Sean Safford
Research Programs
- Governance, economic organizations program
- Public policy, transformations of the state program
- Work, employment, professions program
BIO
Sean Safford was previously an Assistant Professor of Organizations and Strategy at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, a Lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.
His research is on social, economic and technological change, particularly in mature industrial economies, as well as historical social network analysis. He was a lead researcher with the MIT Local Innovation Systems Project which examined the role of universities in economic development in the US and several countries around the world.
Safford earned his Bachelor’s degree at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1994. In 2004, he received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. His dissertation, “Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: Social Capital and the Transformation of the Rust Belt,” which won the Sage-Louis Pondy Prize for best paper from a dissertation by the Academy of Management’s Organization and Management Theory Section as well as Best Paper from a Dissertation from the Economic Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association, was published by Harvard University Press in 2009.
publications
- Briscoe, F. and Safford, S., 2015. Employee Affinity Groups: Their Evolution from Social Movement Vehicle to Employer Strategies. LERA For Libraries, 14(1-2). https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01052900
- Safford, S., 2009. Why the garden club couldn't save Youngstown: the transformation of the Rust Belt. Harvard university press.https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03536756
Teaching
2010-2011 : University of Pennsylvania
Management 101 (Undergraduate Course).
2007-2011 : University of Chicago
Network Structures of Effective Management (MBA Course).
2007-2009 : University of Chicago
Designing and Leading the Entrepreneurial Organization (MBA Course).
2007-2009 : University of Chicago
Sociology of Economic Institutions (Ph.D. course).
2005-2006 : University of Chicago
Strategic Leadership in Uncertain Environments (MBA Course)
2005-2006 : University of London External Programme
Organisation Theory (Undergraduate Course).
2005 : London School of Economics
International Labor Standards, Corporate Social Responsibility and Migration.
2004-2005 : London School of Economics
Strategic Human Resources Management (Masters Course).
2011-Present : Associate Professor. Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Centre de Sociologie des Organizations. Paris, France.
2010-2011 : Visiting Professor. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Management. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2005-2010 : Assistant Professor. University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Chicago, Illinois.
2004-2005 : Lecturer. London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Industrial Relations. London, England.
Academic Appointments
2011-Present : Associate Professor. Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Centre de Sociologie des Organizations. Paris, France.
2010-2011 : Visiting Professor. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Management. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2005-2010 : Assistant Professor. University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Chicago, Illinois.
2004-2005 : Lecturer. London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Industrial Relations. London, England.
Distinctions
2004 : Sage-Louis Pondy Prize for Best Paper from a Dissertation Academy of Management, Organization and Management Theory Section.
2004 : Ronald Burt Award for Best Paper from a Dissertation
American Sociological Association, Economic Sociology Section
G-Force Incorporated, Montreal, Quebec (human resources recruitment and consulting with a focus on diversity).
Nightboat Books, Oberlin, OH (nonprofit publishing of original books of poetry and prose).
NTP Wireless, Chicago, IL (Wireless Communications site acquisition and property management).
Rogues Gallery, Portland, ME (wholesale and retail apparel).
Opinion Editorials
Economics Nobel too Small in Scope. Chicago Tribune. 8 October 2008.
The Gay Label. New York Times. 12 November 2006.
EDUCATION
2004 : Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management.
1994 : B.S., Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Last Publications
- Biscoe, Forrest and Sean Safford. 2010. "Employee Affinity Groups: Their Evolution from Social Movement Vehicles to Employer Strategies." Perspectives on work 14 (1): 42-45.
- Safford, Sean. 2009. Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: the Transformation of the Rust Belt. Harvard University Press.
