Professor Ingrid Woolard

The University of Sussex has appointed Professor Ingrid Woolard as Executive Dean of the Business School from 2 January 2025. 

Professor Woolard is currently Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, the first woman to hold this position in the 99-year history of the Faculty. The Faculty comprises six departments, several centres, and two schools. One of the schools is Stellenbosch Business School, which is triple-crown accredited. 

Ingrid holds a BSc in Mathematical Statistics and Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a BA(Hons) in Economics from the University of South Africa and a PhD in Economics from the University of Cape Town. In addition to being Dean and Professor of Economics at Stellenbosch University, she is Honorary Professor of the Economics of Poverty and Inequality at Groningen University and Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town. She is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn, a non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research in Helsinki, and a Research Associate at the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Ingrid was inducted into the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2022. Her areas of research specialisation include the measurement of poverty and inequality, unemployment, social protection, and fiscal policy. Her research strives to be policy relevant and is empirically grounded on the micro-econometric analysis of household surveys and administrative data. She has served in advisory capacities to the South African Minister of Labour (from 2008 to 2014) and six successive South African Ministers of Finance (from 2013 to 2018) on tax reform for more inclusive growth. 

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, said: “The University of Sussex Business School is a vibrant, diverse, and innovative community of staff and students, and I am delighted that we have appointed Professor Ingrid Woolard to the position of Executive Dean as the School becomes a Faculty of the University. Ingrid is a world-leading economist, who had done highly impactful research that has great synergies with Sussex traditions. She has held leadership positions at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, and will bring a wealth of experience, new ideas and insight to our Business School and to the wider University.” 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Professor Michael Luck, to whom the new Executive Deans will report, said: “Ingrid’s leadership skills, and her extensive experience, make her an excellent fit for the Business School. I am looking forward to Ingrid joining us, as the fourth of our Executive Deans, and working with her to take the Business School to triple-crown accreditation. I am immensely grateful to Debbie Keeling for her excellent leadership of the Business School in the interim, and I am glad we will continue to work together until Ingrid joins and beyond.” 

Ingrid said: “I am incredibly excited to be joining this world-class, research-intensive Business School, which has such a strong commitment to knowledge exchange and policy impact. The distinctive ethos of Sussex as a values-driven and inclusive organisation, seeking to create a better world for all, resonate very strongly with me.”   

What is the role of Executive Dean of the Business School?

From August, the current Business School will become a Faculty, to align with the new Faculty model for the University. 

The Executive Dean will provide academic leadership and management of the Faculty to deliver the University’s vision, mission, and strategic aims. The Executive Deans of all four Faculties will also take responsibility for substantial University-wide change activities that may impact all academic areas. They will work as part of the University Executive Team to deliver the academic mission of the University, assuming collective responsibility for its strategic direction, development, and performance.