Management PhD alumna honored with Rising Star designation

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Warrington College of Business management Ph.D. alumna and current assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management Le “Betty” Zhou was named an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star.

The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding APS members in the earliest stages of their research career post-Ph.D. Drawing its name from an Observer editorial series that featured exemplars of the exciting work being done by the field’s newest researchers, the designation recognizes researchers whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions.

Rising Star designation recipients are evaluated based on significant publications, recognitions, discoveries, methodological innovations or theoretical or empirical contributions.

“It’s a great honor to be selected by APS for this list,” Zhou said. “It’s a wonderful New Year gift.”

Zhou received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2014. She credits the support she received from her advisor Dr. Mo Wang, Lanzillotti-McKethan Eminent Scholar Chair, Director of the Human Resource Research Center and Chair of the Management Department, and the faculty of the Management Department for helping to develop her academic identity.

“My time at UF Warrington prepared me for my career in academia by developing my research skills and my identity as a researcher, teacher and scholar,” Zhou said. “Among the many wonderful things I remember about Warrington, a strong research climate is something I’m extremely grateful for. This strong climate for research and excellence motivated and supported me when I was a Ph.D. student at UF, and it still inspires me in my faculty job.

“Whenever I get the chance to go back and visit UF, I always feel energized again by the research climate.”

In addition to her role as an assistant professor, Zhou is Lawrence Fellow in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She received her M.S. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in Psychology from Peking University in China. Her research interests include team leadership, self-regulation at work and quantitative research methods. Her work has been published throughout significant journals including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior and Organizational Research Methods. She currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Organizational Behavior and is an elected officer of the Research Methods Division of the Academy of Management (representative-at-large, 2018-2021).