New dean for Shenandoah’s business school

Shenandoah University announced Wednesday that Astrid Sheil will become the next dean of its Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business.

Sheil’s appointment will take effect July 1.

Sheil will be the sixth dean of the business school and the first woman to serve in the role. Sheil currently is a professor of business and communication at California State University San Bernardino. She also serves as dean’s fellow for program outreach and promotion at the university.

A native of Washington, D.C., Sheil completed her undergraduate studies in foreign service at Georgetown University and her master’s and doctorate in organizational communication at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In addition to her roles at California State University San Bernardino, she previously was chief spokeswoman and director of global communication for a multinational corporation in Helsinki, Finland. She also spent a year as interim director of development for Brown College and spent a year as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow.

She recently completed a four-month sabbatical at the International Executive Development Center (IEDC) Bled School of Management in Slovenia working on her upcoming book on strategic business communication.

Sheil is the coauthor of “Dynamic Public Relations: the 24/7 PR Cycle” and has published research articles on capital appreciation bonds, tobacco settlement bonds, whole brain technology, social media, and strategies to reach immigrant communities about opportunities in higher education.