Kathy Lund DeanFaculty

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Ethics and Professor of Management in Business and Economics

Arriving at Gustavus in 2012, I am the inaugural holder of the Board of Trustees Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Ethics, a position uniquely designed to engage external stakeholders with students, faculty, and program opportunities. With the adoption of the Gustavus ACTS Strategic Plan, my role allows me to support three main strategic focus areas:

  • Increase Gustavus’ national and international footprint through scholarship, research-based engagements, and high profile recognitions
  • Increase and broaden career readiness through alumni engagement
  • Increase and deepen opportunities for experiential learning for all students across campus

My scholarship activities include staying active in the Academy of Management and continuing my longstanding engagement with two experiential education journals (the Journal of Management Education and our 'sibling' publication Management Teaching Review). Getting Gustavus' brand recognized outside the United States is the focus of many the responsibilities I accept internationally. I won a Fulbright Specialist role to assist institutions in countries under-represented in academic scholarship. Many nascent countries struggle to get their faculty's research published in mainstream journals. Whole blocs of voices and perspectives are not being shared in academic research, and my Fulbright work aims to help with that ethical inclusion and equity issue. This work allowed me the wonderful opportunity to work with business school colleagues at Rikkyo University in March 2023. I also work with other institutions around the world, such as the University of Canterbury, New Zealand as adjunct professor, and University of St. Andrews in Scotland as honorary professor in the School of Management. Community-engaged scholarship and teaching remain a long-term commitment, and I am thrilled to have been awarded the 2023 Presidents' Civic Engagement Leadership Award for Gustavus, recognized by Iowa & Minnesota Campus Compact. 

My ethics scholarship extends to those of us in faculty positions with a book published in May 2018 (Routledge/Taylor & Francis press) entitled, "The Ethical Professor: A Practical Guide to Research, Teaching and Professional Life." My co-authors Lorraine Eden (Texas A&M) and Paul Vaaler (University of Minnesota) and I collated many of the ethical pitfalls that are common to those in our profession, and we offer a workbook-like way of learning about potential ethical issues, discussing them in community, and creating solutions to preserve ethical integrity as academic professionals. The Chinese language edition of The Ethical Professor has been translated by University of Peking press (2022) and we are engaging with colleagues and newer faculty in China. My co-authored book "Course Design and Assessment" was published in April 2022, from Edward Elgar press. Written as a resource for doctoral students and faculty using engaged learning for the first time, the book reframes learning within experiential theory. My co-authors Nancy Niemi (Framingham State University) and Charles Fornaciari (La Salle University) and I walk educators through essential course planning steps, course running steps, and post-course wrap up and assessment steps. My next book is a practical How-To guide for being an effective editor of a scholarly journal, due out in early 2024 (Edward Elgar press).

Engaging students in learning about investing and markets is also a passion of mine. I am thrilled to partner with Trustees and other investment experts as advisor to bring student members onto the Board of Trustees Investment Committee, a group charged with actively managing Gustavus' endowment. Engaging with the group of professionals sharing their talents to secure Gustavus' financial future is truly a signature experience for students. I also advise the E. Terry Skone Investment Club here on campus, where students work with a mid-six-figure portfolio invested in a variety of positions, learning strategies for diversification and ways of analyzing potential positions. For the first time in 2022, a Gustavus student team competed in the international Southeastern Hedge Fund Competition sponsored by Georgia State University and advised by Gustie alumni who are expert in that field. The Skone Club's mission involves philanthropy and giving back a percentage of the portfolio's value, funding two scholarships for Business & Economics students. This year, FY 2023, the Club contributed $11,400 bringing the total that the Club has returned to Gustavus the past 10 years to about $90,000. 

Teaching the conflict management course and helping others have productive, authentic discussions about difficult topics is one of my passions. Minnesota Nice doesn't always allow for voicing concerns or self-care, and re-framing conflict as a source of relational investment has been transformative for me, students, and those I assist in conflict situations. I am a certified mediator through the National Association of Certified Mediators and a Minnesota Rule 114 qualified neutral, training that deploys a structured, person-centered approach to resolving very difficult issues. I love conflict situations for the possibilities of strengthening relationships and clearing the air that they provide. 

From a background perspective, I grew up in Chicago on the north side. I found my way to Notre Dame for undergraduate studies. My combined major of French and Business allowed me to combine a liberal arts discipline with practical business learning. My Masters degree from Aquinas College, staffed mainly by senior managers across industries, was a revelation for my managerial skill set, as I was a bank manager and a small business owner during that program. I earned my Ph.D. in organizational behavior and ethics from Saint Louis University, where again the liberal arts combination was at play: the OB degree was from the Chaifetz School of Business while the ethics portion of the degree was facilitated within the Philosophy department. My current research projects include how political culture intersects with local leadership practices, how experiential learning activities require special attention to ethical facilitation and educator skills, and what the future of academic careers may hold.

My latest c.v. from September 2023 is attached below.

Education

Ph.D. Organizational Behavior and Ethics, Saint Louis University; Master of Management [M.M.], Aquinas College; B.A., Arts & Letters Program for Administrators [French and Business combo major program], University of Notre Dame [Go Irish]



Courses Taught

E/M-369 (Conflict Management)

Past
Synonym Title Times Taught Terms Taught
E/M-352 Ethics in Business 5 2023/FA, 2022/FA, 2021/FA, 2020/FA, and 2019/FA
E/M-261 Organizational Behavior 5 2023/FA, 2016/SP, 2014/FA, 2014/SP, and 2013/SP
E/M-251 Ethics in Bus & Econ 5 2018/FA, 2017/FA, 2016/FA, 2015/FA, and 2014/FA
E/M-369 Conflict Management 3 2023/SP, 2022/SP, and 2021/SP
E/M-206 Midwest Entrepreneurs 3 2018/JN, 2017/JN, and 2016/JN
E/M-344 ST:Conflict Mgmt 2 2017/SP and 2013/FA
E/M-269 Conflict Management 1 2018/SP
E/M-365 Strategic Management 1 2012/FA