2025 STR Outstanding Educator Award
The STR Outstanding Educator Award recognizes a scholar who has demonstrated a long term commitment to and expertise in educating Strategy students. The award alternates each year between Ph.D./doctoral education and MBA/executive education. In odd years like this one, STR evaluates nominees for their outstanding commitment to Ph.D. and doctoral education and ongoing development of junior colleagues.
The 2025 STR Outstanding Educator Award recognizes Rajshree Agarwal!
Professor Rajshree Agarwal is Rudolph Lamone Chair of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. She was previously on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Central Florida. Rajshree earned her Ph.D. and Master degrees from the University at Buffalo, and a Master and Bachelor degrees from Bombay University.
Rajshree uses an interdisciplinary lens in her research to provide insights on strategic innovation for new venture creation and for firm renewal, and has published over 70 articles, mostly in top strategy, management, and innovation journals. She is the recipient of numerous awards for both research and teaching, and has received over $9.5million in research grants to support her and her students' research. Amongst her many services to the strategy field, she is the current co-editor in chief of the Strategic Management Journal, former senior editor at Organization Science, and former co-editor in chief at Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Rajshree is the past Division Chair of the BPS (former STR) Division of the Academy of Management, an elected fellow of the Strategic Management Society, and she served 10 years as president of Consortium on Competitiveness and Cooperation (CCC). Rajshree has taught a wide range of courses in strategic management, entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, industrial organization and microeconomics at the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA and Ph.D. levels.
The Awards Committee recognized Rajshree for her mentoring of Ph.D. students. Over her career, she has been dissertation chair or co-chair to over 20 doctoral students and served as a committee member for numerous others, many of whom have gone on to do award winning research and play editorial and leadership roles. Through her involvement in CCC, Rajshree's mentorship has also touched Ph.D. students at numerous institutions, beyond her own.
Rajshree's students were very enthusiastic in nominating her for this award. In support of the nomination, one former student wrote that "she believed in me before I believed in myself. And her belief changed everything for me". All nominations emphasized the tremendous and long lasting impact that Rajshree has. One noted, "If I can emulate even a small part of what I observed and learned while working with Rajshree, I will add value to my students' academic careers" while another commented "Your relationship with Rajshree does not end when you graduate or when you publish your dissertation research. She is there with you at every step of the way". Nominations were unanimous in describing the high energy that Rajshree puts into mentoring, with one former student commenting "Rajshree's famous phrase is that she will "match effort with effort.""
Please join us in congratulating Rajshree on being selected for the 2025 STR Outstanding Educator Award! We will be celebrating Rajshree at the July conference in Copenhagen, and we hope that you will participate in the award session!
Xun (Brian) Wu
Robert G. Rodkey Collegiate Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Strategy
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Chair-Elect, Strategic Management Division, Academy of Management