies College of Business. I commend Jeff for his leadership success, for setting forth a clear vision of what he wanted the college to achieve, and for his dedication and service to the college and campus. 

Please join me, now, in welcoming Dean Designate Elliott into her new role at Gies College of Business. 

Sincerely, 

John Coleman  
Provost