Call for Award Nominations

Career awards · Call for nominations

Each year we open nominations for the OB Division's career awards, our community's way of honoring scholars whose work embodies what our 6,000+ members across 60+ countries value most: rigor, relevance, and relationships.

Read each award's purpose, eligibility, and required materials below before you submit.

2026 cycle closed

Nominations for the 2026 career awards are now closed, and the recipients have been announced.

Congratulations to our 2026 honorees: Linda K. Treviño (Lifetime Achievement), Michael D. Baer (Early- to Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement), Katherine L. Milkman (Mentorship), and Dolly Chugh (Societal Impact). Nominations for the next cycle will open [PLACEHOLDER — confirm 2027 cycle open date]; the information below describes the process so you can prepare.

When nominations open, you may nominate a colleague or yourself for any of the four career awards below. Please keep nominations as succinct as possible and follow each award's submission instructions. Doing so helps ensure we do not place an unnecessary burden on the volunteers who serve on our awards committees. These volunteers are not members of the OB Executive Committee, and we are deeply grateful for the time and care they devote to this work.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Established in 2005, the OB Division's highest career honor recognizes senior scholars who have made exceptional contributions to the discipline throughout their careers. To be eligible, an individual must have completed their PhD (or finished their training) at least twenty years ago and must be a truly outstanding scholar who has published in the very best journals and conducted research with significant impact on the field. Recipients have also contributed through service, for example as editors of leading journals, in leadership positions with the Division or the Academy, and as exceptional teachers and mentors. The winner is required to attend the annual conference and present in the same year they receive the award.

Nomination package

1. A nomination letter by an OB Division member (self-nominations are welcome).
2. A current Curriculum Vitae (CV).
3. A maximum of three letters of support (no more than three).
4. Confirmation that the nominated individual is a member of the OB Division.
5. Confirmation from the nominee that, if they win, they will attend and present at the upcoming AOM conference.

Submit a nomination [PLACEHOLDER — confirm nomination form / mailto link]

Early- to Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement Award

Formerly the Cummings Award, this award recognizes significant scholarly achievement during the early- to mid-career stage. The winner is announced at the Academy of Management conference. To be eligible, an individual must be a member of the OB Division and must have received their PhD no more than 12 years ago.

Nomination package

• A nomination letter by an OB Division member (self-nominations are welcome).
• A current Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• A maximum of three letters of support (no more than three).
• Confirmation that the nominated individual is a member of the OB Division.

Submit a nomination [PLACEHOLDER — confirm nomination form / mailto link]

Mentorship Award

Recognizes a scholar who has excelled at mentoring others in achieving their career objectives through moral, social, and intellectual support:

• Intellectual support: helping the mentee develop ideas constructively (brainstorming, offering a sounding board, suggesting a diverse perspective, providing written feedback), investing one's intellectual capital in the service of mentees.
• Social support: helping the mentee build a professional network (introductions, reference letters, suggesting them as coauthors, reviewers, or editors), investing one's social capital in the service of mentees.
• Personal support: genuinely caring about the wellbeing and development of the mentee (encouragement through difficult times, helping maintain self-efficacy, providing perspective or specific career strategies), investing one's personal energy in the service of mentees.

Any member of the OB Division is eligible. This award is not meant to recognize research productivity, advocacy, or longevity in the field, but rather a scholar who has an impactful effect on other scholars through outstanding mentorship. To be eligible, the person needs a minimum of three mentees willing to write a nomination letter. Based on the letters received, an emerging artist, mentored by a more senior artist, develops a personalized piece of art representing the award winner as a mentor. The winner is announced at the Academy of Management conference.

Nomination package

1. A letter of nomination identifying the candidate, the individual(s) making the nomination, and a short motivation for why this person is being nominated (one page, single spaced).
2. As supporting evidence, three nominators each write a supporting letter (one page, single spaced) about how this mentor has impacted their development, career, and life. These letters are used as input for the artist crafting the award. A minimum of three and a maximum of ten letters per nominee; nominations are accepted from all OB Division members.
3. If you nominated a candidate in a prior year who was not successful, you will need to resubmit the nomination materials this year.

Submit a nomination [PLACEHOLDER — confirm nomination form / mailto link]

Societal Impact Award

Scholarly work with societal impact is both scientifically credible and valuable to society; it produces societally beneficial knowledge that aims to make the world a better place. This work often addresses, but is not limited to, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, for example health and well-being, income and social inequality, and environmental preservation. The award recognizes a body of work rather than a single conference submission or published article, given that scholarship addressing grand societal problems often unfolds over many years. The work may appear in traditional research outlets, but can also be evidenced in monographs, policy papers, books, curriculum, or interventions. The winner is announced at the Academy of Management conference.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the scholar's work must:

1. Use organizational behavior knowledge to address problems that relate to timely and critical societal challenges in the business, economic, societal, or environmental spheres.
2. Demonstrate strong credibility through rigorous methods, analysis, and/or application.
3. Inform and provide actionable insights for policies or practices to improve the wellbeing and performance of people (employees, managers, customers, suppliers), organizations, and/or societies.

Nomination package

[PLACEHOLDER — confirm required nomination materials for the Societal Impact Award (the prior page listed eligibility but no materials list).]

Submit a nomination [PLACEHOLDER — confirm nomination form / mailto link]