Sonia Goltz doesn’t like to give the same presentation twice—but her support for students, colleagues, and community has been a constant since she came to the College of Business in 1996.
Recently named a professor emerita for her 30 years of distinguished service to the University and College, the trajectory of Goltz’s legacy is less of a straight line than it is an ever-expanding circle encompassing the people and places that have been positively impacted by her research, teaching, and service.
Goltz has taught dozens of courses at Michigan Tech, including classes in organizational behavior and change and human resources management. As a key committee chair, Goltz has also been a fundamental contributor to College of Business accreditation renewals. The 2021 co-recipient of the Michigan Tech Diversity Award, Goltz was co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Adaptation grant for Michigan Tech. In 2022, she was named the Mickus Endowed Faculty Fellow of Business Impact.
Goltz’s fascination with organizational behavior and why people do what they do began in Plainfield, Indiana, where her father worked with troubled youth at the Indiana Boys School, utilizing a system of rewards and reinforcements to reach students whom the rest of the world had written off. His success was so profound that a psychology professor from the University of Indianapolis visited his classroom just to see the results.
That same professor would later become Goltz’s undergraduate advisor, guiding an interest that led her to Purdue University for her PhD and eventually to the University of Notre Dame. By the time she arrived at Michigan Tech, Goltz’s career was moving from studies on the escalation of commitment—the psychological trap of throwing good money after bad—toward research at the forefront of gender equity, social power, and the subtle, often invisible ways that coercion operates within professional structures.
In 2009, she was promoted to full professor, and her impact began to radiate far beyond the Keweenaw Peninsula. With citations exceeding 100 annually and numerous best paper awards, Goltz became a leading voice in understanding how organizations either raise people up or keep them down. Along the way she provided that uplift to her hundreds of students and many colleagues. And her no-repeat policy on presentations became a generator of new conversations and avenues of thought that inevitably drove her research forward.
In this Q&A, Goltz shares how she came to Tech, the message she has for colleagues and students, and shares a future that includes grandkids, gardening, and her garage band.
Q: What brought you to Tech from Notre Dame and what’s kept you here for a 30-year career?
SG: Notre Dame is a great school in many ways, but when I was there, it was not a good place to establish a career as a female faculty. We were only about 10% of the faculty in their college of business at the time and we had little support on a variety of fronts. For example, there was no maternity leave and there was no stop-the-tenure-clock policy for having children. The small female faculty cohort that was there with me in the late 80s and early 90s all left in one way or the other.
It was a painful time, but the experience helped me with my gender equity work here at Michigan Tech. It motivated me to start it and it gave me an understanding of how inequities operate.
When I was on the market, Michigan Tech had a job opening in my field. I knew someone who was here who had previously worked with me at Notre Dame. Also, my husband (Jim Northey) had thought about going here as an undergraduate and encouraged me to apply.
We told ourselves, “We will give it two years and see.” It was tough for us then because his job was in Chicago and remote work was not technologically feasible or culturally accepted back then. Well, we have been here for 30 years now.
Besides liking the area, which is very beautiful, I was treated more like an equal than an oddity by the faculty here. Also, the size of the university and School of Business (it was still a School back then) was good for forming bonds between faculty and with students.
Q: You’ve been very involved in both academia and the community. What have been some of the most memorable experiences? (If you wanted to say anything about 101 Quincy Coworking feel free!)
SG: Some of the more memorable experiences were when I was called in for some HR consulting in the local community. Usually it was when the organization had an issue with personnel. I’m not going to say I liked being involved in tough personnel issues, but I am glad I could be of some help. I also have served on some boards and volunteered in various capacities.
We own 101 Quincy, which has the co-working space and also several other businesses. We acquired it when my husband and son’s startup had to relocate from the business incubator in Hancock. It’s a very old building. When we first got it, it still had a lot of historical documents stored in the various bank vaults in it. Many of those were donated to the Keweenaw National Historical Park and others went to the Michigan Tech Archives.
We have been renovating the building over the past 10 years or so. I help do some weekly maintenance work there (cleaning, plant watering). I also have a space on the third floor, which is where our band practices in the winter. We are a true garage band in the summer that plays with the garage door open, but we need an enclosed building in the winter. I also have a desk there and have done some writing. I’m sure I will be hanging out there more after retirement.
Q: What are you most looking forward to post-Tech? Do your plans include consulting as well as gardening and grandkids?
SG: No, it is not in my plans to consult, but I am willing to share my expertise if asked. Once, in the past, I made a presentation about leadership for a local hospital group and confused them when I kept referring to “OB” because it meant something different to them (obstetrics) than to me (organizational behavior).
I want to spend more time on some hobbies I haven’t had much time for. Many are on the creative side, such as art, music, and poetry, besides gardening. I have been learning to play the harmonica this past year and have been doing that in a band that Holly Hassel in the humanities department pulled together about a year ago. We are all women and all faculty or previous faculty on the older side of things, so we call ourselves “A Certain Rage.”
I also plan to continue to write, but using a different platform. You can find me on Medium—I’m launching a series there.
Our grandchildren give us much joy–we have eight. It will be easier to see them now, hopefully, although the older ones are pretty busy with work and sports. Our oldest grandchild is finishing his first year at Tech and the youngest one is just a few months old. The best thing about them is that they make us laugh. One told me I’m a Disney Princess to her. Although that has never been my aspiration, it made my day.
Q: Any parting words for your colleagues at Tech?
SG: I appreciate very much how hard my colleagues have worked to teach students and conduct their research and yet they are very friendly and collegial. So I would like to thank them for their dedication. I encourage them to hang in there when things get tough. Our careers are a mix of great times and tough times but we do eventually get through it all. Looking back, I’m satisfied with what I accomplished, and I think they will be too when they get to that point.
Q: Any message you’d like to leave with the students you’ve mentored over the years?
SG: To the students I personally taught, thank you for letting me be a small part of your lives and I wish you the best. It has been an interesting experience to witness young people of all kinds entering their adult years. I want all our students—past and current—to know that their faculty is very committed to their learning.
“We try to give you the tools you need to start your careers. We really do want you to be successful. Your success means more than your career achievements, of course. We want you to be able to put together a life that gives you meaning.”
— Sonia Goltz, Professor Emerita, College of Business
For our current students, I want them to know that although there is a lot of uncertainty going on today, they will be able to ride this wave. They are resourceful. They are persistent. They will need to rely more and more on their flexibility of thinking and interpersonal skills. They will need to be able to pivot if what they planned to do doesn’t pan out. These have always been important skills, but are even more important now. Things will settle at some point and they will find that they have survived a lot of change successfully.
Q: You’ve helped to shape the College of Business at Tech. What changes do you hope to see in the future and what is it about the College that you hope will stay the same?
SG: I was happy that I could play a small role in the evolution of the College of Business. There definitely is still a lot of change in the future of the COB as it strives to meet the demands of various stakeholders with the resources it has been provided. Its greatest resource, of course, is its people. There is a culture of dedication but also a joie de vivre. I hope that will continue.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business prepares tomorrow’s business professionals through STEM-infused, AACSB-accredited degree programs and minors. The college offers nine bachelor of science programs in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing; and four master of science programs in accounting and analytics, applied natural resource economics, engineering management, and the TechMBA®.Questions? Contact us at business@mtu.edu. Follow the College of Business on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.