Diane McNulty MS’78, PhD’84, a longtime champion for The University of Texas at Dallas who was at the heart of the growth in the Naveen Jindal School of Management for nearly 40 years, died July 29 at the age of 76.
Diane McNulty MS’78, PhD’84
When McNulty, associate dean of external affairs and corporate development, joined UT Dallas in 1987, no communications or development offices existed at the Jindal School. She not only launched and led those efforts, but she also served in countless other roles.
McNulty spearheaded fundraising and special events for the school, taught classes and became a role model for women in leadership.
“She was our face to the outside world and was well known and liked by everyone,” said Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Jindal School and Caruth Chair who had worked with McNulty since 1996. “Diane had a tremendous influence on who we became, and it is probably fair to say that we will be a different place without her.”
McNulty helped establish the Jindal School as one of the top-ranked public business schools in the nation and elevated its reputation in the community.
“She helped take the Jindal School from this tiny, no-name school on the Texas prairie to one that had corporate and community support and engagement,” said Dr. Monica Powell, former Jindal School senior associate dean and graduate dean who worked with McNulty for nearly two decades.
When Pirkul started as dean, he said McNulty did a little bit of everything at the school, which then had an enrollment of about 2,000 and now has more than 10,000 students.
“She was our face to the outside world and was well known and liked by everyone. Diane had a tremendous influence on who we became, and it is probably fair to say that we will be a different place without her.”
Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management
At the time, information about the school was typed on a fading, one-page photocopied sheet that listed undergraduate and graduate degrees.
“I tasked her early on with developing a magazine,” Pirkul said.
Thus, Management was born, and McNulty served as its executive editor for 28 years.
“We have published a world-class magazine twice a year,” Pirkul said. “She loved that very much, and she did a great job.”
McNulty also was executive editor of the dean’s newsletter, Jindal School Now, and the school’s online news site, Inside Jindal School.
In addition to her administrative accomplishments, she left her mark on students, said John Barden, a clinical professor and associate dean of executive education. McNulty taught corporate governance to executives and business ethics to undergraduates. Five years ago, McNulty asked Barden to teach a class with her on Mondays and Wednesdays, and he looked forward to them every week.
“She engaged with the students,” Barden said. “She had a passion for them. She was a great communicator. She taught us what values were and how important it was to be involved with the community. She was a true public servant.”
McNulty was remembered by her friends and colleagues as an elegant, sincere and honest woman who exuded a natural ability to connect with others.
“When she walked into a room, she had a presence,” Barden said. “People would want to know who she was. Not only did they want to know, but once you got to talk to her, you saw her value. You wanted to gravitate to her.”
McNulty also served as a powerful role model for women in leadership, her colleagues said. Her grace and poise reminded Powell of women such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis and Nancy Reagan.
Diane McNulty MS’78, PhD’84 and her husband, Michael Sinclair McNulty, at the kickoff for Realize the Vision: The Campaign for Tier One and Beyond in 2012.
“She was a role model for many women who came behind her,” Powell said. “There’s this adage, ‘You can’t have it all.’ She really reflected the ability to do it all well — marriage, motherhood or pursuing a successful academic career.”
McNulty also was passionate about traveling, and she visited more than 30 countries, including some on student trips.
“She was committed to making a more relevant educational experience for students,” said Dr. David Springate, founding associate dean of executive education, founding director of the executive MBA program and emeritus associate professor of finance in the Jindal School.
A Dallas native, McNulty was born with a congenital heart defect and was not expected to live past the age of 5. A lifetime of surgeries allowed her to defy odds, and she never let her health issues slow her down.
“She had all these health problems all her life; she never complained about it,” Springate said.
McNulty earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing at Southern Methodist University and a master’s in management science and a PhD in business policy and strategy from UTD.
Before she came to UTD, McNulty served in several academic and administrative roles in the early 1980s at what is now Dallas College Brookhaven Campus, and she briefly worked as a management consultant. McNulty joined UTD as a senior lecturer and later was an assistant dean before she became an associate dean in 1996.
In addition to her impact on UTD, McNulty served on numerous boards, including the Public Affairs Council, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. She also was co-founder of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Women’s Heart Guild, a forerunner of the Go Red for Women movement, and vice chair of the AHA’s Côtes du Coeur gala, as well as a member of Junior League of Dallas. McNulty also received awards from the AHA and the Dallas Business Journal.
McNulty is survived by her husband, Michael Sinclair McNulty, four children and eight grandchildren.
