Get to Know PC Business’s New Interim Dean Christine Earley, Ph.D.
Christine Earley, Ph.D., began her position as interim dean of the Providence College School of Business at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. Despite starting a new role at PC Business, Earley has been working at the business school since its origin in 2008.
Before coming to PC, Earley received a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Connecticut and worked in public accounting. After that, she went on to obtain her Ph.D. in business administration at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, as well as a master’s degree in psychology, and researched how auditors learn “on the job.”
Upon her arrival at PC, Earley said she “was hired to come in and help with accreditation… and [she] was put in charge of intellectual contributions, or scholarships or research.” In this role, she got to know many of the faculty members of PC Business by motivating faculty to do research and conducting faculty evaluations.
Next, when Sylvia Maxfield, Ph.D. was appointed the first dean of the business school in 2012, she asked Earley to become the first associate dean of PC Business, overseeing faculty and research. She took a leave from PC to work at the KPMG national offices from 2014 to 2016, and has served as chair of her department. For the last two years, she has been an associate provost for faculty development.
Earley has immense knowledge that she will apply as dean. As mentioned before, she has been with PC Business since its beginning. She has seen the business school offices move from Koffler Hall to Arthur F. and Patricia Ryan Center for Business Studies in 2017, and how the school has grown. “Teaching in Ryan and understanding where we’ve come… [has] been really gratifying to see,” Earley said.
As the 2024-2025 school year begins, Earley has a great plan for PC Business. She shared that there are lots of initiatives from the past that are still in place. Students can expect a new branding strategy and strategic planning for the business school, as well as the new master of science in sports administration program to begin in the fall of 2025.
When asked about what advice to give PC students, Earley shared some words of wisdom: “Get involved and engage with your professors.” There are so many different activities outside the classroom to get involved in, so Earley encourages students to take part in as many as they can. Additionally, from her experience as a professor, she knows that professors want to get to know their students.
Earley also has a unique perspective on Providence College because she is a PC parent herself. Her daughter graduated from PC in 2017 as a marketing major and an art history minor. Furthermore, she has another daughter who has been rock climbing since she was 3 years old, so she is very involved with USA Climbing. Earley is actually a level 2 certified judge for rock climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing. Finally, she loves animals; she and her family have two older dogs and they just adopted two kittens this summer.
