Roy "Chip" Wiggins, PhD, has been named Dean of Business and the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley University, effective May 1, 2011. Wiggins began his Bentley career in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of Finance, and most recently served as Chair of the Finance Department and Director of the Bentley Microfinance Initiative.

"Following an extensive search process, I am confident that Chip is the right person for this important role," says Bentley President Gloria Cordes Larson. "During Chip's lengthy service to Bentley he has proven his strengths as an accomplished scholar, a beloved teacher, a thoughtful and effective leader, and a true champion for Bentley within our walls and well beyond our campus."

"I am thrilled and humbled to be a part of the Academic Affairs leadership team.  The chance to work with the current cabinet and members of the Dean's Council in my new role is exciting and energizing as Bentley, like many pioneering schools, faces interesting challenges ahead. Market forces demand continuous innovation at all levels, but especially among Graduate and Executive Education programs right now. They are very important pieces of the business education puzzle as we prepare graduates for a corporate landscape that has changed more in the last five years than at any other time in recent history.   But I have been at Bentley long enough to know that all of us - faculty, staff and students - have an amazing capacity to convert those challenges into opportunities. I look forward to playing an active role in helping to grow, enhance and promote the distinctiveness of the Bentley brand for a new generation of business leaders."

Wiggins has been actively involved in a number of programs at the McCallum Graduate School of Business, including the Graduate Council, which is responsible for monitoring adherence to standards and advising on new programs and other developments in the McCallum Graduate School. He managed the largest MBA concentration and three MS programs (Finance, Quantitative Finance and Real Estate Management), and was involved in all aspects of graduate program development. He played a similar role at the undergraduate level, as he collaboratively managed one of the largest major concentrations through three programs: Finance; Accounting and Finance; and Economics and Finance.

Wiggins is also founding director of the Bentley Microfinance Initiative, whose mission is to promote the awareness and the practice of microfinance through three components: a curricular agenda that includes courses and microfinance internships in Ghana; a student organization of over 60 undergraduate students who manage the loan fund; and a loan portfolio of $125,000 that targets local female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in Ghana (in partnership with Chapter 58 Trust).

As project director for a $205,000 Davis Foundation grant, Wiggins worked closely with Arts and Sciences leadership and faculty on the design, implementation and delivery of workshops to assist Bentley faculty in integrating critical liberal learning themes into their classes.

Through collaborative working relationships with Bentley Leadership Gift Officers in University Advancement, Wiggins also helped facilitate funding initiatives such as the Cumming Women's Leadership Fund, Cumming Family Scholarship, Micro Bank Loan Fund, Women's Leadership Institute, and the Distinguished Alumnae Speaker Series. He has worked closely with President Larson  on program design and development that supports the diversity of students, faculty and staff.

Wiggins' research interests include board of director effectiveness and compensation, executive compensation, corporate expansion, and microfinance.  His teaching focuses on microfinance, corporate and financial strategy, advanced corporate finance topics, and equity markets. In recognition of his work, Wiggins has received numerous awards for his work at Bentley including the Edward F. Gibbons Research Professor of Finance (2008 and 2004); and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Recognition Award (2007). He also received an Outstanding Article Award from the Journal of Financial Research in 2006.

Prior to joining Bentley, Wiggins taught at Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University, both in Atlanta, Georgia. He has designed and delivered executive education programs for schools including Bentley University, Georgia State University and Northeastern University; for companies such as Georgia Pacific, LL Bean, Arbella Insurance and Digital Equipment; and for professional/trade associations such as the Turnaround Management Association, the Northeast Gas Association and the National Investor Relations Institute. Wiggins earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing from Florida State University. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Science in Finance from Georgia State University.