For the Record, June 18, 2026

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent honors, presentations and publications include the following:

Honors

Wendy Smith, Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management in the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, has received the 2026 Academy of Management Annals Decade Award for the article "Paradox Research in Management Science: Looking Back to Move Forward." Published in 2016 with coauthors Jochen Schad, Marianne Lewis and Sebastian Raisch, the article was recognized as the most-cited paper published in Academy of Management Annals over the past decade. The award honors scholarship that demonstrates enduring influence on management research and practice. Smith's article helped advance the study of paradoxes in organizations, examining how leaders and organizations navigate competing demands and tensions. The Academy of Management will recognize the authors at its 2026 annual meeting in Philadelphia this August. The recognition highlights the lasting impact of Smith's research and its continued influence on scholars studying leadership, strategy and organizational change worldwide.

Morgan Ellithorpe, associate professor in the Department of Communication has received a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). She will spend fall 2026 on sabbatical in Bochum, Germany, working on a systematic review of the known unknowns in positive media psychology of digital media throughout the lifespan. This project identifies research gaps that still remain in terms of how people might be positively affected by their digital media use, leading to a roadmap for researchers and policymakers moving forward. She will collaborate with six other fellows who are working on topics including mental health messaging on social media, AI's role in sexual abuse and expressions of grief and war trauma online. The CAIS mission is to help shape a digital society with excellent research and provide fellows from different countries, subjects and academic stages of life the opportunity to pursue their projects and benefit from an intensive scientific exchange.

The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) will honor Kali Kniel, professor of microbial food safety, in July with an IAFP Fellow Award. The award is given to professionals who have contributed to IAFP and its affiliates with distinction for an extended time period. Kniel is one of four professionals to receive this award this year. She will be recognized at IAFP 2026, July 26-29 in New Orleans. The award includes a plaque and recognition as a fellow of the association.

Presentations

Rudi Matthee, John and Dorothy Munroe Distinguished Professor of History, delivered a keynote speech titled "The Ruler's World-conquering Spears Remain without Effect without the Support of the Writing Tools of Competent Viziers: The Grand Vizier in Safavid Iran in Comparative Perspective," at an international conference, In the Name of Sultan, Emperor and King: Grand Viziers, Chief Ministers, and Structures of Delegated Power in Early-Modern Eurasia, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, May 28, 2026.

Amit Kumar, assistant professor of marketing and of psychological and brain sciences, was featured in the June 15, 2026, episode of the NPR podcast Hidden Brain entitled "A Secret Source of Conection." He discussed what keeps individuals from taking a moment to be kind and how to overcome these barriers to create stronger, happier connections.

Publications