Barbara Ritter is dean of the Davis College of Business and Technology and Executive Director of Career Services at Jacksonville University. She earned her Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology in 2004 from the University of Akron. Barbara studies and publishes in the area of Implicit Leadership Theory, gender, and justice. In these fields, and in the area of management pedagogy, Barbara has more than 100 presentations and publications in outlets such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Human Relations, and Journal of Business Ethics.

Barbara served as dean of the Wall College of Business at Coastal Carolina University for seven years before becoming dean at Jacksonville University (JU) in 2020. As Dean at JU, Barbara has overseen tremendous growth as the college expanded to three schools: Business, Engineering and Technology, and Aviation. In concert with faculty, new academic programs were introduced in Digital Business, FinTech, Cybersecurity, Executive Thought Leadership, and Healthcare Administration. During her time as Dean, the college has seen freshmen growth of some majors over 200%, double digit growth in graduate programs, and a 50-place increase in the US News and World Report undergraduate program rankings.

Barbara has previously served on the AACSB Initial Accreditation Committee, on the boards of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), the Southern Business Academic Administrators (SBAA), and Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS). She also served as division chair for the Academy of Management (AOM), Management Education and Development Division and as an Associate Editor for Organizational Management Journal.

Barbara is a recipient of a number of awards including the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) Peter Frost Mentoring Award, which acknowledges individuals who are distinguished as gifted teachers and scholars and who unselfishly impart these gifts through mentoring students, colleagues and associates. In 2020, Barbara was recognized by MOBTS with the David L. Bradford Outstanding Educator Award, which acknowledges a person with consistently demonstrated achievement over a lifetime, focusing on teaching and learning excellence, and in 2024 will be awarded the Susan B. Herman Service Award which recognizes outstanding service above and beyond the call of duty, identifying and thanking those whose contributions represent the epitome of altruism, enthusiasm, and selflessness across management education.