Robert Mayfield Yawson

Robert M. Yawson, Ph.D., is the William S. Perlroth Endowed Professor of Business and Professor of Management at the School of Business, Quinnipiac University. A Fellow of the Eastern Academy of Management and a multiple-award-winning scholar, educator, and administrator of international repute, Dr. Yawson brings more than three decades of leadership experience spanning academia, industry, international development, and public policy worldwide.

Dr. Yawson is a prolific and widely cited researcher with over 150 publications currently, including 42 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 editorials in peer-reviewed journals, two books, multiple book chapters, and over 70 peer-reviewed conference papers in leading outlets. His scholarship centers on using the "wicked problem construct" to advance organizational effectiveness and change, and on applying systems approaches to human resource development for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. His 2026 paper on leveraging AI for sustainable organizations and HRD received the prestigious Marilyn Y. Byrd Excellence in HRD Research Award. His work on agrifood nanotechnology skill needs was a finalist for the Richard Swanson Research Excellence Award, and he received the Alan A. Kahler Outstanding Dissertation Award and the Elsevier Award for the Promotion of Good Research Practices.

A recognized leader in the scholarly community, Dr. Yawson serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Organization Management Journal, Section Editor for Business and Management at SAGE Open, and sits on the editorial boards of Human Resource Development Quarterly, Advances in Developing Human Resources, Human Resource Development Review, and Industrial and Commercial Training. He previously served as Associate Editor of Human Resource Development Quarterly (2019–2021); Human Resource Development International (2024–2025) and the International Journal of Business and Systems Research (2019 - 2025). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Human Resource Development (2018–2021) and as a Director on the Board of Governors of the Eastern Academy of Management (2019–2022).

At Quinnipiac University, Dr. Yawson has been recognized with the Center for Excellence in Teaching Award (2018), the Outstanding Faculty Scholar of the Year Award (2018), and the James Marshall Award for Service (2020). He has served in significant governance roles, including Chair of the Faculty Senate, a Senate representative on the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the University Education Committee, among several other roles. He chaired the Entrepreneurship, International Business, and Strategy Department from 2021 to 2026 and served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee in 2024.

Prior to academia, Dr. Yawson held leadership roles as General Manager of Animens Industries Limited in Ghana, Senior Scientific Secretary and Head of Administration at the CSIR-Food Research Institute in Ghana, and Quality Control Officer at S.C. Johnson Wax (Ghana) Ltd. He served as a Research Analyst for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, where he collaborated with Deloitte Consulting on Destination 2025—a statewide 20-year visioning initiative for Minnesota's biosciences industry. He has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and served as a Senior Research Fellow with pfc Social Impact Advisors, an international consulting firm focused on philanthropic strategy and global change.

Dr. Yawson holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development and an M.S. in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota; an M.Phil. in Biochemistry and a B.Sc. (Honors) in Biochemistry with Chemistry from the University of Ghana; and a Post Graduate Certificate in Food Management from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.