Foster Professors Rank Highly in Psychology Research

According to an upcoming study to be published in the journal Industrial and Organizational Psychology, two Foster School of Business professors—Bruce Avolio and Terence Mitchell—are among the top 20 most-cited researchers of all time in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. The field, which covers the scientific study of working and the application of that science to workplace issues, includes 9,000 psychology research scholars.

The ranking, compiled by researchers at George Washington University, tallied the number of times each researcher was cited in I-O psychology textbooks. It also tallied their total number of citations in an array of academic journals, books and press. Avolio and Mitchell each tied at 18th overall.

Bruce Avolio

Avolio is a professor of management and the Mark Pigott Chair in Business Strategic Leadership at the Foster School. He has been cited 10,035 times in all publications and a total of 19 times specifically in I-O psychology research textbooks. As for his role at the Foster School, he has been on the faculty since 2008 and is the founding executive director of the School’s Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking.

Overall, Avolio has published more than 150 articles and 12 books, and is considered one of the world’s foremost experts in transformational and authentic leadership development. He was also named one of the world’s 150 most influential management scholars.

Terence Mitchell

Mitchell is a professor emeritus of management at the Foster School of Business. He has been cited 8,311 times in total across all media and, similar to Avolio, has 19 citations within industrial and organizational psychology research textbooks. Mitchell has been at the Foster School since 1969 and has published more than 120 articles and delivered more than 120 addresses at major professional conferences. He is also the author of more than 40 chapters and four books. Although his biggest achievement may have been the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.

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