It is with great pleasure that Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Wharton Dean Erika James announce that Mary-Hunter (“Mae”) McDonnell has been named as the inaugural Bantwal Family Goldman Sachs Presidential Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Professor McDonnell is known for exploring the nature of organizations and how complex and interwoven forces shape their actions,” said Interim President Jameson. “By drawing from a variety of fields and integrating them into her scholarship, she offers vital insights that explain a foundational aspect of our modern world. We are deeply thankful to Vivek and Sarika for endowing this professorship, which positions Professor McDonnell to continue investigating these important dynamics and their impact on our world.”
Professor McDonnell joined the Wharton School as an Assistant Professor of Management in 2015 and held the Clarence Nickman Assistant Professorship from 2019 to 2020. She was promoted to Associate Professor of Management with Tenure in 2020. In 2023, Professor McDonnell also accepted the position of Faculty Co-Director of the Zicklin Center for Governance and Business Ethics. Along with her primary appointment as the Bantwal Family Goldman Sachs Presidential Associate Professor at Wharton, Professor McDonnell has a secondary appointment in both Wharton’s Legal Studies & Business Ethics department and in the Sociology department in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.
In her research, McDonnell uses organizational theory and sociology to explore the relationships and interactions between politics, corporations, and the stakeholders of both institutions. Professor McDonnell’s recent publications investigate topics such as organizational misconduct and dealings among governmental agents, social activists, and businesses.
