Making Connections Committee

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Making Connections Committee Mission

The mission of the Making Connections Committee is to enhance the overall experience of OB members, primarily by (1) helping all members feel “at home” in the division (2) welcoming new members to the division, (3) promoting research excellence, (4) facilitating career progression, and (5) integrating research with practice.

  • Helping OB Members Feel “At Home” in the Division. Our committee organizes the OB Ambassador Program, which is designed to promote an inclusive, welcoming environment for all OB members. OB Ambassadors can be found greeting and connecting with members at a variety OB-sponsored events and sessions throughout the annual AOM meeting.
  • Welcoming New Members to the Division: We have several initiatives designed specifically for members who are new to the OB Division. For example, we organize the OB Adopt-A-Member Program each year. Through this program, seasoned OB members “adopt” new members during the annual AOM meeting and share their knowledge related to navigating the conference and succeeding in academia. We also organize professional development workshops (PDWs; for the Academy of Management’s annual meetings) on topics that are likely to be of interest to new division members. For example, we facilitate a PDW entitled, “New to OB? Navigating the OB Division and AOM.” Moreover, we host an annual Networking Social where new (as well as seasoned) OB members have an opportunity to meet and mingle with senior OB scholars.
  • Promoting Research Excellence: We help OB Division members in their pursuit of research excellence. For example, we organize the “Research Incubator” PDW primarily aimed at assisting doctoral students, junior faculty, and international students with working manuscripts. We also facilitate a “Research Roundtable,” where attendees can discuss their research interests with senior scholars in their specific areas of study. Moreover, the “Productivity Process”, one of our most popular sessions every year, is an innovative PDW in which prolific scholars share tips and techniques that have contributed to their success.
  • Facilitating Career Progression: We help OB Division members progress in their academic careers. For example, we organize an annual session for entitled “Halfway There, But Now What?” for Ph.D. students who are halfway to completing their degree. This PDW focuses on topics ranging from launching the dissertation process to the intricacies of the job market process. We also have a session on “How to Manage Research Collaborations,” for scholars at any stage.
  • Integrating Research with Practice. In our quest toward “making research meaningful,” we organize an excellent session on publishing in translational outlets (e.g., Harvard Business Review, Sloan MIT Management Review, HR People + Strategy, California Management Review), which addresses ways in which scholars can provide managers with greater access to research findings. This highly interactive and participative session, led by researchers and senior journal editors, advances discussions of the various avenues through which scholarly research can have a stronger impact on “real world” business practice.

MCC Members

Name Affiliation E-mail
Troy Smith University of Oklahoma troy.smith@ou.edu
Brad Winn Utah State University brad.winn@usu.edu
Kate Zipay Purdue University kzipay@purdue.edu
Tobias Dennerlein Purdue University tdennerl@purdue.edu
Richard Gardner Brigham Young University richard.gardner@byu.edu
Kylie Rochford University of Utah kylie.rochford@eccles.utah.edu
Nitya Chawla University of Minnesota nchawla@umn.edu
Semin Park Penn State University semin.park@psu.edu
Virgil Fenters William & Mary virgil.fenters@mason.wm.edu
Anna Lennard Oklahoma State University anna.lennard@okstate.edu
Manuel Vaulont Northeastern m.vaulont@northeastern.edu
Edwyna Hill University of South Carolina Edwyna.Hill@moore.sc.edu
Matthew Deeg Abilene Christian University mdd21a@acu.edu
Amy Bartels University of Nebraska-Lincoln amy.bartels@unl.edu
Stefan Berger University of Groningen s.berger@rug.nl
Johan van de Brake University of Groningen h.j.van.de.brake@rug.nl
Urlich Leicht-Deobald Trinity College Dublin ulrich.leicht-deobald@tcd.ie
Insiya Hussain University of Texas insiya.hussain@mccombs.utexas.edu
Lauren Locklear Texas Tech lauren.locklear@ttu.edu
Bailey Bigelow University of Utah Bailey.Bigelow@eccles.utah.edu
Ben Rogers Boston College benjamin.rogers@bc.edu
Sophie Pychlau Iowa State spychlau@iastate.edu
Tim Kundro UNC Chapel Hill timothy_kundro@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
Ji Kim Michigan State kimjikou@msu.edu
Marla White Virginia Tech wmarla@vt.edu
Remy Jennings Florida State rjennings@business.fsu.edu


Recent Chairs

Shannon Taylor (2017)

Adam Stoverink (2018)

Beth Campbell (2019, 2020)

Margaret Luciano (2021, 2022) 

Kate Zipay (2022-2024) 

MCC FAQ

from the Making Connections Committee
  1. How does the Making Connection Committee work in the OB Division?
    • The Making Connections Committee (MCC) is a subcommittee of the OB Division. The primary goal is to help develop and nurture relationships among OB Division members. We do this by fostering relationships among new members of the OB division, and facilitating high-quality connections related to research, teaching and career progression.
  2. What can the Making Connections Committee do for me?
    • The Making Connections Committee can help you meet other members in the OB Division, both new and 'seasoned.' We aim to help OB members form and develop relationships with people based on common research and teaching interests, as well as with people at different career stages. Our hope is that these efforts make being a member of the OB Division less daunting and more fun and rewarding. To facilitate these relationships and connections, the MCC sponsors events such as the OB Research Incubator and other Professional Development Workshops at the Academy of Management annual conference, all with the aim of helping you identify those members who have similar research interests and meet potential future collaborators.
  3. How could I build future research collaboration at AOM, particularly through the Making Connection Committee?
    • We help OB Division members form relationships that will be useful for their research. For example,  we organized the OB Research Incubator PDW primarily aimed at assisting doctoral students, junior faculty, and international students with working manuscripts. We also sponsored "The Productivity Process" PDW, an interactive session aimed at providing publishing advice to doctoral students and junior faculty.
  4. What is the OB New Member Networking and Research Forum?
    • This is an event sponsored by the OB Division's Making Connections Committee. It is aimed at members who have joined in the last three years, and is an opportunity for you to meet other members and to talk informally about your shared research interests.
  5. How can I recognize the Making Connections Committee members?
    • You can easily recognize us by looking for people who wear a bright OB blue sticker at the AOM annual meeting.
  6. Where can I find the Making Connections Committee members?
    • You can find a name list of MCC members online here.
    • Members of the committee will be at all OB-sponsored events. Don't forget, we will be wearing blue stickers!
  7. How can I contact the Making Connections Committee members?
    • You can email any of our MCC members/officers by using their contact information here.
  8. How can I become a member of the Making Connection Committee?
    • That's easy! You can become an MCC member by either emailing one of our committee chairs, or simply showing up at an OB-sponsored event to tell us about your enthusiasm to become part of the MCC.