Professor Benton joined LER in 2015, following a Post-Doctoral Research Associate position in the Department of Sociology at Duke University. He holds his doctorate from North Carolina State University, in addition to his bachelors’ and master’s degrees. Professor Benton teaches Organizational Fundamentals of HR and Power and Influence in HR.
Why LER?
I love LER because it is so interdisciplinary. My colleagues represent diverse disciplinary traditions, including industrial relations, economics, psychology, sociology, and management. We study work and organizations using many different theoretical lenses and focus on different levels of analysis. LER brings these scholarly traditions and research foci together under one roof, giving us a chance to engage with and learn from each other in an environment of mutual respect and common regard. The result is more innovative and broader research and teaching that can speak to core disciplinary debates and practical problems for organizations and managers. I know I'm not alone in saying that my work has benefited from engaging with colleagues across disciplinary boundaries. This tradition of interdisciplinary excellence makes me excited to continue my career at LER.
Research
His research interests are in the areas of social networks, corporate networks, formal/complex organizations, corporate governance, and income/wealth inequality. In 2020, the first year corporations in Illinois were required to file a report on the demographic composition of their boards of directors, he worked with Professor Eunmi Mun to create the first Corporate Board Diversity Report. The report summarizes the data from those filings, including their corporate policies and practices for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion among directors and executive leadership.
“My research considers how corporate governance and financial pressures affect firms, particularly as employers. I'm interested in how firms balance pressures to meet short-term financial goals with longer term interests, like building and maintaining quality jobs and socially responsible engagement with stakeholders. I also study factors that shape representation and inclusion in firms' leadership.”
What The Dean Says
“Richard Benton is a rising star in his area of scholarship, corporate governance. He uses sophisticated analytic techniques and impressively large-scale data. He has published important articles in the very best journals. Illinois Public Act 101-0589, which requires corporate reporting of diversity, was delegated to our campus. The University asked Professor Benton to fulfill this requirement, and he is collecting, analyzing, and reporting on corporate board diversity and inclusion in Illinois annually, bringing more attention to the essential nature of our scholarly research. Professor Benton is also an excellent teacher (he’s been on the List of Teachers Rated as Excellent 8 semesters in a row) and a fine colleague.”