CoB ~ Faculty ~ Research & Professional Engagement

Supporting JMU’s designation as an “R-2” national university, the college faculty engage in research and professional projects to stay up to date with the latest developments and best practices in their disciplines. They share their expertise in the classroom to help students develop the skills needed in the job market. Take a look at some of our faculty members’ most recent accomplishments:

Rhonda Syler and Elham Torabi

A team of researchers at James Madison University has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch Uncovering Potential – Paving Career Pathways to AI with a Special Focus on Rural Areas. This initiative will expand access to artificial intelligence (AI) education and career opportunities for individuals in rural communities, where access to emerging technology careers is often limited.

The project will be led by Associate Professor Ying Jin in the College of Education, with co-investigators Rhonda Syler, associate professor of CIS/BSAN, Elham Torabi, associate professor of CIS/BSAN and Maryam Sadat Sharifian, associate professor in the College of Education, in collaboration with the global technology company CGI. Together, the team will design innovative pathways that combine education, mentorship and experiential learning to help rural participants pivot into AI careers.

Sayahnika Basu

Sayahnika Basu smiling, with curly hair wearing glasses and a brown blouse, standing in front of a window. Assistant Professor of Economics, Sayahnika Basu, had her article, “Environmental regulation, residential sorting, and pollution exposure among senior Americans” published in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management.

Sayahnika and co-authors explored the impact of the U.S. Superfund program and Clean Air Act on exposure to fine particulate air pollution and hazardous waste among Americans aged 65 and older during the 2000s. Their study leverages quasi-random elements in how these programs enforce rules and disseminate information to estimate their causal effects on both migration and pollution exposure. The findings reveal a significant decline in average pollution exposure for seniors.

Josh Bacon

Josh Bacon, academic advisor in the Advising and Support Center, recently published a chapter on restorative self-care in the 2024 edition of “Restorative Justice and Practice in US Education.”

Josh, a former Dean of Students at JMU, outlines seven restorative principles that helped college students overcome personal struggles. The focus isn’t on the nature of the struggle, but on how students make meaning from it. Through restorative journaling, mentoring and group work, students learn to share their authentic selves, which helps reshape their internal narratives and self-talk. This process builds resilience, GRIT, and self-care habits, enabling them to better manage anxiety and face future challenges.

Xu Niu

Xu Niu, assistant professor of Finance and Business Law, recently had two new publications accepted.

“From tension to trust: The role of corporate culture in easing labor relations,” published in The Journal of Financial Research, offers the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the influence of corporate culture on labor relations. The findings reveal that companies with robust cultures are less likely to face charges of unfair labor practices, receive higher employee satisfaction ratings, and are less prone to unionization efforts, suggesting that a strong corporate culture plays a pivotal role in fostering healthier, more cooperative labor relations.

Forthcoming in the Journal of Banking & Finance, Xu and co-authors examine whether employees trust founders more than professional managers in “Trust in Founders.” Their findings suggest that the predictability of corporate culture under founder management likely explains the lower incidences of unionization and unfair labor practice complaints.

Raktim Pal

Headshot of Dr. Raktim Pal. Raktim Pal, professor of CIS/BSAN and holder of the Kirby L. Cramer Chair in Business Administration and his collaborator, Nezih Altay of DePaul University in Chicago, won the "Best Contribution to Theory Award" at a recent conference hosted by the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute (NEDSI) in Hershey, Pa.

The award recognized Pal and Altay's paper titled "A Comparative Look into Coping and Other Organizational Theories to Explain Organizational Resilience."