Management PhD student wins outstanding reviewer award

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Warrington management Ph.D. student Jake Gale is among the awardees of the Outstanding Reviewer Award from the Academy of Management’s Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) Division.

The MOC Outstanding Reviewer Award is presented to researchers who have provided the highest-quality reviews of competitive paper submissions in the managerial and organizational cognition division as part of the annual Academy of Management Conference.

“This is the largest annual management conference, and I complete reviews of submissions for it every year,” Gale said. “This award feels validating as a conveyance of improvement in my reviews over time.”

Gale notes that his training at the University of Florida has well prepared him for the work he’ll be doing once he completes his degree and enters his career in academia, like reviewing research papers for journals.

“My Ph.D. has been, for lack of better terms, awesome,” Gale said. “From the start, I have been working on research projects, have had relevant coursework to incorporate up-to-date methodologies and study designs to answer research questions, and am surrounded by smart, driven faculty and students who all have similar career goals.”

Beyond his classes and research projects, Gale notes that his advisor Amir Erez, W.A. McGriff, III Professor, has played a significant role in his development as an academic researcher.

“[Amir’s] work on rudeness and his experimental designs are what brought me to UF and working with him daily has been fantastic,” Gale said. “I’ve learned so much about designing studies with him, and together I think we have made some cool study designs that uniquely answer important management research questions. Talking to him daily has been the best part of my job, and he had/has a huge role in my career development in terms of research interest, study design, and the types of research questions we seek to answer.”

Erez notes that it’s unusual for a student to receive the Outstanding Reviewer Award, but not at all surprising that Gale is the recipient, as he is “a model of an exceptional Ph.D. student.” While Gale initially impressed Erez with his high intelligence, critical thinking and exceptional creativity, Gale’s high motivation and eagerness to learn is what sets him apart.  

“After joining our program, Jake quickly developed important skills such as the ability to design brilliant studies, analyzing sophisticated data, and developing interesting and important theories,” Erez said. “All these skills are also essential in critically reviewing academic papers and clearly, as recognized by the award committee, Jake used them very effectively in reviewing papers for the Academy of Management conference.”

Gale is in his fifth year of study in Warrington’s management department. His current research is focused on what happens when employees are met with unexpected events.

“For example, one of my current studies deals with morning commute stress and how it spills over into the workday, influencing social interactions at work,” he said.

Additionally, Gale is working on research projects that study how employees restored feelings of control over time at the onset of the pandemic when social distancing protocols were put in place as well as how rudeness towards work teams affects team performance and coordination with one another.

In addition to his research, Gale has taught the introductory course for organizational behavior for two spring semesters.

Upon his expected graduation in the spring of 2023, Gale will join Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business – Indianapolis, where he received his bachelor’s degree, as an assistant professor. Gale attributes much of his success with attaining a faculty position to the faculty and resources in the management department at UF.

“Students are not just dropped once they begin applying for jobs,” he said. “UF’s management department is hands-on when it comes to preparation for the job market, and every faculty member expresses willingness to help you prepare, whether sending materials they have used, or listening to your presentation and providing feedback. Overall, the training at UF is better than I ever could have expected upon arrival.”