Tippie Magazine (Summer 2021) - Tippie College of Business

She cut her teeth in Tippie’s top
spot by navigating through a oncein-a-century
crisis. (No biggie.)
Next up? Well, we’ll let her
tell you herself.
When Amy Kristof-Brown arrived at the Tippie
College of Business as an assistant professor more
than 20 years ago, she made waves as a top scholar. (1)
Over time, she also made her mark as an engaged,
strategic administrator.
In 2019, she was the consensus choice to take on
the role of interim dean when her predecessor, Sarah
Fisher Gardial, announced her departure. No one
could have predicted that her tenure in the role, which
started March 2020, would coincide with a worldchanging
pandemic, but she proved up to the task.
“She was the calm in the midst of a storm,” recalls Yvette
Taylor (MBA92), a Tippie Advisory Board member.
Over the past year, she’s strengthened the college’s
position and burnished her credentials as a crisis
leader. She’s earned praise for her steady leadership,
collaborative approach, and authentic communication.
In November, after a thorough international search,
she was elevated to the role for good.
In February, we sat down virtually with Kristof-Brown
(known affectionately as AKB) to learn more about
what drives her, how she navigated the pandemic, and
what she plans to do in the coming years to take Tippie
to the next level.
You’ve been at Tippie since
1997, starting as an assistant
professor and becoming a full
professor, then moving through
roles as director of graduate
studies, department chair, and
senior associate dean. How has that
trajectory influenced the way you
think about leading the institution?
I understand the faculty
experience. I’ve depended on
every staff member in this college to be
successful at different points in time, and
I know the value of their roles and why
they’re there.
When I became director of graduate
studies—and later, other administrative
roles—I began thinking about how the
systems at the university worked, and how
to give people what they needed to be
successful.
My role today is broader because it looks
externally, but the driving factor remains
the same: I’m looking at the array of
resources, connections, and opportunities
that can help our college be more
successful.
’(1) A Stanford study named Kristof-Brown
one of the most impactful scholars in her field.
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