Just announced: Dr. Charleen Case is the first prof awarded our Junior Faculty Fellowship

by | Oct 30, 2020 | Sanger News

The Sanger Leadership Center is excited to announce that Charleen R. Case, assistant professor of management and organizations at Michigan Ross and member of our faculty champions board, has been awarded our Junior Faculty Fellowship. The fellowship provides summer funding plus an additional $5,000 of research support to fund projects related to the Center’s mission of leadership development.

The selection committee applauded Dr. Case’s significant contributions in the areas of leadership and influence, as well as service to the Center during programs such as Full-Time MBA Orientation.

Dr. Case has been with Michigan Ross since 2017, after obtaining her Ph.D. in social psychology from Florida State University. She teaches in both the MBA and BBA programs. Dr. Case’s highly-rated courses include Leadership Development, Leadership in Organizations, and Behavioral Theory in Management.

A passionate researcher, Dr. Case is the author or co-author of numerous published papers, with nearly a half-dozen studies currently in progress. Her most recent work has looked into prestige-oriented leaders and how their desire to be liked impacts the decisions they make and the relationships they form. Forthcoming in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology this year, Dr. Case’s latest study shows that prestige-oriented leaders become hypervigilant to social cues when they must provide their followers with critical feedback.1 A slight smile, for example, may be perceived as disingenuous and a neutral expression may be interpreted as concealing disapproval. In anticipation of their followers’ presumed negative responses to critical feedback, these leaders may seek to strengthen their social relationships in order to avoid losing the support of the group.

“We’re thrilled to present Sanger’s first Junior Faculty Fellowship to Dr. Case,” said Lindy Greer, Sanger faculty director and associate professor of management and organizations. “She is making an incredible impact in the fields of leadership and influence with both her research and her teaching. The rigor of her research is impressive, as is her dedication to supporting and developing the leadership of our students. We are fortunate to have her at Ross!”

Be on the lookout for a follow-up blog with Professor Case later this year, where we will talk to her about her current projects, her teaching during the pandemic, and her best tips for being a better leader.


 

  1. Case, C.R., Bae, K.K., Larsen, K.T., & Maner, J.K. (Forthcoming). The precautious nature of prestige: When leaders are hypervigilant to subtle signs of social disapproval. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

In the News: Dr. Case’s Recent Research