BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20250920T183748EDT-9166x02VpR@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20250920T223748Z DESCRIPTION:Tainting or Telling: How the Meaning of Social Ties Varies Acro ss Discipline\n\nPresented by Lauren Rivera\n\nPeter G. Peterson Professor of Corporate Ethics\, Professor of Management & Organizations\n Professor of Sociology\, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences (Courtesy)\n\nDate: Fri day\, September 26\, 2025\n Time: 10:30am -12:00pm\n Location: Bronfman buil ding\, room 045\n\n\nAbstract\n\nWhile previous research has analyzed how the presence or absence of social ties shapes labor market outcomes and in equalities\, less is known about how employers interpret the value of soci al relationships in personnel decisions and how these meanings may vary by context. We examine these issues in the context of a high-stakes moment o f stratification in academic careers: faculty tenure decisions. Drawing fr om an archival analysis of more than ten years of external tenure evaluati ons across four disciplines at two R1 universities\, we analyze how evalua tors describe their relationships with candidates and the meanings they at tribute to various types of ties when evaluating tenure cases. We find dis tinct cross-disciplinary patterns\, which were strongest in sociology and computer science. Sociologists view ties to candidates as tainting\, corru pting the integrity of the evaluation process by including potentially bia sing information unrelated to the quality of a person’s scholarship. Conve rsely\, in computer science\, ties were seen as telling\, providing useful information about a candidate’s intellectual\, social\, and moral qualiti es that were seen as integral to evaluating the strength of a tenure case. Regardless of the actual strength of the tie\, sociologists frequently en gaged in a strategy of social distancing\, in which they asserted their im partiality by downplaying their existing connections to a candidate\, whil e computer scientists emphasized the closeness of their social ties with c andidates as valuable affective and informational resources to be embraced in review. Interviews with faculty in both disciplines shed light on proc esses underlying these patterns. Overall\, the study reveals that the use and value of social ties in personnel decisions are not universal but rath er vary according to cultural norms embedded within different institutiona l contexts and the structure of work in particular settings.\n\nAbout Laur en Rivera\n\nLauren Rivera is the Peter G. Peterson Chair in Corporate Eth ics and Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University ’s Kellogg School of Management. Her research unpacks how the way people d efine and evaluate merit shapes social inequalities. Her best-selling book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs (Princeton University Press) investigates on-campus recruitment and hiring for elite professional servi ce firms. She is currently working on a variety of projects examining inte rventions to reduce workplace inequalities. Dr. Rivera’s research has been featured in the Atlantic\, Economist\, Financial Times\, Fortune\, Harvar d Business Review\, New York Times\, Wall Street Journal\, and NPR and has received a variety of awards from the American Sociological Association. She was named one of the world’s top business school professors by Poets & Quants and Thinkers50. She received her B.A. in sociology and psychology from Yale University and her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University. B efore entering academia\, she worked at Evite.com and Leo Burnett Hispanic \, and was a Consultant at Monitor Group London.\n DTSTART:20250926T143000Z DTEND:20250926T160000Z LOCATION:room 045\, Bronfman Building\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A 1G5\, 1001 rue Sherbrooke Ouest SUMMARY:Laurent Picard Distinguished Lecture: Lauren Rivera URL:/bensadoun-school/channels/event/laurent-picard-di stinguished-lecture-lauren-rivera-367830 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR