John Hollenbeck was the 2022 recipient of the Academy of Management Distinguished Educator award for his nearly 40 years of impactful research and teaching methods. John is an associate dean of research and Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. He has served the community through education, PhD mentorship, and by providing students with hands-on experience.

John received his PhD in Management from New York University in 1984 and began teaching at MSU that same year. He has been decorated with teaching awards at MSU and mentored 68+ PhD students since that time. John recognizes the significance of entering a PhD program, seeing it as a "20-year commitment." On winning the award, John said:

“Little can be accomplished by an individual working alone. This is an opportunity to shine a light on everyone around me who has made this all possible, but perhaps, does not get this kind of exposure. The work we do is very labor intensive and involves not just other professors and grad students, but talented undergrads working in the lab and the field that will never get authorship credit.”

The Career Achievement Awards Committee selected John because of his immersive lessons with real-world impact, calling him a "master teacher with incredible range". The committee noted that John was the chief architect in what they would call one of the most innovative leadership and teamwork core courses in any business school. MBA students would select, develop, and lead small teams of undergraduate business students in a series of semester-long simulated leadership challenges, team problem-solving exercises, and real-world experiences.

John's lab work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, and his fieldwork funded by the National Science Foundation. His team works closely with the organizations that fund them to ensure their research is relevant and actionable. Their research has touched on a broad range of current events, such as working with contact tracers during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, police officers on police reform, and scientists working on novel energy sources. On his research, he says, "We have always been attracted to the grand challenges that AOM often aspires to contribute to, and we have been lucky that way."

John has been an active member of the Academy since joining as a student member, "I have been an AOM member for 40 years and have basically grown up professionally within this institution" he remarks. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and has served on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and as a Rep-at-Large on the Board of Governors in the past. In addition to the All-Academy Distinguished Educator award, at the 82nd Annual Meeting, John was honored with the OB Division Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also been awarded the HR Division's Lifetime Achievement Award and both the OB and HR Divisions' Mentorship awards.

Offering advice for younger AOM members John, says:

"Get involved early and often! Talk to folks about what is right for your level. I started out being a program reviewer, eventually ran the program, and then later became the chair of the Journal Committee. A lot of career-stage specific activities that provided value both ways."

The Distinguished Educator Award is presented annually to an outstanding individual who has excelled in developing doctoral students, effective teaching in the classroom, fostering pedagogical innovations, and/or disseminating new teaching methods and designs.

2022 Career Achievement Awards Committee:  Christopher Tucci (Chair), Imperial College London; Diana Bilimoria, Case Western Reserve University; Aya S. Chacar, Florida International University; Ann Scheck McAlearney, Ohio State University; Sim B. Sitkin, Duke University; and A. Paul Spee, The University of Queensland.

Watch the AOM 2022 Distinguished Educator Award Program.

Learn more about the 2022 Career Achievement Awards.