The Jefferson Scholars Foundation recently announced that Dorothy Leidner will join the McIntire School of Commerce as the Leslie H. Goldberg Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professor in Business Ethics, beginning in January 2023.
Leidner, an internationally renowned, award-winning information systems expert, brings more than 30 years of experience teaching and conducting leading-edge research to the Commerce School. Her work focuses on the multifaceted impact of information systems and technologies on individuals, organizations, and society and has been featured in over 60 journal publications, including MIS Quarterly; Information Systems Research; Organization Science; Journal of Management Information Systems; Decision Sciences Journal; and Journal of Strategic Information Systems, among others.
“We are incredibly excited to have a scholar of such prominence joining us at the McIntire School,” says John A. Griffin Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce Nicole Thorne Jenkins. “Her insightful work at the intersection of technology and ethical considerations highlights just how essential it is for us to further incorporate an ethical worldview into our curriculum and research, which supports McIntire’s commitment to use Commerce for the Common Good.”
Leidner has held academic positions at INSEAD, France, and TCU, Ft. Worth, TX, as well as visiting appointments at the University of Lund, Sweden, University of Mannheim, Germany, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland, and SMU, Dallas, TX. Currently, she is completing her appointment as the Ferguson Professor of Information Systems at Baylor University, where she has taught for 20 years and founded the information systems Ph.D. program at the Hankamer School of Business.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dorothy Leidner as our colleague,” says McIntire’s Information Technology & Innovation Area Coordinator Professor Steven L. Johnson. “She is a world-renowned scholar who has contributed foundational research to the field of information systems. Her research interests are highly complementary to ongoing scholarship by our area faculty on how the ethical application of IT can contribute to positive individual, organizational, and societal outcomes.”
With more than $165 million in endowed funds supporting its professorship program, the foundation continues to underscore its commitment to attracting exceptional faculty to UVA. Leidner is the sixth holder of a professorship endowed by the foundation to join the University’s faculty, and active searches are underway for six more chairholders.
“We are pleased to partner with McIntire in order to bring this type of leader to our community,” says Jimmy Wright, President of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.
Leidner’s professorship was funded by Merle Fabian in memory of her brother, Leslie Goldberg (A&S ’50), a UVA alumnus and longtime foundation benefactor. Goldberg, former President of Bowl America, was widely recognized for his exceptional moral compass and ethical decision-making as a business leader. Under his management, Bowl America was rated among the most trustworthy businesses in the country by Forbes magazine.
“It means a lot to me to have business ethics in my professorship title,” Leidner said. “When I started out, my work was all about technology and how it can help business performance. But over time, it has become more about using technology responsibly in a way that protects the individual, the environment, and society.”
At UVA, Leidner will continue to examine information systems, technology, and innovation through an ethical lens, as well as study virtual organizational structure and behavior.
