Source: Thomas A. Wright, 785-532-5672, thomaswr@k-state.edu
Website: http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/wrightbio.html

Friday, July 30, 2010

K-STATE PROFESSOR 'WRIGHT' AS NEW FELLOW OF WESTERN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

MANHATTAN -- Thomas A. Wright, Kansas State University's Jon Wefald Leadership Chair in Business Administration, has been named a Fellow by the Western Psychological Association.

To become a Fellow, individuals must make outstanding contributions to the field of psychology, and their work must have national impact on the field of psychology.

In addition to the Western Psychological Association, Wright is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science.

He is the first K-State scholar to achieve Fellow status in each of these four prestigious professional organizations, an honor achieved by fewer than 15 scholars worldwide.

"I am so pleased to be recognized by election to Fellow status in the Western Psychological Association" Wright said. "One necessary way for K-State to achieve the goal of a top 50 national academic ranking is to attract and retain scholars who are widely recognized by their peers. I am very proud to bring this positive recognition to K-State."

Wright is a professor of organizational behavior and is director of the College of Business Administration's Center for Character-based Leadership.

He is best known for his work on the role of employee psychological well-being in job performance and topics involving character and character-based leadership. He has been published in many of the leading business and social science journals and has been widely cited by print, radio and television outlets, including Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, New York Daily News, Science Daily, Science Week and many others. He also has served as associate editor for two leading management journals, the Journal of Management and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Wright will be formally recognized in spring 2011 at the association's 91st annual convention in Los Angeles, Calif.