At the recent annual meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Carrie Leana, the George H. Love Professor of Organizations and Management and professor of business administration, medicine, and public and international affairs, was honored with the organization’s Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Service. Leana is also the Director of the Center for Healthcare Management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Business.
In presenting Leana with this award, the nominating committee said her service activities have “left a meaningful and enduring mark on our field”.
“I am truly honored to receive the distinguished service award particularly when I think about others who have received this award in the past,” says Leana. “They have always been my role models, and it’s my great privilege to join their ranks.”
A member of this organization since she was in graduate school, Leana was honored not only for her work within the AOM—serving on their Board of Governors, being co-editor in chief of the Academy of Management Annals and serving as dean of the Academy of Management Fellows—but also for her service work in the community.
Leana has served on professional boards for the Institute on Aging, the Albert Shanker Institute, and the Nashville Public Schools. In addition, she has donated her time by working with Planned Parenthood of Western PA, the Three Rivers Community Foundation, United Cerebral Palsy, the Regional Jobs Corporation, and the Allegheny County Housing Development Authority.
When asked why she devotes so much time to service, her answer is simple: “I like doing it.”
She explains that “service activities give you a chance to pay it forward. I have been very lucky in my career, mostly because of the generosity of others in sharing their time and considerable talents. I feel the least I can do to repay that debt is to offer my time and whatever talents I have to others.”
Service is also a natural extension of her research; she’s studied everything from social capital and public schools to job joss and recovery to financial insecurity and the toll it takes on workers and, also their employers.
“A throughline in addressing all of these issues and coming up with actionable solutions is the importance of empowering people in community,” she says.
Members of the AOM’s award committee include Sherry M.B. Thatcher (Chair), University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Julio De Castro, IE University; Luis Gomez-Mejia, Arizona State University; and Michael Hitt, Texas A&M University.
This YouTube video includes more information on this award and Leana’s heartfelt acceptance speech.