Archie B. Carroll was born in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Balboa High School (1961) in the Panama Canal Zone. He received his three academic degrees from Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL) and started his teaching career at Athens College (now Athens State University)in Alabama in 1966. In 1972 he took a position on the faculty of the University of Georgia College of Business Administration and taught there full time for 33 years and 7 years part-time for a total of 40 years. Now he is professor emeritus of management. He served part time until 2012 as Director of the Nonprofit Program.

Dr. Carroll has authored dozens of books (in various editions) and over 100 articles. His most recent books are Corporate Responsibility: The American Experience (Cambridge University Press, 2012) with others; Business and Society: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management, 11th Edition (Cengage Learning, 2023) with Jill A. Brown; and Business Ethics: Brief Readings on Vital Topics (Routlege, 2009).

In 1992, Dr. Carroll was awarded the Sumner Marcus Award for Distinguished Service by the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management. In 1993, he was awarded the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Distinguished Research Award for twenty years of research in corporate social performance, business ethics and stakeholder management. In 1996, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Southern Management Association. He served as President of the Society for Business Ethics during 1998-1999. In 2003, he received the Terry College of Business Distinguished Faculty Service Award. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Management in 2005. In 2008, he received the Florida State University College of Business Distinguished PhD Alumni Award. He was elected a Fellow of IABS in 2012.

In 2012, he was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Social Responsibility by the Institute of Management, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. In 2014 his co-authored book, Corporate Responsibility: The American Experience (2012) won the Academy of Management's Social Issues in Management, Best Book Award. In 2016, he was awarded the Hunt Sustained Service Award by the Southern Management Association. In 2018, he was given the Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award, Alfred Nelson Marquis, Higher Education.