Welcome to the Center for Positive Organizations!

October 18, 2013

By Janet Max

We are excited to share with our community the news that we have changed our name from Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship to Center for Positive Organizations.  The new name is a reflection of our aspiration to build on our foundation of rigorous, empirical research in the field of positive organizational scholarship (POS) and expand our impact through events, education programs, corporate partnerships, research-in-action teaching tools, and as the hub for information about POS.  At the Center for Positive Organizations, our mission is to undertake and spread the science of building high-performing organizations that bring out the best in people.  According to Gretchen Spreitzer, co-faculty director of the Center with Bob Quinn, “This name change captures the essence of who we are—scholars who seek to make a positive difference in the world.  While scholarship remains our foundation, our new name points to our desire to make a positive difference through our teaching, practice, and tools.” Gretchen has been a member of the Center for 10 years, and has also served as the area chair for Management & Organizations, and as co-director of the Ross Leadership Initiative.

Managing Director Chris White noted, “Jane Dutton, Bob Quinn, and Kim Cameron created the field of positive organizational scholarship more than a decade ago, and in those first years, the Center focused on laying the groundwork for the field primarily through conducting research and fostering the community of POS scholars that now flourishes throughout the world.  We have entered the next phase of the Center’s development, and we are excited to update our name to reflect our expanded mission.”  Chris joined the Center in early 2012, and has been leading and consulting to purpose-driven organizations for more than 15 years; he is an MBA alumnus of the Ross School.  He joins Co-Faculty Directors Bob Quinn and Gretchen Spreitzer as the Executive Committee of the Center.

We also recently relocated on the campus of the Ross School to space that can accommodate the increasing number of individuals now contributing to the life of the Center, and better accommodates our commitment to the innovative workplace practices that POS research highlights, including co-working and flexible environments.  Core staff members now include Betsy Erwin (Education Lead), Genel Frye (Events and Finance Lead), Janet Max (Communications Lead), Dana Sosnowski (Products Lead), and Chris White (Managing Director).  They are joined by more than 50 students working on a variety of projects as Positive Organizations Fellows in the +LAB.

In addition to changing our name to the Center for Positive Organizations, we have also launched a new website, https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/, and we have expanded our social media presence with a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CenterForPositiveOrganizations and Twitter feed https://twitter.com/PositiveOrg.  Please join us on these mediums, and be part of the conversation!   If you are in the area of the Ross School and would like to visit the Center, please email us at positiveorg@umich.edu or call (734) 647-8154.