Lauren Rivera
Peter G. Peterson Professor of Corporate Ethics, Professor of Management & Organizations
Professor of Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences (Courtesy)
Lauren Rivera is the Peter G. Peterson Chair in Corporate Ethics and Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Her research unpacks how the way people define and evaluate merit shapes social inequalities. Her best-selling book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs (Princeton University Press) investigates on-campus recruitment and hiring for elite professional service firms and the roles that social class, gender, and race play in this process. She is currently working on a variety of projects examining discrimination in education and employment. Dr. Rivera’s research has been featured in the Atlantic, Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR and has received a variety of awards from the American Sociological Association. She was named one of the world’s top business school professors by Poets & Quants and Thinkers50. She received her B.A. in sociology and psychology from Yale University and her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University. Before entering academia, she worked at Evite.com and Leo Burnett Hispanic, and was a Consultant at Monitor Group London.
- Hiring
- discrimination
- inequality
- personnel practices
- organizations
- elites
- social class
- gender
- education
- qualitative and mixed methods
- Leadership
- workplace diversity
- hiring
- decision-making
- influence
- teams
- qualitative and mixed methods
-
-
-
PhD, 2009, Sociology, Harvard University
AM, 2006, Sociology, Harvard University
BA, 2000, Sociology and Psychology, Yale University, Magna cum laude, distinction in both majors -
Professor, Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2020-present
Associate Professor, Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (on leave AY 15-16), 2013-present
Assistant Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2009-2013 -
Consultant, Monitor Group, 2000-2002
-
Chair's Core Course Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg Chairs' Core Course Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2021
Saroj Parasuraman Award (Runner-Up), Academy of Management
Granovetter Award for the Best Article in Economic Sociology, American Sociological Association, 2020
Distinguished Article Prize, American Sociological Association, Section on Sex & Gender, 2017
Best Book Award, American Sociological Association, Section on Sociology of Law, 2016
Outstanding Article Prize, American Sociological Association, Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility, 2016
Max Weber Book Prize, American Sociological Association, Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work, 2016
Mary Douglas Book Prize, American Sociological Association, Section on Culture, 2016
William Julius Wilson Early Career Award, American Sociological Association, Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility, 2016
Thinkers50 - Most Influential Management Thinkers, www.thinkers50.com, 2016
Axiom Business Books Silver Medal, Axiom Business Books, 2016
Named one of the world's best business school professors under 40, Poets and Quants, 2015
Best Paper Prize, The Davis Conference on Qualitative Research, 2014
Kellogg Chairs' Core Course Teaching Award, 2013-2014
Granovetter Award for the Best Article in Economic Sociology, American Sociological Association, 2013
Geertz Award for the Best Article in the Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association, 2013
Best Paper Proceedings, Academy of Management, 2011 -
Referee, Sociology of Education, 2009-2025
Editorial Board, American Sociological Review, 2021-2024
Editorial Board, Research in the Sociology of Work, 2017-2020
Editorial Board, Sociology of Education, 2013-2018
Leadership in Organizations (MORS-430-0)
This course provides students with the social science tools needed to solve organizational problems and influence the actions of individuals, groups and organizations. It prepares managers to understand how to best organize and motivate the human capital of the firm, manage social networks and alliances, and execute strategic change. This is accomplished through knowledge of competitive decision making, reward system design, team building, strategic negotiation, political dynamics, corporate culture and strategic organizational design.
Leadership in Organizations (BUS_INST-303-0)
Social science tools for solving organizational problems and influencing individuals, groups, and organizations. Competitive decision making, reward system design, team building, strategic negotiation, political dynamics, corporate culture, and strategic organizational design. Prerequisites: ECON 201-0 and ECON 202-0.