Carliss Miller, a Naveen Jindal of Management PhD candidate in international management studies, recently received a $4,500 research grant from the UT Dallas Office of Graduate Studies. The Dissertation Research Award, won in a competitive process, allows Miller to continue and expand her research efforts, focused primarily on diversity and culture in the workplace, she says.
“My research looks at the interpersonal competitive dynamics in the workplace and specifically, the dark side of demographic similarity,” says Miller. “Trends in research have shown in the past that only positive outcomes come from perceiving that you are similar to others in the workplace, in terms of demographics. But I have shown, theoretically, that being similar doesn’t always lead to positive outcomes, but can sometimes, and often, lead to negative outcomes.”
Miller recently presented one of her research papers at the annual Management Faculty of Color conference in San Jose, California, and will present again at the Academy of Management annual meeting in Anaheim, California in August. Another paper won first place for the Delores P. Aldridge Graduate Student Research Award at the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists annual conference in March 2015.
“During my career as a faculty member, I can say that Carliss is my most dedicated student,” says Dr. Orlando Richard, associate professor of organizations, strategy and international management. “She left Texas Tech to come to UTD because she knew I would allow her to work on research she was passionate about…. I expect Carliss to pave the way for new academic research related to her dissertation, as she will be the leader in the field for that specific workplace phenomenon. I am proud to be her dissertation chair now and expect to be proud each time I witness her reach every milestone of her career.”
Miller, who graduates in August, already has a position at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, as an assistant professor of management, teaching organizational behavior and human resource management. She plans to continue her same research path and chose Sam Houston State because she hopes to collaborate with faculty members there who have similar research interests.
She says she also feels a kinship with many of the students at Sam Houston.
“On my campus visit, I felt like I fit in with the environment and the university’s mission,” she says. “Many of the students there also are first-generation college students in their families, as I am. It’s a way for me to give back to a population that needs a few more role models.”
