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THOUGHTS FROM GRETCHEN SPREITZER, Professor Management and Organizations

"The Ross School of Business’s Department of Management and Organizations has an international reputation as one of the best in the world.  Our faculty ask some of the most interesting research questions in the Academy – whether it is about positive organizational scholarship, corporate governance, economic sociology, or high reliability organizing, just to name a few.  Our faculty is unique in its interdisciplinary nature – faculty have joint appointments in psychology, natural resources, sociology, nursing, education, public health, and public policy among others.  All of this creates a rich environment for student learning and growth." 

"A core value of our department is collaborative relationships.  Starting in their first year, students work closely with faculty on joint research projects –whether one-on-one with faculty or in a research lab.  Rather than an apprentice model where students work for faculty, we subscribe to a partnership model where students work with faculty.  Students are engaged in every aspect of the research project, including the articulation of the research question, the development of hypotheses, the design of the study, data analyses, and writing.  Students are co-authors, not just research assistants.  What is remarkable is that our doctoral students, often even in their first year, tend to present regularly at our annual meeting of the Academy of Management, our premier professional association.  And it’s a norm to have publications, often in top journals, by the time students go on the job market."   

"Our department is also renowned for it’s strong sense of community between its faculty and doctoral students.  Each week, we renew our departmental community spirit at a brown bag lunch and seminar. These range from research presentations, to methodology tutorials, to professional development workshops on topics like “how to choose a dissertation topic.”  In addition, during the academic year, the much larger interdisciplinary organizational community around campus (estimated to exceed 100 faculty and students) meets for a research colloquia (the Interdisciplinary Committee on Organizational Studies or ICOS for short) meets weekly to host top organizational scholars from around the world.  The department also holds annual retreats to help us prioritize our mission and reenergize our relationships.   Altogether, these efforts and others offer doctoral students an exceptional opportunity for interaction with departmental faculty and the University’s broader scholarly community."

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