Nordgren to deliver Harding Distinguished Lecture at SDSU

Loran Nordgren will deliver the 2023 Harding Distinguished Lecture at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center’s Founders Recital Hall at South Dakota State University.

Nordgren, a professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bestselling author, will talk about “The Science of Decision Making.”

Leadership, ultimately, is about making good decisions. Yet people rarely step back to analyze the thought process they use to make important decisions. Grounded in science, this interactive presentation by Nordgren identifies the decision traps everyone faces and offers strategies for how to avoid and overcome them. Participants will leave with practical strategies for improving the quality of their decisions.

Nordgren’s mission is to use behavioral science to make leaders and organizations better. His research explores the psychological forces that propel and prevent the adoption of new ideas and actions.

In recognition of his work, Nordgren has received the Theoretical Innovation Award in experimental psychology. A former Fulbright scholar, he has twice received Kellogg’s Management Teacher of the Year award and teaches MBA and executive-level courses on the science of leadership and leading organizational change. As a practitioner, Nordgren has worked with companies throughout the world on a wide range of behavior change problems, a process he calls behavioral design.

Nordgren’s first book, “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas,” spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Doors to the lecture open at 5:45 p.m. While the event is free and open to the public, tickets are required to attend. To obtain a ticket, visit the online ticket office and click on “Harding Distinguished Lectureship.” On the day of the event, attendees can also get tickets in person at the Performing Arts Center box office.

A book signing and reception are planned for after the lecture, with copies of “The Human Element” available for purchase at a discounted price.

The lecture is sponsored by SDSU’s Office of Academic Affairs and the Harding Distinguished Lecture Series.
 
About the Harding Distinguished Lecture Series

The Harding Distinguished Lecture Series was established to honor the memory of Albert S. Harding, an 1892 graduate who taught history and economics at State for 47 years. Harding believed it was important for students to hear great speakers and kept a journal of those he heard, including Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan and Edward Everett Hale. The tradition continues by bringing to the SDSU campus people of national and international reputation to speak on timely topics.