Smith welcomes Dr. Wanda Costen as Dean
Posted on July 6, 2021
Kingston, Ont. – Dr. Wanda Costen starts her role as Dean at Smith School of Business today.
She takes over from Dr. Brenda Brouwer, who served as interim dean for 18 months.
Dr. Costen is known for her collaborative approach to leadership, drawing on her experience in private industry, the military and higher education in both the United States and Canada.
She has held senior academic leadership roles at universities across North America, including MacEwan University in Edmonton, where she was Dean of the business school, and Northern Arizona University. She also held faculty positions at the University of Tennessee, University of Nevada and Washington State University. Dr. Costen’s research interests include managing diversity, racial and gender inequality in organizations, women and leadership, and strategic human resources.
Prior to her academic career, Dr. Costen held leadership and management roles in sales, operations and human resources for several global organizations and Fortune 500 companies. She has consulted on equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization issues in both the public and private sectors, and partnered with organizations to help them develop diversity initiatives and training programs.
Dr. Costen earned a PhD in Sociology at Washington State University, an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
On March 30, Queen’s University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane announced the appointment of Dr. Costen as Dean at Smith for a five-year term effective July 1.