Nicole Thorne Jenkins

Nicole Thorne Jenkins began her tenure as the John A. Griffin Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia in July 2020. Before that, she served as the Von Allmen Endowed Chair of Accountancy and vice sean in the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. Jenkins spent the previous 10 years as a member of the faculties at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

As vice dean at the University of Kentucky, Jenkins successfully modernized the operations of the Gatton College, leading to the robust integration of the academic, strategic, and financial plans. She supported the development and launch of several graduate and undergraduate programs in both face-to-face and online modalities. Jenkins supported the expansion of research support and staff development through effective management of college endowments and operational funding. She established and managed both the alumni relations and diversity, equity, and inclusion functions; successfully led the 2017 AACSB reaccreditation effort; and chaired the strategic planning process and committee at the college.

Jenkins’ research interests include the investigation of financial reporting failures, share repurchases, and the effect of social networks on performance outcomes. As an award-winning teacher, her instructional experience has focused on financial reporting topics in executive education, graduate, and undergraduate programs. As a result of her ability to make both accounting and finance topics accessible, Jenkins is frequently called upon to instruct corporate professionals on related complex topics.

Jenkins received her doctorate in accounting from the University of Iowa and holds a certificate in leadership from Stanford University. She completed her undergraduate work in accounting and finance at Drexel University. Jenkins is a certified public accountant and in 2019 was the president of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section of the American Accounting Association. She is a former member of the Professional Advisory Council at the University of Iowa, Equity Council of Fayette County Public Schools, Audit Committee of Fayette County Public Schools, and the Board of the Explorium Children’s’ Museum. Before becoming an academic, she was an auditor and consultant at PriceWaterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand. Additionally, she consults and serves as an expert witness in matters related to financial reporting, valuation, and estimation of damages.

Jenkins joined the Strada Education Network Board of Trustees in 2021 and serves on the Finance and Audit and National Engagement committees.