Academic Biography

Karl W. Kuhnert is an Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the psychology department at the University of Georgia.  Karl past Program Chair of the Industrial and Organizational Psychological Program and founder of the I-O Masters Program the first of its kind in the college of arts and sciences.   The I-O Ph.D. program is ranked #2 program in the U.S. for research productivity and #3 program in producing business consultants.

Karl’s research focuses on how leaders cognitively, interpersonally, and emotionally develop over the life course.  Karl has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles, 13 book chapters and made over 100 conference presentations and served on numerous editorial and review panels.  He teaches industrial and organizational psychology, leadership, organizational change and professional ethics.  Karl and a colleague have published a new book entitled “The Map:  Finding Your Path to Effectiveness in Leadership, Life, and Legacy” by Baxley Press.  Karl was awarded the Department of Psychology’s Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award four times.  He is a member of the American Psychological Association Review Board of Ethics and the UGA Teaching Academy.

Through his collaboration with the UPS, Karl has received over a $600,000 from the UPS Foundation to support graduate education in the Psychology Department.  He has funded over 80 graduate assistantships.  In 2000, Karl was awarded the Hammer Award from Vice President Al Gore for outstanding contributions to the federal government.  More recently, Karl has created and facilitated a six-month leadership development program for the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.  The program involves all 32 colleges in the state of Georgia.  The board of regents program in 2012 was recognized by the Society of Human Resource Management as a best leadership program in education.  

Karl also regularly teaches leadership development in the Executive Education Programs at Emory, UCLA, HEC Paris, and The University of Georgia. He has served as a consultant and executive educator with many large and small corporations, non-profit and government organizations including, United Parcel Service, The U.S. Department of Treasury, Siemens, The Jet Propulsion Lab, Cox Automotive, The Federal Reserve, Federal Home Loan Bank, The Robert Wood Foundation, Carnival Cruise Line, AECOM, and The American Cancer Society.

Karl received his BA in psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Kansas State University.