Ruth May, PhD

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Dr. Ruth May is a Professor of Global Business in the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business. In 2016, Dr. May was named the University of Dallas King Fellow, which is UD’s highest faculty honor for lifetime achievement in scholarship, excellence in teaching, and exemplary collegiality.

Dr. May is a leading scholar in international management/strategy in transition economies, particularly Russia and Ukraine. She was the keynote speaker at the Russian and CIS Management Research Caucus at the Academy of Management meeting in 2014, and has published in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive (now Perspectives), Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of International Business Studies, Management International Review, Organizational Dynamics, and most recently, in a special issue of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. Dr. May’s current research focus is Russia’s unprecedented reversal back to a state-centered economy. Most recently, her expertise on Vladimir Putin and Russia’s hacking of the DNC was sought out by a reporter from the Dallas Business Journal.

Before entering academia, Dr. May served as Vice-President and General Securities Principal for McLarty & Company, a NASD member firm, and as a Senior Investment Officer for Legg Mason Wood Walker, a NYSE member firm. Dr. May received her license as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in 1987 and has conducted continuing education training for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in ten states. She has developed and conducted training in strategy, finance, leadership, and organizational change for over 50 companies from Russia and Ukraine since 1993, as well as the global MNCs – KPMG, Microsoft and Nokia – in North America, Asia, and Latin America.

Why did you become a professor?
I saw the movie, Goodbye Mr. Chips, when I was 8 years old, the same year I saw my favorite cousin, John, hooded at his PhD graduation at LSU. From that time on I saw myself as a professor, and I lived my way into that vision.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
My field - Global business is multi-dimensional and dynamic. It changes week to week, day by day. I have never gotten bored in the 25 years I have taught it. And I am bored easily.

What do you hope students gain from your courses?
I hope they walk out of my classroom at the end of the semester feeling more globally competent than the first time they walk in.

What did you do prior to entering academia?
I was a senior investment officer for a NYSE firm. I had my own client base as a stockbroker, Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), and still hold my CFP® license.

What are you passionate about outside of the University?
Social justice, particularly, speaking out against the discrimination of immigrants and minorities in our current society.

What are your research interests?
The reversal of market-based institutions in Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Putin and exposing Russia’s attack on our American democracy in the 2016 presidential election.

MANA 8320 Global Strategy, GBUS 7335 Global Immersion

Dr. May’s current research focus is on Russia’s unprecedented reversal back to a state-centered economy. Her expertise on Vladimir Putin and Russia’s hacking of the DNC during the 2016 presidential race was sought out by the Dallas Business Journal. She is currently working on a chapter about the challenges of competing in Russia for the Oxford Handbook on Management in Emerging Markets to be published in 2018.

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