Scholars in Residence

Every two years the CM Division nominates and selects a few distinguished scholars to be our Scholars in Residence. In this role, they advise the executive board and create events to mentor doctoral students and junior faculty, and to help with idea generation and development of conference-related activities.

Our 2021-2023 Inaugural Scholars in Residence:

Ariel Avgar
David M. Cohen Professor of Labor Relations, Law, and History
Ariel-Avgar.jpgAriel Avgar is a Professor at the ILR School at Cornell University and Senior Associate Dean for Outreach and Sponsored Research. His research focuses on two primary areas within employment relations. First, he explores the role that employment relations factors play in the healthcare industry. As such, he examines the effects of a variety of workplace innovations, including new technology, delivery of care models, and innovative work practices, on patients, frontline employees, and organizational performance. Second, he studies conflict and its management in organizations with a focus on the strategic choices made by firms. He seeks to better understand the consequences of conflict for employees and employers. In addition, his research investigates the adoption and implementation of organizational level conflict management practices and systems. His research has been published in a number of journals including: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, International Journal of Conflict Management, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Negotiation and Conflict Management Review, Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Health Services Research and Medical Care. He received the 2008 Best Dissertation Award and the 2013 John T. Dunlop Scholar Award, both from the Labor and Employment Relations Association and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the association. His paper (with Eric J. Neuman) titled "Blind spots and mirages: A dyadic approach to the study of team conflict" received the 2012 Best Paper: New Directions Award from the Academy of Management Conflict Management Division. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the ILR School at Cornell University and a B.A. in Sociology and an LL.B in Law from Hebrew University. He served as Law Clerk for the President of the Israeli National Labor Court before being admitted into the Israeli Bar. Prior to joining ILR, he was an associate professor (2014-2016) and assistant professor (2008-2014) at the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mara Olekalns
Professsor of Negotiations
Mara-OlekalnsAfter completing her PhD at the University of Adelaide, Mara worked at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Management and Industrial Relations and the University of Otago’s Department of Psychology. She has also held management and research positions at the Department of Employment, Education and Training, the Office of the Public Service Board and the National Police Research Unit in the Department of Special Minister of State. Mara’s research focuses on relational resilience and adversity in negotiation, and covers topics such as adversity and relational resilience, micro-ethical judgements, trust violations and trust repair, subjective value in negotiation, gender differences. Her research has been published in leading international journals, including in the Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics and Academy of Management Journal. She is Past President of the International Association of Conflict Management, and a Past Chair of the Academy of Management's Conflict Management Division. She is Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and a Fellow of the International Association for Conflict Management. Mara teaches Negotiations in the Executive and Senior Executive MBA programmes.
Richard Posthuma
Professsor of Marketing, Management, and Supply Chain
Richard PostumaDr. Richard A. Posthuma is a Professor of Management. He earned his Master's degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University in 1977; his J.D., cum laude, from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1992; and his Ph.D. from the Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue University in 1999. He has worked for many years in Human Resource Management, Labor Relations, and Law in both the private and public sectors in union and nonunion settings.

His teaching interests include Human Resource Management, Negotiation, Employee Relations, and Employment Law. He conducts and publishes research in both domestic and international settings related to employee staffing (recruiting, selection, and turnover), conflict management, and legal institutions.