Assistant Professor Abdifatah Ali Joins Faculty

Assistant Professor Abdifatah Ali joins the faculty of the Department of Work and Organizations this fall. We asked him to share a little bit about himself.

“I am a psychologist by training. I received my BA in psychology from San Diego State University, and my MA and Ph.D. in organizational psychology from Michigan State University. My research interests comprise three main areas: (1) understanding how individuals with stigmatized identities make sense of and communicate about those identities across different stages of the employee-organization relationship, (2) workplace diversity and inclusion with an emphasis on establishing equitable employment opportunity practices and cultivating inclusive workplaces that facilitate learning and integration of differences, and (3) how motivation and emotions shape behavior in organizations.

“In the Spring semester, I will be teaching Organizational Behavior Foundations of High-Impact HRIR, and Diversity Management in the HRIR program, and Leading Others in the MBA program.

“My advice for students is to get to know the faculty members. I enjoy meeting students one-on-one and learning more about their backgrounds. Doing so helps with them feeling integrated into the program and can be useful professionally by building their network.”

Welcome, Professor Ali!

Welcome, New Students!

Fall typically brings cooler temperatures, shorter days, and students back to campus. This year, we are pleased to welcome 60 new full-time MA-HRIR students, seven new part-time MA-HRIR students, and one new PhD student to the Carlson School. From attending orientations, to meeting their professors and getting immersed in their course syllabi, to brushing up on interview skills and perfecting their resumes, our students are already fully engaged with their pursuit of a graduate degree.

The incoming full-time class hails from nine different countries (China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Gambia, Ethiopia and the United States), and nine states within the U.S. (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virginia.)  Our part-time students are all working HR professionals expanding their careers through a graduate degree, and our new PhD student joins us from New York University.

Welcome to all! See photos of the first few weeks of orientation, classes, and other activities here.

Professor Morris Kleiner Receives LERA Lifetime Achievement Award

Humphrey School of Public Affairs Professor Morris Kleiner, center, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from LERA (Labor and Employment Relations Association) at their annual meeting this summer. Kleiner is an affiliate faculty member in the CHRLS. The Lifetime Achievement Award is a capstone achievement for lifelong contributors to the field of Industrial Relations and Human Resources, from all perspectives. This award was established in 2000. Pictured at left is Assistant Professor Alan Benson, and at right, Professor John Budd. Benson was also recognized at the LERA annual meeting as a recipient of the John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award; Budd serves on the LERA Board, and received the inaugural Dunlop Award in 1998.

Minnesota-Korea Connections

There was a great Minnesota connection when alumni of the Carlson School’s MA and PhD programs in HRIR gathered to meet with Professor John Budd while he was in Seoul, South Korea over the summer.

Back row: Jae Hang Noh, MA ’10, Won Jun Kwak, MA ’07, Young Jin Nho, PhD ’98, Jun Hyuk Park, MA ’05, Jonathan Booth, PhD ’09, Amit Kramer, PhD ’09, and Do Yeon Kim, MA ’07. Middle row: Joo Bok Lee, MA ’11, Byung Chul Kim, MA ’05, and John Budd; Front Row: Chin Suk Lee, MA ’09, Whan Woo Lee, MA ’09, Ki Soo Kim, MA ’06, and Young-Myon Lee, PhD ’92. 

A forthcoming book, “The Evolution of Korean Industrial and Employment Relations” has significant University of Minnesota connections: the co-editor (Young-Myon Lee, ‘92) and authors of chapter 4 (Yongjin Nho, ‘98) and chapter 13 (Kyoung Won Park, ‘10) are all PhD-HRIR alumni. The release of the book was timed to coincide with the World Congress of the International Labor and Employment Relations Association (ILERA), held in Seoul in July. PhD alums Tae-Youn Park, ’12, Ting Reng, ’09, Jonathan Booth, ‘09, and Professor John Budd all made presentations.

 

Manchester Wins HR Division Scholarly Achievement Award

Associate Professor Colleen Flaherty Manchester and her co-authors are the winners of the Academy of Management’s 2018 Scholarly Achievement Award. This award was presented at the AOM’s Annual Meeting in Chicago in August to the author(s) of the most significant article in human resources management published in recognized journals and research annuals that are available to HR Division members. Read the full story here.Manchester and her co-authors Lisa Leslie (New York University), and Patricia Dahm, ’15 PhD-BA (California Polytechnic State University), were recognized for their paper, “Why and when does the gender gap reverse? Diversity goals and the pay premium for high potential women,” published in the Academy of Management Journal in 2016. The award is sponsored by Riegel & Emory Human Resource Center, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina. Congratulations!

Faculty Take On New Leadership Roles

We welcome new leadership to the CHRLS this fall: Professor Connie Wanberg is the new Chair of the Department of Work and Organizations, and Professor John Kammeyer-Mueller is the new Director of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies. We asked the two of them to share a little bit about themselves, and their research and teaching:

Connie Wanberg holds the Industrial Relations Faculty Excellence Chair. She earned a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Iowa State University and joined the Carlson School in 1996.

“In addition to my department chair duties and role on the leadership team for the Carlson School, I will be continuing my research this fall. One of these projects (with John Kammeyer-Mueller and two colleagues from the University of Minnesota’s Psychology Department), involves an extensive quantitative review of the relationships between extraversion and work outcomes in education, in job application, on the job, and over the career and lifespan.

This fall I will also be going to the University of Illinois to do a program review for the School of Labor and Employment Relations. This involves assessing their student experiences, research, resource allocation, and the like.

In spring 2019 I will be teaching HRIR 4100W, which is our capstone course in HR for undergraduates. I’d like to put a pitch out for your organizations to consider hiring our great undergrads for HR internships or full time jobs.

I love teaching at the Carlson School because I have smart students and colleagues, great facilities, and access to wonderful guest speakers and industry experts. I love it when students ask questions. I think it would be useful for students to be curious and ask lots of questions.

In my free time, I like to ride long distances on my bike. I also like to try new restaurants, travel, hike, walk my dog in the woods, and watch Netflix.”

 

John Kammeyer-Mueller is Curtis L. Carlson Professor of Industrial Relations. He earned a PhD in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and joined the Carlson School in 2013.

“I’m teaching the Staffing, Training, and Development course for our HRIR Master’s students this year, and am also reaching out to collaborate with HR professionals and faculty to coordinate our program with the field and learn more about recent trends in HR management.

I’m also working on a number of research projects related to employee onboarding, including the role of newcomer passion over time, the influence of prior experience with onboarding with later onboarding, and the role of supervisor-newcomer fit in proactive efforts to fit in at work. Other projects are looking at the role of extraversion in shaping work behavior, morality and ethics, and workplace diversity.

The students at Carlson are really engaged and ‘driven to discover.’ There’s a tremendous energy to learn and develop that is exciting to see as a faculty member.

One clear trend in HR management is the growing role of analytics. Our department is very well positioned to help develop these competencies, and I hope students take advantage of these opportunities.”

Welcome, New Alumni Board Members!

Thanks to all the members of the 2018-2019 CHRLS Alumni Association Board of Directors for their service to the Board, and a special welcome to the eight new members* who began their three-year terms this fall.

Pictured in front row, from left: Kelly Dahlman*, ’16; Kara Sime, ’96; Rachel Yates*, ’13; Eva Treuer, ’10; Lisa Zajac*, ’11; and Leo Cardoso*, ’12. Back row: Nick Christenson, ’06; Brandon Lukach, ’04; Kevin Brennan*, ’18; Jon Cermak*, ’06; Larry Morgan, ’87; and Alex Smith*, ’05. Not pictured are Kristyn Aasen, ’11; Kate Andrews, ’12; Melis Candir*, ’07, Rob Klee, ’11, Susan Otto, and Lizhen (Mandy) Zhao.

Board members are asked to commit to a three-year term, serve on one sub-committee each year, and participate in monthly meetings. Alumni interested in learning more about serving on the CHRLS Alumni Board in the future can email chrls@umn.edu.