Peter Vaill
Peter B. Vaill, Ph.D is University Professor of Management at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He is one of the nation’s most influential organizational change theorists[citation needed], one of the few senior scholar-practitioners in that field.
Life
Professorships and works
Vaill is internationally known for his innovative approaches to organizational behavior, and has written extensively, including the well-known Managing as a Performing Art: New Ideas for a World of Chaotic Change; Learning as a Way of Being: Strategies for Survival in a World of Permanent White Water; and Spirited Leading and Learning: Process Wisdom for a New Age.
The Harvard Business School writes of its alumnus (MBA '60, DBA '64): “Cited in some circles as one of the country's top ten organizational development specialists, Vaill is known for his ideas on what he's termed "permanent white water" - the turbulent social and organizational conditions that managerial leaders face today.” Peter has also consistently broken new ground in addressing issues of spirituality in the workplace as well as on the importance of lifelong learning. In fact, he argues that learning is a foundational element of effective leadership, and that learning is “a way of being.”
Former positions
Vaill has worked with many well-known corporations and most major agencies of the US government, as well as with many universities, health systems and professional associations. He was formerly director of the Ph.D Program at George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management, and most recently, Distinguished Chair in Management Education at the Graduate School of Business, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota.
Influences
His fame has led a former colleague, Eric Dent, Ph.D, also an innovator in organizational change and development, to create the Peter B. Vaill Business Faculty Award for the School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where he is currently Dean.