Lynne Richardson Honored With Distinguished Woman in Business Education Award

The Patricia M. Flynn Distinguished Woman in Business Education Award was established by AACSB’s Women Administrators in Management Education (WAME) Affinity Group in 2016 to recognize female thought leaders whose leadership, research, and educational initiatives have had an impact on women by making a difference in business education. Lynne Richardson was named the 2018 recipient of the Flynn Award during a Joint Diversity and Inclusion Affinity Group and WAME Affinity Group Meeting held on April 23 during AACSB’s 2018 International Conference and Annual Meeting.

Susan McTiernan, the 2017 Flynn Award recipient, remarks of Lynne that she “is a hugely accomplished leader in the business education industry, but also someone who has never lost sight of her role as a gifted professor, a prolific researcher, a strong contributor to the many communities of which she has been a part and, very consistently, a role model for women and what they can achieve."

Richardson currently serves as the vice president of administration and finance at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Prior to this role, Richardson served as dean of the University of Mary Washington College of Business for six years. She has also previously held deanships at Mississippi State University and Ball State University.

Richardson is a consistent and active contributor to her community, serving on many community boards, leading United Way campaigns, and being a multidimensional contributor to women’s success by serving as a Girl Scout leader in three councils. Her leadership also includes active involvement with AACSB affinity groups. In addition to her long-standing contributions to the WAME Affinity Group, including steering committee commitments as well as group chair, Richardson also served as chair of the Small Schools Network Affinity Group for many years and worked tirelessly to build a deeply engaged and impactful network of small school peers to support learning and development opportunities among this network.

Dayle Smith, 2017–18 chair of the WAME Affinity Group, shares that “Lynne paved new territory for so many of us and continues to inspire women to seek out leadership positions in their institutions. She is richly deserving of this recognition and WAME is proud to acknowledge the amazing impact Lynne has had on women administrators—within AACSB and in the academy overall.”

On being selected as the 2018 Flynn Award recipient, Richardson commented, “I have been blessed to interact with scores of women since attending my first AACSB event in 1998. I was involved in the early years of WAME and was honored to serve on its advisory board for several years, culminating in chair. Since then, I have stayed involved, as I always get more out of the content of the sessions and the networking than I have ever contributed. Being recognized with the Pat Flynn Award is a signature honor for me, as I know Pat (I probably met her in 1998!) and believe this recognition honors the dozens of relationships I still maintain because of my association with WAME.”

It remains a top priority for AACSB to support the WAME Affinity Group and diversity and inclusion initiatives, and we extend our deepest gratitude to the distinguished women working to advance gender equality within the business education landscape. We are honored to have Lynne Richardson among this important network, serving as a champion for these efforts, and on behalf of all members we extend our congratulations. Further, we invite all women administrators within AACSB’s membership to get involved with the WAME Affinity Group to increase its impact.