Accounting scholar Mark Nelson named dean of Johnson

Mark Nelson
Robert Barker/University Photography
Mark Nelson has been named the 12th dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Mark Nelson, Cornell professor of accounting, has been named the 12th dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Nelson, the Eleanora and George Landew Professor of Management, will begin his five-year term as the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean July 1. He will succeed Soumitra Dutta, who will step down from the post June 30. Dutta will continue to serve as dean of the College of Business, a position to which he was appointed March 22.

“Mark is an internationally recognized scholar and an award-winning teacher of Johnson MBA students,” said Provost Michael Kotlikoff. “The selection committee and I have been extraordinarily impressed by the depth, sophistication and comprehensiveness of his thinking regarding all aspects of the deanship, Johnson and the College of Business. We are extremely pleased and enthusiastic about his acceptance of this post.”

Nelson will report to Dutta, who said he will make an excellent dean and has the support and respect of the Johnson faculty.

“Mark is not only ideally equipped to lead Johnson at this complicated and exciting time, but it is clear that he will contribute tremendously to the success of the College of Business, as well,” Dutta said.

A member of the Johnson faculty since 1990, Nelson served as associate dean for academic affairs from 2007 to 2010, overseeing the school’s tenure-track faculty and research.

Nelson said he was humbled to have been chosen as dean: “I’m enormously grateful for the opportunities that were given to me when I joined this campus and in the last 26 years as a member of this community. When you have the opportunity to give back and make a difference at a place that you love, you take it.”

Nelson praised Johnson’s strong teaching and research, as well as its dedicated faculty, staff and alumni. His vision for the school includes the conviction that Johnson’s MBA programs can be “among the absolute best in the world.” Opportunities that will emerge from the College of Business will play a central role in achieving that goal, he said.

“I’m excited to help Johnson and the College of Business flourish,” Nelson said. “We’re all in this together for the long term, and by supporting each other and collaborating on teaching and research, we can do more collectively than any of us could do on our own.”

An expert in accounting, Nelson has conducted research examining psychological and economic factors that influence how people make decisions; interpret and apply accounting, auditing and tax regulations; and trade in financial markets. His research has been published in many scholarly journals in accounting and psychology. He has been recognized with the American Accounting Association’s (AAA) Notable Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, the AAA’s Wildman Medal, the journal Auditing’s inaugural best paper award, and the Johnson School’s Faculty Research Award.

Nelson’s teaching has focused on intermediate accounting, including MBA courses at Johnson as well as undergraduate courses at Dyson. His many teaching awards include those from Cornell and Ohio State University as well as the AAA’s inaugural Cook Prize for teaching excellence. He is a co-author (with Spiceland, Sepe and Thomas) of a leading intermediate accounting textbook.

He served for four years on the Advisory Council of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. He also served three terms as an area editor for the Accounting Review and is a member of the editorial boards of several accounting journals.

Nelson earned his Ph.D. in accounting in 1990 and a Master of Accounting degree in 1989, both from Ohio State University. In 1985, he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Iowa State University. He also holds a certified public accounting designation from the state of Iowa.

Media Contact

John Carberry