Ph.D., Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Master of Science, Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Post Graduate Certificate, Food Management, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Biochemistry, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Bachelor of Science (Honors), Biochemistry with Chemistry, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Robert M. Yawson, Ph.D., is Dean and Professor of Business Administration at the School of Business and Professional Studies at Truman State University. An award-winning scholar and academic leader, he has more than 13 years of progressive higher education leadership experience, including service as dean, department chair, Faculty Senate chair, program director, and member of a university Board of Trustees.
Prior to joining Truman State University, he was a Tenured Professor of Management at the School of Business, Quinnipiac University, CT. He held the William S. Perlroth Endowed Professorship in Business. He chaired the Entrepreneurship, International Business and Strategy Department and was also the Faculty Director of the Master of Science in the Organization Leadership program. He was the AACSB Graduate Programs Assessment Coordinator for six years (2014 - 2020). Robert received the prestigious Center for Excellence in Teaching Award in 2018. He was named the 2018 Faculty Scholar of the Year and the 2020 recipient of the James Marshall Award for Service. He was a part-time faculty member and a Professor of Leadership and Organizational Studies at the University of Southern Maine. Robert was also a part-time faculty member at Providence College, RI.
He worked as a Quality Control Officer of S. C. Johnson Wax (Ghana) Ltd.; as General Manager of Animens Industries Limited, Ghana; as Scientific Secretary, and later as Head of Administration (HR) of the Food Research Institute (FRI), Ghana; a Research Analyst for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota; Instructor at the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota; and a Senior Research Fellow with the International Consulting firm, Partners for Change. Robert has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and has worked on several multilateral and bilateral projects in Africa. As a Research Analyst for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, Robert worked with a team of Consultants from Deloitte, LLC on the Destination 2025 project: a state-wide 20-year visioning initiative and roadmap to help give clarity to the nature and timing of investments that are needed for Minnesota to sustain a long-term competitive position in the biosciences industry.
Robert is a Fellow and President-Elect of the Eastern Academy of Management. Robert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Organization Management Journal. He has served as Editor of the Business and Management Section for SAGE Open, as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Business and Systems Research and as an Associate Editor of the Human Resource Development Quarterly. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of the following journals: Human Resource Development Review, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Advances in Developing Human Resources, and Industrial and Commercial Training. He has served as the Track Chair Editor of the Organization Development and Change Track at the 2015 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Research Conference in the Americas, as the Associate Proceedings Editor of the 2016 Conference, the Proceedings Editor of the 2017 Conference, and Program Chair of the 2018 Conference. Robert was the Track Chair Editor of the Business Strategy Track at the 54th Annual Eastern Academy of Management Conference in 2017 and the Track Chair Editor for the Leadership Track the 56th Annual Conference in 2019. Robert has also been an Associate Editor for the Social Issues in Management Division of the AOM Annual Meetings since 2017.
Robert is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences and several other professional bodies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS). Robert served on the Academy of Human Resource Development Board of Directors from February 2018 to February 2021. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Eastern Academy of Management from May 2019 to May 2022 and served on the Executive Committee of the Academy of Management's Public and Nonprofit Division, where he chaired the 2019 Best Book Award Committee. He also served on the AHRD Wayne R. Pace Book of the Year Committee from 2014 to 2021. In 2015, Robert served as a Grant Applications Reviewer for the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space.
Robert has over 160 publications, including peer-reviewed papers in several leading academic journals. His current research examines organizational effectiveness through the wicked problem construct, systems approaches to human resource development, AI-augmented leadership, nested complexity, and workforce development for emerging technologies.