Jon Carr Appointed to Prestigious Role With Academy of Management

By Lea Hart

Jon Carr, Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Poole College of Management’s Department of Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, was recently named Entrepreneurship Division Chair for the Academy of Management.

With roughly 18,000 members in 120 countries, the Academy of Management was founded in 1936 and is the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars, according to the organization’s website.

Carr is the first faculty member from the Poole College of Management to hold such a role.

“It’s an honor to me, personally and professionally,” he said. “I’m humbled by the fact that the membership was willing to support me.”

The Academy of Management is made up of a collection of divisions and interest groups, such as the Entrepreneurship Division which has more than 3,500 members. Academy of Management participants can be part of one division or several, based on their areas of focus and research.

The Entrepreneurship Division is relatively new, Carr said, but is currently the fourth largest division within the Academy of Management.

As division chair, he’ll manage and implement strategic steps to grow the reach and impact of the Entrepreneurship Division. He’ll work through current policies and procedures to find ways to better serve the membership, along with finding ways to serve interested parties outside of the organization. Among his goals, for example, is the implementation of a robust mentorship program for junior faculty.

His appointment to division chair is a one-year term that’s part of a five-year leadership track for members within the organization. In Carr’s first role in that track he served as professional development workshop chair. His current role as division chair is the last position in the leadership track, prior to a past chair role which follows when he moves on from his current duties in August 2024.

“The leadership track is a huge commitment, but it’s an honor and it’s something that provides great visibility for Poole College and NC State,” he said.

Carr became a member of the Academy of Management more than two decades ago. He said the experience impacted his professional life in many ways, providing him a network of colleagues with whom he can discuss research ideas, as well as a home for professional development and idea-sharing that he uses in his teaching and research within the Poole College.

His membership and leadership roles there impact Poole and its students as well, he said. It raises the visibility of the college across a global network and gives Poole and NC State a voice in a large global organization.

It’s also a place for scholars to learn from each other, and Carr regularly brings ideas in teaching and research back to campus to put to use. He’s learned from other schools how they organize their curriculum, and colleagues share ideas that are helpful for classroom instruction, for example.

“Many things we do at NC State are world-class,” he said. “There are also things happening out there that we haven’t thought of yet, and our students can benefit from these shared ideas.”

It’s an opportunity as well for Carr to highlight successes at Poole to others around the world.

“The Poole College has always had a great reputation, in particular in the entrepreneurship space,” he said. “This leadership role is another way in which Poole can showcase our approaches and our leadership.”