Grace Augustine
University of Bath School of Management
“Dr. Grace Augustine created an interactive classroom, both inside and outside of lectures, where all questions and opinions were welcomed and respected. The lectures sparked an interest for organisational behaviour thanks to the case studies and thoughtful feedback. It was my most cherished assignment as it gave me freedom to investigate two topics of my choice. This teaching method encouraged each student to do critical and challenging research,, creating a closer relation to the course.” – Sofia Onate Fernandez
Grace Augustine, 39, is Associate Professor in Business & Society at University of Bath School of Management in the United Kingdom. She investigates how social movements spur changes in organizations and has examined the sustainability movement, sustainability professionals, and the movement to establish abortion provision in the U.S.
In 2020, she won the award for the Best Dissertation in the Organizations & the Natural Environment (ONE) Division at the Academy of Management. Grace has published in leading management journals, including The Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, and the Journal of Management Studies. She has also co-authored over 20 published teaching cases, including three that are distributed through Harvard Business School. Her co-authored teaching cases have taken first and third place in the Oikos International Case Competition Corporate Sustainability Track. She has worked with the International Labour Organisation to translate her research on corporate social responsibility and sustainability into practice.
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2022
Education: Ph.D. Joint Program in Management & Organizations and Sociology, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; M.Sc. in Management Research with Distinction, University of Oxford, Saïd Business School & New College, Oxford
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Organisational Behaviour, People and Organisations
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I left consulting to work as a full-time case writer at the University of Michigan. I loved thinking deeply about real-world business problems and bringing them into the classroom to enhance student learning.
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I am currently researching why some people are leaving the oil and gas industry based on concerns about climate change. I find it really fascinating how people can change their minds about issues like this, when it is assumed that these positions are intractable. I often find that we can attribute these changes to the efforts of social movements in changing the norms in society around what organizations or organizational practices are more or less valued, meaningful, or stigmatized.
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be … A print journalist. Both of my parents were English majors and I love writing.
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I know I am not the only one to do this, but I try to make my classes as interactive and timely as possible, using a lot of real-world cases to engage my students. I often write my own cases if there is something in particular I want to bring into the classroom.
One word that describes my first time teaching: Terrifying.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: You have to have such a range of skills to be a professor today. While it’s good to not be stuck in the Ivory tower, we expect business school professors today to be excellent analysts, writers, orators, consultants, entrepreneurs, mentors, and sometimes policy experts. You are constantly trying to improve across this broad range of skills.
Professor I most admire and why: (for their teaching) Leigh Thompson. I had the privilege of working as a teaching assistant for Professor Thompson when I did my PhD at the Kellogg School of Management. She effectively weaves research findings into her classroom, making them relevant and interesting to her Executive MBA and MBA students. Her classes are full of hands-on activities and challenges that encourage experiential learning. She is an inspiration for my teaching.
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I have always had one foot in the real-world and I enjoy the pragmatic nature of business school students. We are challenged as professors to connect everything back to real-world challenges that our students will face in their careers and organizations.
What is most challenging? It is a big transition to take the students who I teach from the educational norms that they are used to – which are primarily based on a system of exams and memorization – to applying critical thinking to real-world problems.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Curious
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Narrow-minded
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as … Fair. I try to make my grading criteria as transparent as possible, but I also value rigorous work. I would hope my grading is seen as fair but also developmental, as I do provide feedback designed to enhance learning for the future (i.e. this essay could have been improved by …).
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? I enjoy running, hiking, and yoga.
How will you spend your summer? Next summer will be a mix of conferences, family vacations, catching up on research projects, and re-grouping for the busy academic year ahead.
Favorite place(s) to vacation: I am trying not to fly as much, which is hard when you live in a country other than where your family are located. I used to be really into travel before COVID – even spending 8 months backpacking in South America! These days, I primarily vacation close to home in the mountains or along the beautiful coastline of Wales.
Favorite book(s): I recently enjoyed Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson and the MaddAdam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. I primarily like dystopic fiction that also has an environmental angle.
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I’m currently watching Ted Lasso for a little light-hearted humor. As I am from the US but live in the UK, I enjoy seeing the cultural characterizations of the North Americans and the Brits.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Unfortunately, I have invested next to no time in my life to developing a reasonable level of taste in music, so I always rely on my younger brother to keep me in the loop.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this … Would invest more in critical thinking and problem solving in our teaching. I have been lucky to teach both subjects and I can see why they are necessary in a complex and ever-evolving world where most business problems cannot be solved by applying a known formula.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … Recognizing that employees increasingly want to have greater meaning at work and expect their employers to also embrace a greater sense of purpose in their actions.
I’m grateful for … I am actually truly grateful that I have a job as a university professor. I know that there are a lot of valid complaints about working in academia, and some of these concerns put me off going for a PhD until I tried many other careers first (consultant, case writer, social enterprise director, etc.). However, I can say hands down that this is the best job I have ever had.
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