July 6, 2022
Karriker, Wells named new department chairs
Dr. Joy Karriker
When students return to the College of Business (COB) in the fall, they’ll find two new department chairs leading their respective departments.
Dr. Joy Karriker has been named the new chair of the College’s Department of Management. Karriker joined ECU in 2005 after receiving her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and served as interim department chair this past year. Karriker’s research addresses the strategic importance of the individual to organizations, focusing on the impacts of shared leadership on team and organizational effectiveness, and the development of leadership and other valuable capabilities and resources, especially as these elements apply in increasingly varied work contexts.
She serves on the editorial boards of Group and Organization Management and the Journal of Management and is the recipient of several teaching awards.
Karriker brings real-world experience to the College. Before earning her doctorate from VCU, she worked in various industry consultative, staff and management roles. Karriker also was the founder and president of a strategic consulting firm for startup businesses.
Dr. Brenda Wells
The Department of Finance and Insurance will welcome Dr. Brenda Wells as its new chair. In 2009, Wells was hired to build and lead a new risk management and insurance (RMI) program at East Carolina University (ECU) and the COB. She presently serves (and will continue to serve) as the director of RMI program and is the Robert F. Bird Distinguished Professor of Risk Management and Insurance.
Wells has spent more than 30 years studying and teaching risk management and insurance. She has published numerous research articles in various academic and professional journals. Her current research interests are varied. They include marijuana legalization and the insurance industry, diminished value in automobile insurance and insurance education.
Wells holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia.
Both Karriker and Wells will usher in a new era of leadership in the College of Business. Both started their new positions during the summer, as did Dr. Mike Harris, who became the College’s interim dean, replacing Paul Schwager, who left for a similar position at the College of Charleston.
“Both Joy and Brenda will provide the academic and administrative leadership needed to build leaders here in eastern North Carolina,” said Harris. “It should not be lost on anyone that both are the first female heads of their department. We celebrate that at the College of Business because Joy and Brenda will bring a unique, authentic perspective to our students that will only make them better.”