MBA Students Organize McDonough Faculty Research Series

Georgetown MBA students in the Student Government Association (SGA) have organized a lunch-and-learn series for fellow students called Research Bites that highlights faculty research. The series runs from September 18 to November 20, with a total of five events.

Each Research Bites event features a distinguished McDonough faculty member, who gives a one-hour presentation about life in academia and what their research means for the world of business.

The series kicked off on September 18 with Associate Professor of Strategy Chris Rider speaking on his research into the effectiveness of the NFL’s Rooney Rule, the policy that requires league teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions. Rider emphasized the importance of having a control group when following up on the effectiveness of an organizational change, a lesson that can be applied across all industries. About 50 students attended the first event.

Other faculty members participating in the series include Debora Thompson, associate professor of marketing; Paul Almeida, dean and William R. Berkley Chair; Jason Schloetzer, associate professor of accounting; and Allison Koester, assistant professor of accounting.

Gabe Nelson (MBA’18), vice president of curriculum for the SGA, wanted to recruit faculty members whom MBA students would already be familiar for the inaugural year of Research Bites. He approached professors who taught core classes and had interesting research experiences.

Nelson hopes that the series will “give students valuable insights that can help their careers in tangible ways” as well as help “build faculty-student relationships.”