Lab Director
Dr. Debra A. Major
Eminent Scholar & Professor of Psychology, Old Dominion University
Dr. Major's research broadly focuses on how people successfully enact their careers and overcome barriers to career success. She is especially interested in the experiences of women and ethnic minorities along educational and career pathways in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM). Her work has received continuous funding from the National Science Foundation for over 15 years, and she has led numerous multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research teams. Editorial board service includes, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Journal for Occupational Health Psychology. Dr. Major was appointed Old Dominion University's (ODU) inaugural Provost's Fellow for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion and has served as Associate Dean for the College of Sciences. She leads ODU's strategic initiative in broadening participation in STEM-H.
Honors and Awards
- Distinguished Service Contributions Award, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Fellow, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Fellow, Society for the Psychology of Women
- Fellow, American Psychological Association
- Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research - "Top 20" Award
Old Dominion University Awards
- Champion of Diversity Award (2013 & 2016)
- Most Inspirational Faculty Member to College of Science Top Graduate (2016)
- Faculty Research Achievement Award (2015)
- Provost's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor (2015)
- "Rock Star" Award for Student Teaching and Engagement (Spring 2015)
- "Shining Star" Award for Teaching Excellence (Fall 2014)
- College of Science Distinguished Teaching Award (2011-2012)
- College of Science Distinguished Research Award (2009-2010)
Sample Recent Publications
*indicates current/former student author
*Burleson, S. D., Major, D. A., Hu, X. & Shryock, K. (in press). Linking undergraduate professional identity development in engineering to major embeddedness and persistence. Journal of Vocational Behavior.
Major, D. A., & Green, A. P. (2021). Pandemics: Shining a spotlight on racial disparities at work. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: New Perspectives on Science and Practice, 14, 1-2: Special Pandemic Issue, 210-213. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2021.30
Li, L., Xu, L. D., He, Y., He, W., Pribesh, S., Watson, S. M., & Major, D. A. (2021). Facilitating online learning via Zoom breakout room technology: A case of pair programming involving students with learning disabilities. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 48. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.04812
Wilson, J. M., *Fletcher, T., Pescosolido, T., & Major, D. A. (2021). Extraversion and leadership emergence: Differences in virtual and face-to-face teams. Small Group Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496420986620
Major, D. A., Cigularov, K. P., *Litano, M. L., *Streets, V. N., Henson, J. M., & *Reynoldson, K. R. (2020). The development and validation of STEM major embeddedness and university embeddedness scales. Human Performance.
*Burleson, S. D., & Major, D. A. (2019). #I-Os matter - Extending I-O research and theory even further into the design and implementation of sexual Assault and harassment training: A STEM-based example. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: New Perspectives on Science and Practice, 12, 501-503.
*Burleson, S. D., *Tyler, W. A., Major, D. A., & *Reynoldson, K. R. (2018). Women in STEM workplaces and computer-mediated communication: Obstacle or advantage? International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 10(3), 1-22.
Lapierre, L. M., Matthews, R. A., Eby, L. T., Truxillo, D. M., Johnson, R. E., & Major, D. A. (2018). Recommended practices for initiating and managing research partnerships with organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: New Perspectives on Science and Practice, 11, 543-581.
*Morganson, V. J., Major, D. A., & *Litano, M. L. (2017). A multilevel examination of the relationship between leader-member exchange and work-family outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32, 379-393.
*Myers, D. P., & Major, D. A. (2017). Work-family balance self-efficacy's relationship with STEM commitment: Unexpected gender moderation. Career Development Quarterly, 65, 264-277.
Major, D. A., *Streets, V. N., *Myers, D. P., & *Green. R. E. (2016). A passionate approach to recruiting and retaining engineering research participants. Journal of Engineering Education, 105(3), 401-405.
*Litano, M. L., & Major, D. A. (2016). Facilitating a whole-life approach to career development: The role of organizational leadership. Journal of Career Development, 43, 52-65.
*Litano, M. L., Major, D. A., Landers, R. N., *Streets, V. N., & *Bass, B. I. (2016). A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between leader-member exchange and work-family experiences. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 802-817.
*Morganson, V. J., Major, D. A., *Streets, V. N., *Litano, M. L., & *Myers, D. P. (2015). Using embeddedness theory to understand and promote persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors. Career Development Quarterly, 63, 348-362.
*Morganson, V. J., & Major, D. A. (2014). Exploring retaliation as a coping strategy in response to customer sexual harassment. Sex Roles, 71, 83-94.
Major, D. A., *Fletcher, T. D., *Streets, V., & Sanchez-Hucles, J. (2014). One is the loneliest number: Comparing ethnic minority solos and non-solos. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 20, 341-358.
*Streets, V. N. & Major, D. A. (2014). The limited utility of stereotype threat research in organizational settings. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: New Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7, 447-449.
Major, D.A., *Morganson, V. J., & *Bolen, H. M. (2013). Predictors of occupational and organizational commitment in information technology: Exploring gender differences and similarities. Journal of Business and Psychology, 28, 301-314.
*Lauzun, H. M., Major, D. A, & *Jones, M. P. (2012). Employing a conservation of resources framework to examine the interactive effects of work domain support and economic impact on work-family conflict. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 15, 25-36.
Major, D. A., *Holland, J.M., & *Oborn, K. L. (2012). The influence of proactive personality and coping on commitment to STEM majors. Career Development Quarterly, 60, 16-24.
*Holland, J. M., Major, D. A., *Morganson, V. J., & Orvis, K. A. (2011). Capitalizing on opportunity outside the classroom: Exploring the supports and barriers to the professional development activities of computer science and engineering majors. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 17, 172-192.