Cheri was a valued member of the Academy of Management community and an Academy of Management Fellow. She served in the 5-year leadership track for the OB Division.
Cheri's research interests addressed the interplay between people and their contexts. Her research program was multidisciplinary and wide-ranging, contributing to the academic literatures on organizational culture, HR management systems, diversity, fit and many other topics. She relished the opportunity to investigate organizational issues within novel contexts, including military training, surgical operating theaters and nuclear power plants.
Cheri's work was always characterized by methodological rigor and provocative theorizing. Her contributions were recognized by the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions to Psychology in Applied Research (American Psychological Association), the Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology), a Scholarly Achievement Award (HR Division, Academy of Management), and the 2014 Decade Award for the most cited article in 10 years (Academy of Management Review).
Throughout her career, Cheri displayed a strong commitment to mentoring and supporting colleagues and students. She leaves a lasting legacy embodied in generations of academics who were inspired by her commitment to impactful research and value-driven scholarship.
I was so sorry to hear of Cheri's passing. Yes, she deserves many academic accolades and awards which she received in her all too brief life. Perhaps more importantly, she was a very curious, intelligent, warm, compassionate, empathetic, funny and endearingly self-deprecating person. I only interacted with her briefly due to mutual friends at AOM meetings way back when. But I always thought how much I admired and liked her and felt on the very same wave-length with her (sorry – I know that sounds really corny). I was deeply saddened to hear of her passing and really hope she is in a better place. I feel lucky to have known her. Jennifer George
It is heartbreaking to hear such sad news. I never had the chance to meet Prof. Cheri Ostroff in person, but I have read her work on HRM system strength many times. Her research has profoundly influenced my approach to HRM studies.
There is a saying in Chinese: 'Whom the gods love die young.' I wish her peace, and my deepest condolences go to her family.