Meet Your Professor: Julia DiBenigno, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior

Each month, students have the opportunity to join small group lunches with faculty members in a series called “Meet Your Professor.” We asked Julia DiBenigno, assistant professor of organizational behavior, was the featured faculty member in a virtual lunch on November 4; DiBenigno teaches the core course Managing Groups and Teams, which gives MBA students theoretical and practical guidance on making group work run smoothly. We asked the students—and DiBenigno—for their takeaways.

“I signed up for Professor DiBenigno’s lunch because I’m interested in her area of research, organizational behavior, and because I enjoyed having her for Managing Groups and Teams. I think one of the most interesting parts of the conversation was when we were talking about the effects of going virtual on organizations, and she said that while productivity is up, it might be especially hard to be a newcomer to an organization or community right now. We reflected on how this has affected us at SOM and how we’ve gotten creative to build community and culture in COVID times.”—Trevor Shorb ’22

“I wanted to meet Professor DiBenigno learn more about her research on providing mental health support to frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a former humanitarian aid workers with Doctors Without Borders, I know the stress that comes with working in emergency settings. Professor DiBenigno’s work suggests how intentional organizational design is key to taking care of each other in business and society.”—Henry Elliman ’22

“I signed up for Prof. DiBenigno’s event because we just had Managing Groups & Teams and there were a lot of changes compared to prior years due to COVID that impacted course delivery. I wanted a platform to talk to her about that experience from the instructor’s point of view and learn from her as much as I can.”—Pascal Su ’22.

“It was the high point of my day to hear student’s reflections on their time at SOM during COVID and how going virtual will impact organizations long-term. I was really impressed by their positivity and resilience. It was a great conversation.”—Prof. Julia DiBenigno