52nd Annual Conference
Hosted at Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Call for Papers 2025
Conference Dates: June 10 – 13, 2025
Submission Deadline is Monday, January 20, 2025
View the Submission Guidelines | Submit Your Session
Conference Theme: Don't Stop Believin'!
Conference Chairs: Kimberly O'Connor & Michael Kirchner, Purdue University Fort Wayne
Mark your calendars for the 2025 MOBTS Conference at Purdue University Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana from June 10th – 13th, 2025. We welcome your submissions now until Monday, January 20th (end-of-day anywhere).
The Journey of a management educator is often one of passion. But with such passion may come pains that we too often do not have an outlet to discuss. As management educators, we are facing a multitude of challenges which have led to an early exodus of our colleagues.
“I can make twice this salary if I transitioned into industry. Why am I still here?”
“How much more ‘service’ can I provide?”
“How do I plan a career in academia when campuses everywhere are closing or seem to be in financial distress?”
“Do I even matter?”
Any of the above sound familiar?
The theme for this year’s conference is "Don’t Stop Believin’." We invite proposals that share how you've kept the faith in your teaching practice, through innovative strategies, inspiring success stories, or even lessons learned from setbacks. While interactive exercises and panels/symposiums will remain a fixture at the conference, we are particularly interested in roundtable proposals that explore our greatest hurdles in academia which will provoke engaging, powerful, and lasting discussions.
Whether it’s engaging students, adapting to new technologies, or finding innovative ways to balance our time, we’re going to use the 2025 Conference to reflect on, reassess, and inspire one another for the possibilities that do lie ahead. By holding on to that feeling of possibility, we can inspire our students and ourselves to reach new heights.
**New in 2025!** Wine & Whine
We invite a subcategory of proposal submissions titled, “Wine and Whine”. These roundtable provocation sessions will take place in the evening and present a unique opportunity to have focused, honest discussions regarding the issues we navigate throughout our journey as management faculty and administrators. Authors should be prepared to facilitate these sessions—which encourage open, respectful, and authentic dialogue—while still adhering to the MOBTS submission guidelines. Importantly, proposals submitted requesting to participate in the new Wine and Whine category will not automatically be accepted due to space limitations; however, these proposals may still be accepted as general roundtable sessions and all will still count as conference presentations, if accepted.
We also encourage submissions from all academics, including graduate students and long-standing MOBTS members, that are not only inspiring but also practical—those that our colleagues can adapt and apply in their own teaching. Let’s come together, share our journeys, and reinforce that belief in the power of education.
Consider Roundtable Provocation proposals that challenge you—and your colleagues:
- Early Career Challenges such as finding job security, navigating department politics as a non-tenured professor, and building a trusted network of colleagues who will positively impact your career
- Mid-Career Challenges such as replacing respected colleagues with new adjunct instructors, prioritizing enrollment numbers over quality of student applicants, and questioning if higher education is where you will finish your career
- Late-Career Challenges such as reflecting on your legacy, deciding when its time to retire, and planning for what’s next
- Challenges We All Face such as teaching adult learners who seem to care only about the grade, maintaining motivation to publish research only our colleagues read, playing the political games to achieve success, and planning for an unknown future of management and, more broadly, higher education
Consider exercises, panels/symposiums, professional development workshops, and case studies which:
- Introduce inspiring strategies for teaching management and organizational behavior concepts and theories
- Improve student motivation, participation, and learning outcomes
- Support career development of faculty, students, and administrators
🎶 Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night… 🎶
Virtual presenters may submit with the caveat that at least one (1) individual is physically present at the conference to facilitate the session and discussion in a hybrid environment. We are excited to review your submissions which share how you’ve persisted, overcome barriers, and continued to inspire others.
All submissions are double-anonymously reviewed. Accepted submissions will have the opportunity to be included in our Conference Proceedings with ISBN.
"Keep On Teaching"
Just a small-town prof,
In a big old university,
Doing what they love,
But feeling some uncertainty.
They’ve got a passion for the classroom,
Sharing knowledge, shaping minds,
But the system’s got its flaws,
Leaving doubts behind.
Struggles with the budget,
And the pressure to publish more,
Generations changing,
Harder than it was before.
But they know deep down,
They’re making a difference every day,
Even when the doubts,
Try to push their dreams away.
Don’t stop believing!