Maria Gondo Berns is an Associate Professor of Management. She serves as the Management Doctoral Program Coordinator. Maria earned her Ph.D. from the University of Memphis in 2009, where she majored in Strategic Management. She teaches doctoral courses in organizational theory, MBA courses in strategic management, and undergraduate courses in strategic management and entrepreneurial strategy and modeling.
Maria’s research focuses on organizational and institutional change, with an emphasis on process. Her research has been published in leading academic journals, such as Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of International Business.
Richard J. Gentry is the holder of the Founder’s Chair of Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Management at the University of Mississippi. Rich earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2006. Rich also holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering (with honors) from the University of Florida. Before abandoning industry, he worked in manufacturing roles for Ford Motor Corporation and Asea Brown Boveri.
Focusing on organizational innovation, corporate governance, and small business, he has published academic research in the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Management Studies, Strategic Organization, and Journal of Business Research. In the popular press, his work has twice been highlighted in the Harvard Business Review along with Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.
Tony Ammeter holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and the Department of Management Information Systems in the School of Business Administration. His research intersects organizational behavior issues, including leadership, political skill, trust, and accountability, and the management of technology and technical workers. He has published in leading journals such as Information Systems Research, the Journal of Management, the Leadership Quarterly, Information & Management, Group and Organization Management, the Academy of Management Learning & Education, and the Journal of Business Ethics.
John Berns has taught Corporate Innovation (ENT 446), Management of Strategic Planning (MGMT 493), and Principles of Management (MGMT 371). In his courses, he challenges students to further develop their business knowledge, critical thinking skills, and communication ability in order to effectively understand and evaluate real-world business situations.
His research focuses on entrepreneurship and strategy. His work has been published top-tier publications including Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Group and Organization Management, and Venture Capital, among others.
Kristin Cullen-Lester is an Assistant Professor of Management at The University of Mississippi. She earned her Ph.D. from Auburn University in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She worked as a research scientist and consultant at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top global provider of executive education, before returning to academia.
Her research focuses on relational aspects of leadership, including leaders’ social networks and the role of organizational networks in collective leadership, complex collaboration, and strategic, large-scale change. This work aims to improve leadership effectiveness by advancing the assessment and development of leaders and leadership systems. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Academy of Management and is published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Management, The Leadership Quarterly, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
Walter D. Davis is Professor of Management, Faculty Director of MBA Programs, and Wm. W. Gresham Entrepreneurial Professor at The University of Mississippi. He earned his Ph.D. in Management from The Georgia Institute of Technology. He teaches MBA and Professional MBA courses in organizational behavior, doctoral courses in human resource management, and undergraduate courses in entrepreneurial leadership, strategic management, and advanced human resource management. He received the Outstanding Campus MBA Professor Award in 2021.
Professor Davis conducts research focusing on entrepreneurial leaning, innovative employee work behavior, goal orientation, and corporate social responsibility. His research has been funded by the U.S. Army Research Institute and the Office of Naval Research, and has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Management, Leadership Quarterly, Group and Organization Management, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Performance, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and Family Business Review.
Paul D. Johnson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi in the Department of Management. He received his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. His research focuses on a multilevel framework integrating motivation processes with innovation and creativity. His work has appeared in The Journal of Management, The Journal of Applied Psychology, and The Journal of Organizational Behavior, among others. He represented Ole Miss in the SEC Leadership Development Program in 2019-2020.
