J. Ralph Byington, dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University, has been named CCU's interim provost, according to an announcement today by CCU President David A. DeCenzo. Barbara Ritter, professor and chair of the college's Department of Management and Decision Sciences, will serve as interim dean of the Wall College.

"I look forward to working with Dean Byington and Professor Ritter," said DeCenzo. "We are fortunate to have such outstanding leaders serving in these important posts."

Byington was appointed dean of the Wall College in 2010. He serves on the board of governors of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), the international business honor society, and on the initial accreditation committee of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Prior to joining the CCU administration, Byington served as the dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina-Aiken and interim dean, associate dean and founding director of the School of Accountancy at Georgia Southern University. He was director and internal auditor at the University of Southern Mississippi, and he was also chief fiscal officer for the Mississippi Governor's Office for Federal Programs. His publications include more than 130 journal articles, book chapters, newsletter items and proceedings. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctorate in accounting from the University of Arkansas; he is also a certified public accountant.

Ritter joined the CCU faculty in 2004. Her scholarly specialties are in organizational leadership and justice and in business ethics. She is the program chair and future president of the Management and Education Division of the Academy of Management, and she serves on the editorial board of the Organization Management Journal. She was named the 2010 Outstanding Chapter Adviser for BGS; she was adviser for CCU's chapter for many years. Ritter earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Akron.