Academy of Management inductee Linda Putnam establishes award for organizational research scholars

A pioneering and career-long scholar in the field of organizational communication and the science of negotiation and conflict management, UC Santa Barbara’s Linda Putnam will be inducted as a fellow into the Academy of Management.

As part of the academy’s Fellows Group, Putnam’s responsibilities — among other leadership roles — will include recognizing future scholars for their significant contributions to the field. She is also the co-founder and former chair of the academy’s Conflict Management Division and former member of its Board of Governors. In 2011, she received the organization’s Distinguished Service Award. Putnam was one of 13 fellows selected this year; they will be inducted Aug. 11 at the organization’s annual conference in Chicago.

Also this summer, Putnam established a fund to build an endowment for the Putnam Interdisciplinary Scholar Award, a $500 annual honorarium to support communication graduate students involved in interdisciplinary research, including conference presentations and publications in journals outside the field.

The endowment aims to encourage and recognize cross-disciplinary collaborations, Putnam said. “In my own doctoral work, I was fortunate to work closely with professors in management and psychology with whom I published and who served on my doctoral committee. These bonds influenced the interdisciplinary outreach for my career and motivated me to establish this award at UCSB.”