EMU Hires First Full-Time Grad Dean

Jim Smucker is EMU's first full-time dean for its graduate programs. (Photo by Courtesy Photo)

Jim Smucker, a business leader from Pennsylvania, will become Eastern Mennonite University’s first full-time graduate dean come July 1 the university announced this week.

Smucker is president and a major shareholder of Bird-in-Hand Corporation, which oversees multiple hospitality businesses in Pennsylvania-Dutch country, including the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn, Restaurant and Bakery and several other lodging establishments.

The position, which an EMU faculty member has been filling on a part-time basis, is now the seventh position reporting directly to the university’s president.

“Jim brings a wealth of leadership and entrepreneurial experience to the role, as well as appropriate academic training and experience,” EMU Provost Fred Kniss said in a press release from the university announcing Smucker’s hire.