Organizational Sciences Newsletters
Designed for students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the Organizational Sciences Newsletter features department updates, upcoming and past events, student and alumni spotlights, and program kudos. If you would like to be featured, please email us at [email protected]. Update your contact information with the GW Office of Alumni Relations to sign up to receive the newsletter and learn more about the exclusive events and benefits available to you.
Spring 2024 Issue
Message from the Organizational Sciences Program Directors
Hello and Happy New Year! The faculty of the Organizational Sciences (OS) Program send you greetings and well wishes.
We are excited to launch the OS newsletter and share what is going on in our community. In this and subsequent newsletters we will share news from the OS program and from current undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. We have an ambitious goal: to rekindle old connections, spark new ones, and foster networking among current students and alumni across both the undergraduate and graduate programs.
In this newsletter you will find highlights of events, department kudos as well as students and faculty in the press. This is only the tip of the iceberg and we would love to include much more. So, if you have news to share– personal and professional–we would love to include it in our next newsletter. Please stay in touch–this is hopefully the first of many ways we can stay connected with you!
Sincerely,
Gelaye Debebe and Lori Peters
Gelaye Debebe, Ph.D.
Director, M.A. Program in Organizational Sciences
Lori Peters, Ph.D.
Director, B.A. Program in Organizational Sciences
Organizational Sciences Events
The Community Connection event was held on November 9th. It was a well- attended event that included OS faculty, current OS majors and minors, GW students contemplating to either major in OS or continue with graduate work at GWU. Dr. Lori Peters introduced a panel of OS B.A. and M.A. alums who discussed their experiences in the OS program and the way in which their training prepared them for varying career paths.
Students in Dr. Gelaye Debebe’s ORSC 2046 (Global Organizations) course went on a site visit to the World Bank. The group participated in a presentation exploring the history and mission of the World Bank and engaged in a lively discussion of the World Bank’s work and role in the pressing development issues of our time.
Endurance athlete Kerry Gruson (pictured above) visited Dr. Nils Olsen’s Extreme Decisions class, as featured in GW Today. She addressed students about her journey persevering and thriving despite suffering from a brutal attack that led her to lose many functions. Through stories and her example, she showed students how, ironically, when released, negative emotions can open up new options and catalyze and transformational changes that lead to unexpected positive life choices.
Student Awards
Rachel Basoco
Rachel Basoco, OS B.A 2021, NEXTGEN Collective, “30 Under 30” Award, see: https://hispanicexecutive.com/30-under-30-rachel-basoco/
Elisa Mondragon
Elisa Mondragon, OS M.A. 2022, City of Alexandria, VA “40 under 40” A, see: https://thezebra.org/2022/07/04/meet-the-people-shaping-alexandrias-future/
Student Accomplishments in Research
Sophia Deutsch
Ashley Gehsmann
Ashley Gehsmann, OS B.A 2019, presented “Influence of national culture on corporate social responsibility” at GW Research Days 2019. This presentation was awarded 2nd Place in the Business & Organizational Sciences category. (Faculty Mentors: Nils Olsen and David Costanza). See https://researchshowcase.gwu.edu/.
Simrat Malhotra
Malhotra, S. & Olsen, N. (2023, May). “Will you hire me? Candidate selection and the decoy effect,” 35th Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC. https://www.psychologicalscience.org.
Malhotra, S. & Olsen, N. (2022, May). “Imagery, arousal, and choice,” 34th Annual Convention of the Association for PsychologicalScience,Chicago,IL. https://www.psychologicalscience.org
Sydney Nelson
Sydney Nelson, OS B.A 2019, presented: “Interrupting lady lawyer: An analysis of the mere exposure effect and implicit gender bias during supreme court oral arguments” at GW Research Days. Her presentation was awarded 1st Place in the Business & Organizational Sciences category. (Faculty Mentors: Nils Olsen and David Costanza). See: https://researchshowcase.gwu.edu/.
Liat Schreiber
Liat Schreiber, OS B.A 2021, presented, “Telehealth: The inevitable or a consumer preference?” at the GW Research Showcase. Her presentation was awarded 2nd place winner for the OVPR Cross-Disciplinary Award, sponsored by InfoReady. (Faculty Mentor: Nils Olsen). See: https://researchshowcase.gwu.edu/
Faculty Accomplishments in Research
The OS program is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach to organizations. This approach is not only reflected in the curriculum, also in faculty research.
Costanza, D. P. Rudolph, C. W., & Zacher, H. (2023). Are generations a useful concept? ACTA Psychologica. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104059
Debebe, G. (2024) “Defensive diversity management as a tool of genderwashing in exclusive talent management.” In R.A. Gardiner, W. Fox-Kirk, C.J. Elliott and V. Stead (Eds.), Genderwashing in Leadership: Power, Policies, and Politics. Emerald.
Debebe, G. (2023)., “Authentic talent development in sociocultural context,” Guest-Editor, Special Issue of European Journal of Training and Development, 47 (3/4): 327-347.
Reinert, K. and Debebe, G. (2023) “The ethics of talent development: Frameworks and identities,” European Journal of Training and Development, 47 (3/4): 327-347.
Kulesa, J., Escalante, E., Olsen, N., & Lucas, R. (2023). “Evolution of conflict management style during intern year of paediatric residency.” The Clinical Teacher – Medical Education Journal, 20(6).
Peterson, L.M., Orr, J.A., Rogelberg, S.D., & Olsen, N. (2022). “Social-contextual factors interact with masculinity to influence college men’s HPV vaccination intentions: The role of descriptive norms, prototypes, and physician gender.” Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 45(6): 825–840.
Davis, N., Olsen, N., Perry, V. G., Stewart, M. M., & White, T. B. (2022). “I’m only human? The role of racial stereotypes, humanness and satisfaction in transactions with anthropomorphic sales bots.” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 8(1): 47-58. See article Animation here.
Faculty Awards
The OS program is also distinguished by its commitment to students. Faculty have consistently received honors and recognition in teaching, mentoring, and excellence in advising. Among these:
Gelaye Debebe, 2019, recipient of Faculty Mentoring Award, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Gelaye Debebe, 2019, Faculty Speaker, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Master’s Graduation Ceremony.
Lori Peters, 2023, recipient of the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
OS Students and Faculty in the Press
Students
ABC news correspondent Gio Benitez sat down to interview Ryan Patterson, (OS B.A. 2022, and GW School of Business M.S., 2023) on 16 May 2023 regarding his aviation photography. In addition to this segment, Ryan has over 237,000 followers on Instagram and his work has been featured in the Columbian College newsletter:
ABC segment: https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/young-photographer-new-perspective-aviation-99379296.
GW TODAY: https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/flying-high-alumnus-soars-airplane-pics
Faculty
Nils Olsen, GW Today, 2 August 2019. GW researchers converge on Paris (by B.L. Wilson), https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/gw-researchers-converge-paris
Debebe, G. and K.A. Reinert, (2020). Editorial in The Hill, entitled: “Systemic Racism Is a Drag on the U.S. Economy”. See: https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/524643-systemic-racism-is-a-drag-on-the-us-economy/
Debebe, G. (2021), participated in a panel “Building a more racially inclusive and anti-racist workplace: Removing barriers and creating bridges” University-Industry Partnerships, University of Maryland. See panel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhWiZc3X4_I.
Nils Olsen, GW TODAY interview, “Interacting with AI, 27 June 2023. In Interactions with AI, Does Race Matter?” (by Ruth Steinhardt). See: https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/interactions-ai-does-race-matter
GW Today, 11 December 2023. Org Sci class examines extreme decision making (by John DiConsiglio), https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/org-sci-class-examines-extreme-decision-making