About

William (Bill) Gardner is the Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor, the Jerry S. Rawls Chair in Leadership and the director of the Institute for Leadership Research in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. Additionally, he serves as an associate editor for The Leadership Quarterly.

He is a dedicated teacher whose courses include leadership, business ethics, organizational behavior, research methods, group dynamics and management history within the undergraduate, master's, working professionals, and doctoral programs, and he has extensive experience delivering leadership development programs. Gardner's research focuses on leadership and leadership development, business ethics and social influence processes within organizations. Best known for his research into authentic leadership and its development, he has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Group & Organization Management, The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. Extremely active in the Southern Management Association, Gardner served as the president from 2006-2007. 

In 2011, Professor Gardner received the Distinguished Doctoral Alumni Award from the College of Business at Florida State University. The Rawls College of Business recognized his research contributions in 2013 with the Outstanding Researcher Award and in 2014 with the Distinguished Faculty Research Award. In 2015, Texas Tech recognized him as an Integrated Scholar for his synergistic contributions to the teaching, research and service missions of the university. In 2017 he was recognized for his extensive contributors to the Southern Management Association through the James G. (Jerry) Hunt Sustained Outstanding Service Award. In 2017 and 2019 he was named to Clarivate Analytics’ Highly Cited Researchers List. Most recently, he was named a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, Texas Tech’s highest academic honor, in March of 2020.