Don Vandewalle is the Fisher Research Fellow and the Chair of the Management and Organizations Department at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He also holds the University-wide Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professorship at SMU.

Education: Don earned his BA degree from Park College with Magna Cum Laude and departmental honors and received the Parker Memorial Award for the Outstanding Graduating Senior. Don earned his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and strategic management from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. During his Ph.D. program, Don was the recipient of dissertation fellowships from the University of Minnesota Graduate School, the Carlson School of Management, and the Richard D. Irwin Foundation.

Research: Don’s primary research program has focused on the structure of personal achievement goals and on the influence of such goals on the skill development and performance improvement of individuals in work and academic settings. A new research program investigates the influence of implicit theories on leadership interactions with subordinates.

Teaching: During his teaching career, Don has received a variety of teaching recognition awards, including the 2011 Cox Distinguished MBA Teaching Award, the 2010 Cox Teaching Innovation Award, the 2006 and 2009 Cox Outstanding MBA Teaching Awards, the 2004 SMU President’s Outstanding Faculty Award, the College of Liberal Arts Teacher Recognition Award from the University of Kansas, the Master Teacher Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development at the University of Texas, and the Award of Excellence from Kansas State Board of Education.

Service: Don's university service at SMU includes six years as a senator on the SMU Faculty Senate, chair of the Southern Accreditation Committee Finance Committee, chair of the SMU University Benefits Committee, chair of the Faculty Senate Academic Calendar Committee, chair of the Senate Committee on Committees, and membership on the SMU Faculty Senate Executive Committee. In 2003-2004, Don was a member of the President's Committee on Investment in Faculty Excellence—this committee produced an extensive report on the strategic plan for enhancing the excellence and national stature of the faculty via the upcoming SMU Centennial Capital Campaign.