Leading through the COVID-19 pandemic is among the research interests of an internationally recognized expert in leadership and organizational behaviour named the Lang Chair in Leadership at the University of Guelph.
Dr. Laurie Barclay joined the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics on July 1. Prior to Lang, Barclay had been a professor in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.
Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Barclay studies how leaders and employees experience and negotiate fairness issues in the workplace. As part of an international team of collaborators, she is examining how leaders can effectively manage fairness issues that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Providing evidence-based solutions that leaders and companies can actually use locally and around the world is critical for enhancing employee and organizational effectiveness as well as building resilient workforces that can succeed in these turbulent times,” said Barclay.
“I am so thrilled to join Lang at such an exciting time,” she said. “The Lang School’s momentum is incredible. I am honoured to join this amazing community and to contribute to Lang’s vision of developing and inspiring leaders to use business as a force for good.”
Barclay studies fairness issues in the workplace
Her award-winning research has been supported by prestigious grants including the Ontario Early Researcher Award and multiple SSHRC grants. Her work has been published in leading journals, including the Academy of Management Annals, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Barclay is an associate editor for the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
“I am extremely pleased that Dr. Barclay will be joining us,” said Dr. Lysa Porth, dean of the Lang School. “I am confident she will contribute to the research excellence of Lang with her successful track record of consistently publishing in top journals and obtaining SSHRC funding.
“Dr. Barclay’s experience in graduate student mentorship will help Lang attract and retain top talent from across Canada and beyond.”
An enthusiastic teacher and mentor, Barclay has trained graduate students around the world. She has received multiple teaching awards and commendations, including the Alumni Award of Excellence for Mentoring at Wilfrid Laurier University. She received her PhD from the University of British Columbia.
Barclay is the third of four research chairs slated to be hired by the Lang School. She joins Dr. Ann Pegoraro, appointed as the Lang Chair in Sport Management, and Dr. Ilias Tsiakas, Lang Chair in Finance.
The chairs are intended to advance Lang’s position as a globally focused business school dedicated to improving life through purpose-driven management education.
Chair funding is supported by a $21-million gift from Stu and Kim Lang in 2019. U of G’s business school is named for Stu’s late father, Gordon S. Lang, who founded CCL Industries, the world’s largest label manufacturer.