Each year, the Organizations and Natural Environment Division of the Academy of Management, or ONE, presents awards to individuals who have made an outstanding impact on the fields of management and sustainability. The most prestigious is awarded for breakthrough developments in research and thought leadership. This year’s winner of the ONE Distinguished Scholar Award was Michael Russo, Lundquist Professor of Sustainable Management and academic director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices.
“I am flattered and deeply grateful to have been chosen for this award,” Russo said. “As I look back over my 40-year career in academics and professional practice, it is wonderful to be recognized for the many years I have devoted to establishing and legitimizing this field of study.”
Russo was selected for the award on the strength of his corpus of research. Notable research in his resume includes the publication of numerous papers in the world’s finest management journals. Their subjects include sustainability and profitability, the emergence of the alternative energy field, and entrepreneurship and sustainability.
“The paper that’s been cited the most found a positive connection between environmental performance and profitability. It addressed an important question, and helped stimulate many subsequent studies. It also had a notable impact on practice, helping to legitimize the socially responsible investment field” he said.
In all, his research has been cited in more than 8000 subsequent scholarly articles, according to Google Scholar.
Russo also earned the award through teaching—his career includes supporting the launch of the Sustainable Business Practices MBA concentration at the University of Oregon in 2007, and the publication of a number of teaching cases which have won global awards.
“We have a major leadership position in this area. If you look at what a student at the Lundquist College can accomplish here at the graduate and, increasingly, the undergraduate level, we deliver a terrific, broad set of courses in sustainable business,” Russo said.
Additionally, Russo has made significant contributions to the fields of sustainability and management through service. This has led to his appointment as the incoming editor of Organization & Environment. He also served for many years on the editorial boards of two premier research outlets, the Academy of Management Journal and Strategic Management Journal.
Bringing the Distinguished Scholar Award home to the UO is an honor, not just for Russo, but for the entire institution. It is validation for the hard work and vision required to position the university as a leader in the fields of sustainability and management. Russo is particularly proud of the many links that have been forged between the Lundquist College and other campus units. These have led to a number of research and teaching initiatives.
Russo was presented the award in August at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Boston. He is only the sixth recipient of the award, joining elite company from esteemed institutions such as Cornell, Dartmouth, and the University of Michigan.
—William Kennedy