Peter F. Sorensen Jr., Ph.D., is professor and director of the Ph.D. in Organization Development (O.D.) program and the Master of Science (M.S.) in Management and Organizational Behavior program at Benedictine University. He was instrumental in developing one of the first master’s-level programs in O.D. in 1967 and one of the first Ph.D. programs in O.D. in 1996. He has authored more than 300 articles, papers and books, including a number of best paper selections. His work has appeared in the Academy of Management Journal, Group and Organization Studies, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Journal of Management Studies, and Organization and Administrative Sciences, among others. In 1996, he was guest editor of a double issue of the OD Practitioner on Appreciative Inquiry. He was the invited guest editor for the first New Millennium issues for both the OD Journal and the OD Practitioner. Sorensen’s most recent books include “Global and International Organization Development” with Thomas Head, Therese Yaeger and David Cooperrider (5th edition), and “Strategic Organization Development: Managing Change for Success” with Yaeger. He has worked with more than 100 organizations including the U.S. Food and Drug Agency, U.S. Steel, DuPage County Health Department, Commonwealth Edison, Abbott Laboratories, Motorola, Scandinavian Air Systems, Novo Nordisk and CNA Insurance. A former chair of the Organization Development and Change Division of the 18,000-member Academy of Management, Sorensen serves on the editorial boards for the OD Journal, the OD Practitioner and the French journal, RSDG (Revue Sciences de Gestion). He has spoken at international conferences in China, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. He was an invited distinguished scholar to the first Academy of Management Conference on Global Change.
In 1993, he received the “Outstanding OD Consultant of the Year Award” from the OD Institute. He is only recipient to receive awards from all three of the major professional associations: the OD Network, the OD Institute and Academy of Management. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Management Consulting Division of the Academy of Management and the Board of Directors for the International Society for Organization Development, and is a member of the OD Education Association for the OD Network. Sorensen earned a Ph.D. in Management from the Stuart School of Management, Illinois Institute of Technology.
Therese F. Yaeger, Ph.D., is Professor in the Ph.D. in Organization Development (O.D.) program and the Master of Science (M.S.) in Management and Organizational Behavior program at Benedictine University. In addition to teaching and conducting research, Yaeger has served in a number of managerial and director roles during a professional career that spans more than 20 years. She has authored numerous papers and articles including 11 books. Her publications include “Global Organization Development: Managing Unprecedented Change” with Peter F. Sorensen and Thomas C. Head (2006), “Assessment of the State of Appreciative Inquiry: Past, Present and Future,” in Woodman and Pasmore’s Research in Organizational Change and Development (Elsevier), and “Strategic Organization Development: Managing Change for Success” with Head and Sorensen (2009).
Since 2006, Yaeger has been editor of the “Contemporary Trends in Organization Development and Change” (Information Age Publishing) series, with six books in the series to date. She has been editorial associate of the OD Journal, an editorial member and guest editor of the OD Practitioner, an editorial board member of Journal of Management Inquiry, and an editorial board member and contributor to Revue Sciences de Gestion/Management Sciences (France) and OD Network’s Seasonings.
Yaeger is the recipient of various awards including the “Distinguished Faculty Award for Research” from Benedictine University in 2011, “ OD Consultant of the Year” from the OD Institute in 2010, “Distinguished Educator Award” from the Southwest Academy of Management in 2010, and “Share the Wealth Award” with Sorensen from the OD Network in 2008. Yaeger has served on the Executive Boards of the Southwest Academy of Management, the Midwest Academy of Management, and the Management Consulting Division of the National Academy of Management. She is now a Past President of the Midwest Academy of Management, and is currently the Division Chair of the Academy of Management’s Management Consulting Division.
