Director
Brief info
Dr. Benjamin E. Baran is an assistant professor of management in Cleveland State University’s Monte Ahuja College of Business, where his teaching focuses primarily on human resource management and organizational behavior. He was previously an assistant professor of management at Northern Kentucky University, where he was the 2012 recipient of the Haile/US Bank College of Business Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching.
In his research, Dr. Baran focuses on the intersection of human resource management with leadership and organizational change, high-reliability organizing, and employee well-being. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of scholarly journals, including Human Relations, the Journal of Business and Psychology, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Organization, the Journal of Managerial Psychology, the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Small Group Research, the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Accident Analysis and Prevention, and Military Psychology, among others. He is an active member of the Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Society for Human Resource Management. He regularly presents his research at national conferences, and he is an affiliate research professor at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Psychology.
A co-founder and principal of the management consulting firm Indigo Anchor, Dr. Baran delivers advisory solutions to organizations across a wide range of industries and sectors. He holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from the HR Certification Institute and as a SHRM Senior Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management.
Prior to joining academia, Dr. Baran served as a public-relations professional at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and as an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, he led the warship USS Preble during more than 500 hours of complex operations at sea from the California coast to the Arabian Gulf. He continues his military service as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Dr. Baran was recalled to active military service in November 2012 and served within NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan from December 2012 to December 2013 as a management and training consultant to the Afghan National Police in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dr. Baran is an active member of the U.S. Navy’s Human Resources Community, and he is currently the commanding officer of Navy Reserve Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center Detachment Charlie. He completed Joint Professional Military Education Phase I and Phase II through the U.S. Naval War College and National Defense University’s Joint Forces Staff College, respectively.
Dr. Baran holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from Villanova University and earned his master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology and Ph.D. in organizational science from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.