Richard E. Wokutch honored with emeritus status
Richard E. Wokutch, professor of management in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1977, Wokutch is regarded for his research on social issues in management and business ethics including such topics as child labor and sweatshop labor, the international management of corporate social responsibility, whistle-blowing, and socially responsible investing.
He was the principal or co-principal investigator on grants to integrate ethics education into the engineering curriculum; to research worker safety and health and corporate social responsibility in the world-wide automotive industry; to research the role of values in corporate and government decision-making; and to research the impact of the Small Business Administration’s lending policies on small business development in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Wokutch presented his scholarship at meetings of the Academy of Management, Social Issues in Management Division, and the International Association of Business and Society. He served as a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Values at the University of Delaware, the Wissenschaftzentrum in Berlin, the Hiroshima Institute of Technology, the Telecom & Management SudParis, as well as at Keio University, Korea University Business School, and Shanghai Finance University.
He was active in several professional organizations, and served as program chair for the meetings of the Academy of Management, Social Issues in Management Division and served as division chair and in other elected offices of this organization.
Wokutch is an elected Fellow of the International Association of Business and Society. He has received several professional honors and awards including Fulbright Research Fellowships to West Germany and Japan and the Sumner Marcus Award for Outstanding Service from the Academy of Management, Social Issues in Management Division.
At Virginia Tech, Wokutch developed study abroad programs through his membership and chairmanship of the Pamplin College of Business International Programs Committee and led 15 study abroad programs himself to Japan, Hong Kong, China, France, New Zealand, and Cuba. He served as head of the Department of Management from 2003 to 2008.
In the classroom, Wokutch taught courses on business ethics and social issues in management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He also taught in the Executive MBA Program, the Professional MBA Program, and the Executive Doctoral Program. He received the university’s Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research and the Pamplin College of Business Doctoral Student Teaching Award.
Wokutch received his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.
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