The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Eileen Chou as associate dean for academic affairs. Chou succeeds Professor Jay Shimshack, who will conclude his four-year term as associate dean at the end of June.
Chou, an associate professor whose students find inspiration in her practical approach and engaging style, brings a distinguished record of excellence in scholarship and teaching in the field of leadership. She is widely published and cited in academic journals, and in 2022 was appointed as Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor.
“The Batten School has benefited enormously from Jay Shimshack’s unique blend of brilliance, fairness, humility, humor, professionalism and creativity. Partnering with him as associate dean has been a joy and a privilege. As he completes his second term and returns to the role of full professor, we are fortunate to be able to welcome a very worthy successor in Eileen Chou,” said Dean Ian Solomon. “Eileen exemplifies the best of academia — as pioneering scholar, celebrated teacher and engaged university citizen. She also embodies the special culture of the Batten School, devoted to public service, impact, excellence and community. I am grateful for her agreement to serve the school as our new associate dean.”
Chou has been at Batten since 2012. She received her Ph.D. in Management and Organization from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds an M.S. in Social Science from Caltech and a B.A. in Psychology and Economics from UCLA. In her research, she focuses on the organizational, social and psychological forces that shape individual and group behavior in organizational settings.
“I am thrilled that Professor Chou has been appointed to this role,” said Shimshack. “She is a world-class scholar and teacher, and her service to the profession, to the school and to UVA is superb. She is smart, organized, patient and generous. The Batten School is in great hands.”
Chou traces her fascination with behavioral science to the time she moved with her family when she was 11 from Taiwan to the U.S. and intuitively began interpreting her new world through others’ behaviors versus language. As she pursued her studies, she also developed an abiding sense of commitment to public service.
“I have always believed in the idea of dedication, commitment and service to one’s country, and I have always been curious about the best way to train and educate the next generation of leaders,” Chou said. “Public policy can change the course of a country within a year. We need to educate our brightest to be in those positions in order for us to have a better world.”
