I am honored to step into the role of Associate Dean for Research. There are three primary areas of importance in terms of research: intellectual contributions, external research funding, and Ph.D. production. I have spent the last three months taking stock in these areas and I am happy to report that all three areas have never been stronger in the Chambers College.
Intellectual contributions are the first thing people think of when they hear the word research. Previous financial investments in research activity through summer support and research grants – combined with strong junior hiring and strategic senior hiring - have greatly increased the number and quality of intellectual contributions coming out of the College. During our last AACSB review period, College faculty averaged 140 peer-reviewed journal publications annually. That’s more than one per faculty member per year! And these aren’t just in any journals. During the average year our faculty publish more than 10 A+ publications.
External research funding is important for two reasons. One, external grants help to support high-quality research by faculty and doctoral students. Second, external research funding is a key metric used to determine an institution’s R1 status. Over the past five years, Chambers College faculty have received nearly $900,000 in external grant funding. We are not resting on our laurels, however, as we currently have $1.4 million in grant requests outstanding.
Production of Ph.D. students is the third leg of the research stool. Not only is the number of Ph.D.’s produced annually a crucial factor in West Virginia University’s R1 status, having high-quality doctoral programs that attract the best and brightest can lead to even higher levels of research output. For example, Assistant Professor of Management Jamie Field and Management and Management doctoral student Min Geiger just had a paper accepted at the Journal of International Business Studies, an A+ journal.
Strong academic placements are key to attracting exceptional graduate students. I am happy to report that the College had very strong tenure-track placements this year. The placements listed below are even more amazing when the limited number of job openings due to Covid is taken into account.
- Margaret Bock (Economics) – Goucher College
- Alanna Hirshman (Management) – Texas Tech University
- Elvira Kizlova (Marketing) – Dominican University
- Kerianne Lawson (Economics) – North Dakota State University
- Eduardo Minuci (Economics) - North Carolina A&T State University
- Marie Rice (Accounting)– Sienna College
- Alexis Yim (Marketing) -- Radford University
- Chen Zhao (Accounting) – West Texas A&M University
Congratulations to the students, Dissertation Chairs, Ph.D. Coordinators, and faculty. Placements like these are a team effort.
Our recent research activity is a testament to the leadership of my predecessor, Dr. Virginia Kleist. Her efforts have created a strong base for continued improvement. I look forward to working with all members of the Chambers family to continue to elevate our research activity.
