Expert in corporate governance named to endowed CBE chair

Andrew Ward, associate professor of management, has been named the Charlot and Dennis E. Singleton ’66 Endowed Chair in Corporate Governance, a new position in the College of Business and Economics (CBE) founded by active Lehigh alumnus Dennis Singleton ’66.

Ward, who has been a faculty member in the Department of Management since 2009, will be the first holder of the position. After coming to Lehigh from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, Ward has made tremendous contributions to the CBE through his research and teaching in the areas of corporate governance, CEO succession, and networks.

“It’s a great honor, especially to be named the first holder of the position,” says Ward. “In terms of research on corporate governance, I think it will help create a climate here on campus for developing the field.”

Ward says the position will spark collaborative projects between faculty and students in various fields around governance.
 
“It will be a launching pad for developing a kind of informal cluster around governance, and there are great possibilities to bring those people and interests together. It also comes with a responsibility to use it in such a way that will create a community across campus and disciplines,” he says, adding “one of the great things about Lehigh is that faculty don’t get swallowed in individual colleges. They are encouraged to collaborate and promote research communities.”

'Strong and dedicated faculty'

Endowed chairs, says Lehigh President Alice P. Gast, play an important role in Lehigh’s ability to attract and retain outstanding teachers and researchers in areas of strategic interest. “Endowed chairs support faculty in perpetuity, ensuring that Lehigh has the resources to support groundbreaking research and exceptional teaching both now and in the future,” Gast says.

Singleton says he is quite pleased that Ward was selected to hold the endowed chair. “Dr. Ward represents the excellence in teaching and research that distinguishes the College of Business and Economics,” Singleton says. “His notable work in the field of corporate governance couldn’t be more timely—or necessary.

“I firmly believe that social and economic systems thrive when private enterprise and private academic institutions such as Lehigh are allowed to properly administer themselves, without inappropriate governmental intrusion.”

Provost Patrick V. Farrell says the Singleton Chair is “an excellent example of a donor making an endowment based on interest in a certain field—in this case, corporate governance—while giving the college the flexibility to find an outstanding faculty member across a range of disciplines that impact that field. This flexibility is critical to finding a researcher and educator who will truly enhance the reputation of the college and the university.”

Ward has been recognized within CBE for his commitment to the department and the college at large, and for his numerous publications in both leading academic and practitioner outlets including Harvard Business Review, Business Week, The Financial Times, Directorship, Directors and Boards, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Organization and The Leadership Quarterly.

“Dr. Ward has been vital to the growth and success of the college in the past two years,” says Paul Richard Brown, dean of the College of Business and Economics. “The College is privileged to have such strong and dedicated faculty, and Dr. Ward is an excellent example of that.”

In addition to his work on corporate governance, Ward also serves as the associate dean for graduate studies in CBE. He anticipates some overlap between his responsibilities in that capacity and his new appointment, particularly through developing the global nature of the program and through both curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to expose students to professional activities.

Dennis Singleton’s decision to endow a chair in CBE has followed decades of involvement with Lehigh. As a former director of the Alumni Association, and current co-vice chairman of the board of trustees and chair of the academic affairs committee, and the benefactor of the Dennis E. Singleton III ’66 Endowed Scholarship Fund, he has been instrumental in ensuring the university’s success both academically and administratively.