Leavey Welcomes Four New Tenure-Track Faculty Members this Fall
The Leavey School of Business is proud to welcome four new tenure-track faculty members to our community this fall. Each brings a deep well of experience and research interests.
Shuqi Li
Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Shuqi Li received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from Michigan State University. Prior to joining Leavey, she was a faculty member at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
"The Leavey School's collaborative culture and its strong focus on student success and well-being were significant factors in drawing me here," says Li. "The school's emphasis on leadership in both research and teaching aligns perfectly with my professional passions, making it an ideal place for me to advance my career and contribute to the academic community. Additionally, the Bay Area, where I have a strong network of friends, provides an excellent environment for both personal fulfillment and professional growth."
Li's research is deeply rooted in the study of leadership, with a particular focus on how leaders and followers interact and influence each other. She explores how emotions shape leadership dynamics and examines how communication influences leadership outcomes. Her ultimate goal is to uplift people's workplace experiences by gaining a deeper understanding of both interpersonal dynamics and intrapersonal processes at work and beyond. Li's research has been published in top journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Judgment and Decision Making.
Leadership is central to Li's teaching as well. "I am enthusiastic about teaching Foundations of Leadership next year and look forward to offering a range of undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership in the future," says Li. "I am excited to meet the bright students at Leavey!"
Outside of her academic work, Li enjoys swimming and playing tennis. She also loves taking the opportunity to travel during extended breaks and finds that exploring new places provides a refreshing escape from her work and allows her to return with renewed energy and perspective.
Vyas Sreenivas
Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Vyas Screenivas was drawn to Leavey by the allure of a supportive and collaborative faculty with diverse research interests, a commitment to excellence in research and teaching, the strong connection between students and faculty, and the vibrant, innovative spirit that permeates both Leavey and the surrounding Silicon Valley.
Sreenivas' research explores how organizations and entrepreneurial ventures can tackle society's most pressing challenges. As a BLab Research Fellow, he also delves into how B Corp certification affects the fundraising success of ventures that choose to certify. His work as an early-stage investor in startups focused on financial inclusion, particularly with mission-driven entrepreneurs using innovation and technology to expand financial access to the unbanked, has profoundly shaped his research and teaching interests. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management from Temple University.
Beyond academia, Sreenivas enjoys spending time with his cats, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and exploring new destinations. The move to the West Coast has him excited about the opportunity to discover the many wonders the area has to offer.
Judy (Zijing) Zhang
Assistant Professor of Marketing
"The sense of genuine care at the Leavey School of Business was immediately apparent to me," says Judy Zhang. "The faculty truly care about each other and are deeply invested in the well-being of the students. I was drawn to the collegial and supportive environment, where fostering both academic and personal growth is a shared priority. This is the kind of community I want to be a part of, and I'm excited to contribute to it."
Zhang earned her Ph.D. in quantitative marketing from Ohio State University. Her research centers on developing new marketing methodologies, particularly in mediation analysis and causal inference. Her work employs advanced econometric models and Bayesian inference to gain insights into consumer decision-making and marketing effectiveness. Currently, her research investigates how text analysis and causal inference methods can enhance our understanding of consumer behavior in dynamic markets.
In addition to her research, Zhang is excited about teaching Principles in Marketing. "I am looking forward to incorporating an analytical perspective into the class, helping students to not only grasp the core principles but also develop a new way of thinking about the marketing world," says Zhang. "By the end of the course, I hope my students will have gained fresh insights that reshape how they understand and approach marketing."
Outside of her professional work, Zhang enjoys spending quality time with her husband and their dogs. She also loves video games, though she admits she's not particularly good at playing them. Instead, she often enjoys watching others play on platforms like YouTube, Bilibili, and Twitch. These activities, along with her love of reading, help her recharge and stay grounded.
Andrew McBride
Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Andrew McBride received his Ph.D. in Organizational Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His program was interdisciplinary, so one of the first things that drew him to Leavey was the diverse disciplinary backgrounds of its faculty.
"I think the faculty—and students—at Leavey understand that the problems organizations and society face today are not solvable by one discipline alone," says McBride. "That belief influences my research, which broadly focuses on leadership and identity in organizational contexts."
Some of McBride's research aims to answer questions such as how identifying as a leader impacts a person, what kind of behaviors—good and bad—that identification motivates, how societal ideas about leadership and followership impact our identification as leaders and/or followers, how leaders influence others' identities, and when that influence can become harmful.
His research on this and other topics has been published in journals like The Leadership Quarterly and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
McBride enjoys bringing up-to-date research findings to the classroom and discussing them with students in engaging ways. At Charlotte, he taught core classes on Organizational Behavior and Leadership, as well as special topics classes including one on the Psychology of Ideology.
Outside of class, McBride enjoys watching movies ("Network is my all-time favorite"), playing tennis, exercising, and reading (lately, a lot of Stephen King).