R. Duane Ireland

Ireland was born in Lima, Ohio. He later moved to Amarillo, Texas with his mother and grandmother, who both worked at the Amarillo Air Force Base.[2]

Ireland earned his Ph.D. (1977), MBA (1971), and Bachelor of Business Administration (1969) from Texas Tech University, where he was named a Distinguished Alumnus (2018) of the Rawls College of Business.[3] He also earned an Associate in Science degree from Amarillo Junior College (1967).[4]

Ireland started his academic career as a lecturer and instructor of management at Texas Tech University from 1971 to 1977.

In 1977, Ireland began at Oklahoma State University as an assistant professor. He also had an offer from the University of Kansas, but ended up choosing Oklahoma State because he wanted to join the faculty there with Howard Kirk Downey, who Ireland described as a “very productive scholar”, and his former advisor at Texas Tech, Michael A. Hitt.[5] He later became an associate professor of management at Oklahoma State and ended teaching at the university in 1983.[2]

In 1983, he served as a professor of management and holder of an endowed chair at Baylor University, where he became the chair of the Department of Management in 1986 and associate dean for research in 1992. During this time he lived in Waco, Texas, where his children graduated from high school. He left Baylor in 2000.[2]

From 2000 until 2004, he was a professor of management and the holder of an endowed chair at the University of Richmond.[2]

In 2004, he became a professor at Texas A&M University. He also was offered with a position from The Ohio State University but preferred the offer given by Texas A&M. On January 1, 2021, he was appointed acting dean of Mays Business School and then interim dean on June 14, 2021. Ireland replaced the previous dean, Eli Jones.[6]

Ireland and his family – including his wife Mary Ann and their two adult children – have endowed a $50,000 scholarship to Mays Business School.[7]

Ireland has authored or co-authored more than 20 books.[8] His recent publications include two books: Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, 13th Edition (2020), Cengage Publishing, and Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, 6th Edition (2019), Pearson Publishing.[9][10]

Ireland has also published articles in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Management.[11][12]

Ireland has been included on four separate occasions in the Economics and Business section of the list of “The Most Highly Cited Researchers’ List” (compiled by Clarivate Analytics).[13] He has received several awards including the 2017 Academy of Management Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Service, the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship given by Mays Business School, and in 2012, The Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Research from Texas A&M University.[14] In 2017, he was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management.[15] In 2018, he received recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.[16]