26 May 2023

Harvard Business School Professors Win Wyss Awards for Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students

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BOSTON—Two Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty members, Professor Michael Norton and Associate Professor Alison Wood Brooks, have been awarded Wyss Awards for Excellence in Mentoring. Now in its 15th year, the Wyss Awards winners are chosen by Doctoral students for their work in the Doctoral Programs.

Additionally, senior faculty member Feng Zhu, MBA Class of 1958 Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and junior faculty member Alexandra Feldberg, assistant professor in business administration, have been selected as the runners-up for the outstanding nominations they received.

The winners and runners-up were selected from a pool of more than 23 faculty nominees. In keeping with tradition, the main advisors of the selection committee chairs and award winners of the past five years were excluded from consideration.

Professor Michael Norton

Michael I. Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration, a member of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Group, and the head of the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit. His research focuses on behavioral economics and well-being.

“I've worked with Mike on so many projects that we've hit all stages of the research process. My favorite is brainstorming ideas with him,” one student said about Norton. “I'm most grateful for the time he's willing to spend with me to brainstorm studies and he also pushes me to get creative with methods and ideas, which helped me down the path I am currently on.”

Associate Professor Alison Wood Brooks

Alison Wood Brooks is the O’Brien Associate Professor of Business Administration and Hellman Faculty Fellow I the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit. Her research examines people’s conversational behavior and the psychology that underlies it.

“Working with Alison has been an absolute game-changer for me. From the moment I began my doctoral program, she put me on projects that had a high chance of being published, ensuring that I would be competitive in the crazy academic job market,” one student commented. “She supported my original ideas, including consulting me on my solo-authored projects. Alison provided me with the resources and guidance I needed from day one.”

The Wyss Awards are named in honor of Hansjoerg Wyss (MBA 1965) who, in 2004, established the Hansjoerg Wyss Endowment for Doctoral Education. The Wyss Endowment supports a broad range of efforts to strengthen the HBS Doctoral Programs, including fellowships and stipends for doctoral students, increased support for field research, new doctoral course development, teaching skills training, and the renovation of doctoral facilities on campus.

Contacts

Mark Cautela
mcautela+hbs.edu
617-365-9547

About Harvard Business School

Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 250 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and PhD degrees, as well as more than 175 Executive Education programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching, to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The School and its curriculum attract the boldest thinkers and the most collaborative learners who will go on to shape the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.