Prolific expert in marketing and economics becomes latest named Carey professor

David Godes, a prolific scholar in social interactions, organization economics, and platform economics, is the inaugural Clyde F. and Ruth E. Williams Professor in Business at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

The appointment will allow Godes to continue his groundbreaking work in marketing and economics.

Godes’ work has appeared in top journals like Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, and Quantitative Marketing & Economics, and he has authored numerous case studies on leading global firms like FedEx, XM Satellite Radio, BMW, IBM, Lincoln Financial, and more. His research has been a finalist for, and winner of, numerous honors including twice being awarded the prestigious INFORMS Long-Term Impact Award. His research and opinions have been cited in a wide range of popular press outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist, and The Boston Globe.

“The dedication of an endowed professorship is a momentous occasion, and I want to extend my enthusiastic congratulations to Dave, who I’ve had the privilege of knowing and working closely with for many years,” said Carey Business School Dean Alex Triantis. “Beyond his scholarly endeavors, Dave is an outstanding teacher, a great colleague, and mentor. We are truly privileged to have him as a member of the Carey Business School community.”

A proud legacy to serve

The late Clyde Williams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Johns Hopkins University in 1956, and a Master of Arts in liberal arts in 1965. He retired as treasurer and director of AlliedSignal Corporation, which now operates under the household name brand Honeywell. According to his family, he was a very proud Hopkins alumnus and he and Ruth spent a lot of time at the Johns Hopkins Club, a popular meeting place for friends and colleagues of Hopkins. The couple made an estate gift to Johns Hopkins that created an endowed professorship in their names.

During opening remarks of the ceremony honoring Godes, Charlie Scheeler, retired partner of DLA Piper and a trustee at Johns Hopkins University, pointed out how much change and growth Baltimore has seen since the days when Williams was on campus 59 years ago.

“When you look around today, what you see is progress,” he said. “When you reflect upon this professorship, what you also see is progress, because it is these professorships that are the life and blood of the university. They allow Carey to get the best scholars in academia like David Godes.”

In Godes’ research, he lives by the mantra, “It’s either obvious or wrong.” He hopes to continue increasing access to research by developing complex theories, models, and papers that can be learned by anyone.

“I will commit to doing everything I can to live up to the expectations they [Ruth and Clyde] had in mind when they established this generous gift,” Godes said in his remarks during the ceremony.

He took some time to reflect on his career and was particularly grateful for the Williams’ support 27 years later. 

“All charity is good, but some is more sacred than others,” said Godes describing the endowed professorship from the Williams’s estate. “It’s just this type of gift, where it’s anonymous between the giver and the receiver, where the giver gets no recognition, no tangible or intangible benefit from this gift; one of the most honorable and most sacred human acts one can engage in. You’re doing it only to improve the world, you get nothing out of it personally.”

Research that explains, feedback that refines

Godes holds a PhD and SM in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He was previously on the faculties of Harvard Business School and the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

“This career and life, that I feel so incredibly fortunate to have, really should be all about continually trying to explain puzzles or phenomena in such a way that they’re completely clear or obvious to anybody,” he said, “most importantly to students, practitioners, people who aren’t steeped in the background and the theory – and it’s their feedback, whether confusion or disagreement, that should make us refine things because the ultimate goal is for anybody to be able to understand and apply our insights and solutions.”

About Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

Grounded in the Johns Hopkins legacy of excellence and research, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School shapes business leaders who seize opportunity, inspire change, and create lasting value. We bring a modern business perspective to Johns Hopkins by shaping leaders who build for what’s next ®. With locations in Baltimore, MD, and Washington, D.C., Carey offers full-time, part-time, and online MBA and MS degree programs, and executive education programs for the global marketplace that are data-driven and built to compete in an ever-changing business world. Carey’s faculty are thought leaders, trailblazing what’s next in the business world and in the classroom. And at Carey, we learn by doing.

For more information, visit carey.jhu.edu.