William R. Torbert

Professor, Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Boston College

140 Commonwealth Ave

Chestnut Hill MA 02467 home:

617-552-0459 138 Parker St

fax: 617-552-4230 Newton MA 02459

e-mail: torbert@bc.edu 617-965-7214

website: http://www2.bc.edu/~torbert

Additional Current Professional Roles

Founding Faculty Member, Leadership for Change Executive Program, BC

Founding Research Member, Society for Organizational Learning

Board Member: Trillium Asset Management (social investment advisors)

Svigals & Partners (architects)

Founding Editorial Board:

Journal of Action Research

Journal of Transformative Education

Consultant & executive coach, associated with Center for Creative Leadership, US

Director of Research, Harthill, UK

Principal, HarthillBoston

Professional Associations

Academy of Management

Organizational Behavior Teaching Society

Society for Values in Higher Education

Society for Organizational Learning

Education

B.A., 1965, Yale University, Political Science & Economics

magna cum laude, phi beta kappa

Ph.D., 1971, Yale University, Administrative Sciences

Applied Behavioral Science Internship Program, National Training Laboratories, 1971

Honors

American History Prize, Phillips Academy, 1961

All-Ivy League Soccer and American History Prize, Yale, 1965

Danforth Graduate Fellowship, 1966-70

Outstanding Professor Award, Southern Methodist University, 1971

Distinguished Visiting Professor, Oregon State University, 1976

Alpha Sigma Nu national book award for Managing the Corporate Dream, 1988

Second Place, Nat'l Distinguished Educator in Organizational Behavior Award, 1990

Teaching Excellence Award, Carroll Grad School of Mgt Alumni Assoc. Award, ‘91

Best Article Award. Management Education and Development. 1992

Finalist, AoM Terry Book Award, for The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society and Scientific Inquiry, 1992.

OB Division, Academy of Management, Innovative Session Award, for Symposium

“Creating a Transformational Science,” 1998

One of 18 international scholarly/artistic/practitioner leaders invited to participate in

Fetzer Institute Working Conference “Toward a Participative Worldview,” 1999

Society for Organizational Learning Research Fellowship, 1999-2000

Elected, Beta Gamma Sigma, Business Schools Honor Society, 2000

Distinguished Speaker, Organization Development & Change Div, AoM, 2000

Who's Who in the Management Sciences, 2000

2003 Chandler & Torbert article “Transforming inquiry and action: Interweaving 27 flavors of action research” listed (in ’06) as the most frequently cited article on action research.

Raymond Keyes Distinguished Service Award, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, 2004

Marquis Who’s Who in America, 2005

2006 AESC Annual Award for Best Published Research on Leadership and Corporate

Governance, for April 2005 HBR article “Seven Transformations of Leadership”

(the AESC is the worldwide Association of Executive Search Consultants).

2008, Distinguished Speaker or Keynote Leader at the Organization Behavior Teaching Conference, the Shambhala Summer Institute, the Integral Theory in Action Conference, and the Academy of Management Organization Development & Change Division.

Books

Being for the Most Part Puppets: Interactions Among Men's Labor, Leisure and Politics, with Malcolm P. Rogers, Schenkman Publishing, Cambridge MA, 1972.

Learning from Experience: Toward Consciousness, Columbia University Press,

New York NY, 1973. (also published in Portuguese by the U. of SaoPaulo Press)

Creating a Community of Inquiry: Conflict, Collaboration, Transformation, Wiley, London, 1976.

Managing the Corporate Dream: Restructuring for Long-Term Success,

Dow Jones-Irwin, Homewood IL, 1987.

The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society, and Scientific Inquiry,

Sage Publications, Newbury Park CA, 1991.

Sources of Excellence: An Unorthodox Inquiry into Quality in Recent U.S.

Presidencies, in Business Leadership, in Management Education, in Adam Smith's Ethics, and in Pythagorean Mathematics, Edge\Work Press, Boston MA, 1993.

Personal and Organizational Transformations: The True Challenge of Generating

Continual Quality Improvement, with Dalmar Fisher, McGraw-Hill, England,

1995.

Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action, edited with Francine Sherman, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston MA, 2000.

Personal and Organizational Transformations: Through action inquiry, (Rev. ed.) with Dalmar Fisher and David Rooke, Edge\Work Press, Boston MA, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006.

Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership, with Associates. San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2004.

Executive Education Programs presented at

Harvard, Management of Lifelong Learning Program

Columbia University

University of Michigan, Public Utilities Program

Boston College, Advanced Certificate in Management

Boston College, International Marketing Institute

Dom Cabral Executive Training Foundation, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Executive PhD Program, Benedictine University

Monitor University

Arthur D. Little Management Institute

CEO Forum, Center for Responsible Leadership, Boston College

Bath University School of Management, UK

Courses Taught

at Boston College:

Leadership Workshop (100 students/class, MBA core course on philosophy and practice of management, central to program's action learning orientation)

Consulting: Practice and Theory (both as PhD course & as MBA elective)

Organizational Behavior (introductory undergraduate course)

Western Cultural Tradition (intensive, year-long undergraduate Arts & Sciences

Honors course)

Qualitative Research Methods (PhD course)

Action Research Methods (PhD course)

Leadership for Change (year-long action learning executive program)

at Harvard Graduate School of Education:

Organizing: Theory and Behavior (120 students/class)

Philosophy, Politics, and Methodologies in the Social Sciences

Interpersonal Effectiveness in Administration

Action Research: Diagnosing and intervening in Human Systems

Seminar on Rawls' Theory of Justice

at Southern Methodist University School of Business

Administrative Seminar I (only required undergraduate course, 360 stud.s/sem)

Nature of Man (year-long undergraduate Arts & Sciences core course)

Action Science

The Future: Institutions, Values, Action Strategies

Ad Hoc Reviewer for:

Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review,

Journal of Organization Change Management, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Journal of Management Learning, Journal of Management Inquiry,

Academy of Management Learning and Education (on founding boards of last three)

Prior Positions

1962: Legislative Intern, Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI)

1963: Surveyor, Rogers Exploration Co., Somalia

1963-65: Editor & Columnist, Yale Daily News

1965-66: Associate Director, Yale Summer High School

1966-68: Founder & Director, Yale Upward Bound Program

1970-72: Assistant Professor, School of Business, Southern Methodist University

1972-76: Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

1977-78: Founder & President, The Theatre of Inquiry, Inc.

1978-87: Graduate Dean, School of Management, Boston College

1986-88: Board member, Organization Behavior Teaching Society

1988: Professor, Carroll School of Management, Boston College

1989- : Board member, Trillium Asset Management

1992-95: Board member, Pilgrim Health Care

1995-99: Board Member, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

1994-97: Director, Organization Studies PhD Program, Boston College;

Chair, Organization Development & Change Division,

Academy of Management

July 2008- : Professor Emeritus, Boston College

Consultancies

Phillips Academy, Andover MA, 1968 Taft School, Waterbury CT, 1969

Danforth Foundation, St. Louis MO, 1970 Metropairways, Boston MA, '75-76

Gillette, Boston MA, 1977

Odebrecht Construction Co, Salvador Brazil, 1978-1988

Desktop Software Corporation, Princeton NJ, 1983

Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard MA, 1984

New York State Regents, Albany NY, 1985

American Rehabilitation Inc., Harrisburg PA, 1986

Bellcore, Princeton NJ, 1987

Citizens Energy Corporation, Boston MA, 1988-89

Boston Management Consortium, Boston MA, 1989-95

Pilgrim Health Care, 1989-92 US HomeCare, Westchester NY, '90

Association of Quality Clubs, 1989-1992 Lego, 1992

Volvo (England), 1993 Croyden College (England), 1993

PricewaterhouseCoopers (England), 1999

UBSWarburg (England), 2001

DeutscheBank International Credit Trading (England), 2001

National Security Agency, 2003 DriveTime, 2005

Center for Creative Leadership, 2004- Akibia, 2006

Selected Other Professional Service

Chair, Nomination Committee for Best Paper, Academy of Management Rev., 1987

University Enrollment Management Committee, Boston College, 1988-89

Promotion & Tenure Committee, School of Management, Boston College, 1988-90

National Commission on Graduate Management Education, 1988-90

Judge, 1996 Moskowitz Prize (for research on socially responsible investments)

Faculty Advisory Board, Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships, Boston College, 1996-98

External Examiner, PhD in Management, U. of Bath,

and MS in Responsibility and Business Practice, U. of Bath UK 2001-04;

Fielding Graduate Institute doctoral program;

California Institute for Integral Studies doctoral program

Organizing Committee, International Network for Time, Management, and Organizations, 2002-

Co-Chair, Conference Organizing Committee for:

SoL/BC Research Greenhouse 4: Rigor and Relevance for the Triple Bottom Line, Boston College, Chestnut Hill MA, January 2004;

The Future of Time in Management and Organizations, INSEAD Business School, Fontainbleu, France, July 2004

Presentations at Professional Meetings (since 1990, w/o titles)

Academy of Managmnt Meetng, ‘91, ‘92, ‘95, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, '00, '02, ‘03,

’04, 05, 07, 08.

Org’l Behavior Teaching Conference, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, ‘93, ‘96, ‘06, ‘08.

Society for Values in Higher Education, 1988, 1993.

Society for Research on Adult Development, 1990.

Interdisciplinary Students of Organization Conference, 1996.

International Symposium on Organizational Wisdom and Courage, 1996.

Second International Seminar on Organizational Learning (Brazil), 1997.

Emerging Approaches to Inquiry Conference (England), 1992, 1998.

Society for Organizational Learning, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004.

Dissertation Committee Member (or Chair) for students at

Harvard Graduate School of Education George Washington University

Boston University School of Management Fielding Institute

Boston College Sociology Department California Inst of Integral Studies

Boston College School of Education Bath University Schl of Mngmnt

Boston College Organization Studies Dept. U. of Calgary

Invited Lectures

Case Western Reserve University George Washington University

University of Bath (England) UCLA

The Ohio State University University of Illinois

Center for Creative Leadership Yale University

International Conference on Economic Restructuring in Central Europe

American Association of Legal Educators MIT

University of Maryland Law School Int’nat Assoc. of Product Dev’t Columbia University Teachers College Fielding Institute

Harvard Negotiation Insight Initiative Illinois Benedictine

Mid-West Human Resources Planning Group Boston University

Center for Creative Leadership Conference Board

U.S. Treasury Executive Institute Government CIO Summit