Dr. Rachel Croson Presents: Negotiation Skills for the HR Professional

Croson earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a double-major in Economics and Philosophy, and a minor in Political Science. She earned her PhD in Economics from Harvard University, then served as an Assistant and Associate Professor (with tenure) for thirteen years at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Operations and Information Management. From 2007-2013, Dean Croson served at UT Dallas as a professor and the director of the UT Dallas Negotiations Center. During her time at UT Dallas she took a two-year leave to serve as the National Science Foundation’s Division Director for Social and Economic Sciences, managing a $100 million annual budget and eight programs.

Much of Croson’s research has centered on experimental and behavioral economics, investigating how people make a variety of economic decisions, including financial, charitable and risky. Her research draws on and contributes to many disciplines, including economics, management, marketing, operations, political science and sociology, and her work has been published in academic journals in all of these fields. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Aspen Institute, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She has served in a number of professional leadership roles, including Associate Editor for the American Economic Review, Management Science, and Experimental Economics, among others, and on the board of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, where she was pivotal in developing and running mentoring workshops.

Under her leadership, the UTA College of Business has achieved significant success, including increases of 37% in peer-reviewed publications, 18% in citations of faculty research, and 68% in press coverage of faculty research. The College has welcomed 54% more business professionals into its classrooms, and 39% more alumni to visit campus each year. We have increased student credit hours taught to non-business majors by 37%. We have launched new curricula, both within Business (e.g. Masters’ of Science in Business Analytics, Masters’ of Science in Economic Data Analytics, Certificate in Consultative Sales) and in collaboration with other units on campus (e.g. an interdisciplinary Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and an interdisciplinary Masters’ of Science in Energy management). Philanthropic giving has increased by 187% since her arrival.