Georgia College welcomes new dean of the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business

Dr. Micheal T. Stratton has been appointed to serve as new dean of Georgia College’s J. Whitney Bunting College of Business, effective July 1, 2020.

Stratton is currently a professor of management at the University of North Carolina Asheville. He has served as Unit Head for the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and chair of the department of management and accountancy since 2014.

“I’m delighted Dr. Stratton will be joining Georgia College as our new dean for the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business,” said Georgia College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Costas Spirou.

“His commitment to student success is impressive,” Spirou said. “I know he’ll make important contributions to expand undergraduate student research, provide student leadership opportunities and increase faculty scholarship.”

Stratton has worked at the University of North Carolina nearly 10 years. He began as an assistant professor of management, later serving as humanities coordinator for the university’s senior capstone course. As leader of one of the largest academic departments at UNC Asheville, Stratton spearheaded a successful AACSB reaccreditation in 2019. He brought renewed emphasis to student experiential learning with a mentoring program, consulting practicum for seniors and new study abroad programming. His work also yielded funding for faculty development and student scholarships.

Stratton is currently president of the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (mobts.org), which publishes the “Journal of Management Education.” He served as chair of UNC Asheville’s Faculty Senate and received the university’s Asheville Distinguished Service Award in 2017, as well as the Asheville Board of Trustees Resolution for Service Leadership and Shared Governance in 2019. 

As an active teacher-scholar, Stratton has published 18 articles and book chapters. He has presented at numerous academic and professional conferences. His work constitutes a cross-disciplinary approach to researching workplace behavior and its effects on stress, work-life balance and emotions, as well as injustice and technology.

“I am deeply honored to serve as Georgia College’s next dean of the College of Business,” Stratton said. “This is a great opportunity to prepare the next generation of citizen leaders in business and society. Providing a liberal arts education that leverages critical thinking with the essential technical skills needed in a globally-connected and technology-driven world will bring to fruition our shared vision for preeminence.”

Stratton received his master’s in public administration and Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He has an undergraduate degree in integrated liberal studies from Western New England University.