Meet Our Dean

Mary Frances Luce stepped in as the interim dean of The Fuqua School of Business on August 1, 2024. No stranger to academic leadership, she previously served as the interim executive vice chancellor at Duke Kunshan University and senior associate dean of faculty at Fuqua. Luce is the first woman to be named Fuqua’s dean and the first alumnus to hold the position.

Renowned Researcher and Beloved Teacher

Luce’s 30-year career in behavioral marketing began when she earned her Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in marketing in 1994. She was among the first researchers to explore the influence of emotions on decision-making, including how a patient’s emotions can drive health care decisions. Her commitment to promoting and supporting research in her field is demonstrated by her stints as president of the Association for Consumer Research, co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Search, and most recently, associate vice president of the Office of Research and Innovation at Duke.

In the classroom, Luce is most passionate about helping students navigate marketing as a mechanism capable of benefitting society. Some alumni have credited Luce with inspiring their interest in value-based health care. She is admired by former students and colleagues alike.

A Note from Mary Frances

Hello! After spending much of my adult life connected to Fuqua, the richness of this institution is not lost on me. I look forward to preserving the core pieces of Fuqua’s identity while maximizing opportunities for progress.

Since taking on this new role, I’ve been honored to receive so many wonderful messages, and I look forward to navigating this new chapter in typical Team Fuqua fashion, together.

In honor of our iconic admissions essay, I wanted to share my 25 Random Things.

1. 1. I have a 21-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter.

   2. I’ve owned two horses in my life but have mostly recovered from that folly.

   3. I like to cook and garden.

   4. One of my favorite roles I’ve had at Duke was serving as a member of the University-wide appointments, promotion, and tenure committee.

   5. I spent a year as Interim Executive Vice Chancellor of Duke Kunshan University and have never witnessed such a complex, amazing endeavor.

   6. I’ve always been fascinated by the impact of emotion on decision-making and feel very privileged to have a career where I can study that or anything else I want.

   7. I was co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research for three years and loved encouraging excellent interdisciplinary research.

   8. When my kids were small, my parents lived with us and provided child care. It was chaotic but wonderful.

   9. My Myers-Briggs personality type is INFP, sort of mediator-like.

   10. My father served as the dean of Ball State University’s business school for 17 years.

   11. Rather than trying to teach my children not to curse, I taught them not to curse at preschool. Amazingly, I got away with this one.

   12. I came (back) to Fuqua as a faculty member in 2004 to develop and teach Healthcare Marketing — I loved that class!

   13. I still vividly remember the pride I felt as an assistant professor at Wharton in the late 1990s/early 2000s when all of my colleagues were raving about Fuqua’s first-mover Global Executive MBA program.

   14. Having traveled to 90 or so countries, it’s hard to pick out a favorite travel memory — mostly because I have a hard time remembering what I did where.

   15. I spent six weeks teaching and traveling in India while pregnant with my second child and a 2-year-old in tow.

   16. My driving ability (or focus) is so bad that I call myself Mr. Magoo (anyone under 60 has to google this); my car is always dented.

   17. When I first started teaching, I was haunted by a recurring anxiety dream that it was the day of the final, and I had not created the test. This only lasted about a decade.

   18. I was vegan for five years but eventually got hungry.

   19. While my father’s father never formally learned to read or write, my father, a product of New York City Public Schools, earned his Ph.D.

   20. In fact, both of my parents are Ph.D. economists.

   21. I am named after both of my grandmothers.

   22. I didn’t attend my Ph.D. graduation at Fuqua, yet I returned to my degree-granting institution for good within a decade.

   23. I recently started outsourcing my willpower with a personal trainer.

   24. I spent many years relying on an annual haircut; I’m a little better about that now.

   25. If it’s laugh or cry, I will always laugh.