Gowan, associate dean for undergraduate programs at George Washington University’s School of Business, will become the next dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. She begins her duties on July 1.

“I’m very excited about being there,” Gowan said. She noted that she is looking forward to working with both the leadership team and the faculty of the business school next year.

“I feel like it’s a great group of folks who are headed in the right direction,” Gowan said.

Gowan stated that she was impressed by the beauty and maintenance of the campus, as well as the friendliness of the Elon community. She remarked that as a North Carolina native herself, she enjoyed the “good Southern hospitality” at Elon.

“I was also impressed with how happy people seem to be working there,” Gowan said. “People seem to be working really hard but they like what they’re doing.”

Gowan worked at GWU for five years, after teaching at the University of Central Florida, UNC Chapel Hill, the University of Texas – El Paso and Mercer University.

The Business Dean Search Committee invited three other applicants to Elon this semester: Lynne Richardson, Joe Alexander and Donna Mottilla.

“We were blessed with four really good candidates,” said Dr. David Noer, professor of business administration and member of the Business Dean Search Committee.

The Search Committee, formed to interview candidates and make recommendations, consisted of individuals from a broad range of areas, including business professors, an art professor, an English professor and senior Kristin Sween.

Noer noted that the members of the Search Committee came from a wide range of disciplines and fields because the arts and sciences play such a major role in the business program.

“It’s important to have a broad consensus of all the stakeholders,” Noer said.

“One of the things we were looking for was someone who would cooperate with the rest of the university,” said Dr. Thomas Tiemann, professor of economics and Search Committee member.

The Search Committee, headed by Dr. Steven House, Dean of Elon College, listened to input from faculty and students and took into account input from a wide range of people.

All the business dean candidates went through a series of extensive interviews with faculty, advisers and students.

The Search Committee then made a final recommendation to the provost and president, who were responsible for the final decision.

What set Gowan apart, Noer said, was that “she seemed to have the skills that reflected Elon and the character we’re looking for in a dean.”

“She’s got different ideas – she’s going to make the Love School of Business different than other business schools,” Tiemann said.

Tiemann noted that Gowan had distinctive ideas of where to take the business school, and many of these “picked up on what we’re already doing.”

“There are so many strengths already that it’s just a matter of putting them together,” Gowan said about her plans.

Tiemann noted that Gowan was a well-rounded candidate because she is sympathetic to the arts and sciences and other professional schools, had a good administrative record at GWU, good publication and professional records and an understanding about student life, where she began her career.

The biggest similarity between GWU and Elon is the fact that both schools are private.