Dean, College of Business
Academic Degrees
Lynne Richardson returned to her role as Dean of the College of Business in 2019, after a year serving as Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer. She came to UMW in 2011 as the University’s inaugural dean of the new business college and spent the next seven years, setting the stage for the successful 2018 AACSB accreditation.
Before coming to Mary Washington, she served as Dean of the Colleges of Business at Mississippi State University and Ball State University. Richardson, who also teaches courses in marketing at UMW, began her career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a marketing professor.
In 2018, she was recognized with the Patricia M. Flynn Distinguished Woman in Business Education award by Women Administrators in Management Education. The honor recognizes female thought leaders whose leadership, research and educational initiatives have made a difference for women in business education.
Richardson holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Alabama. Active in her communities, she is a three-time Rotarian, has served on United Way boards in two communities, and has been a leader in United Way campaigns in two communities. She also served as president of the Birmingham American Marketing Association chapter and has been a Girl Scout leader in three councils.
In Fredericksburg, Richardson serves on the Spotsylvania Medical Health Center Board of Trustees; previously she served on the boards of the Riverside Foundation for the Performing Arts, Rappahannock Rotary Club and the Fairy Godmother Project.