Kate Zipay, PhD
Kate Zipay is an assistant professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human Resources area at the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University. She is also an affiliate of the Center for Working Well, an interdisciplinary hub at Purdue University dedicated to advancing research and practice on creating healthier workplaces. Her research examines the influence of life outside of work on employee emotions, attitudes, and contemporary issues of justice on employee outcomes. Her research has been published in Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Kate received her PhD from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining the faculty at Purdue, she began her faculty career as an Assistant Professor at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon. Before pursuing her doctoral degree, she worked in public accounting at Deloitte.
Kate is passionate about translating research into actionable insights for the business community. Through speaking engagements, workshops, and outreach efforts, she bridges the gap between academic findings and organizational practices, helping leaders create healthy and productive workplaces. As part of this commitment, she frequently delivers evidence-based talks on topics such as work-life integration, intuitive working, and well-being, tailored to professional, student, and community audiences. In 2024, Kate was awarded (in collaboration with Allison Gabriel) the inaugural BetterUp grant from the Center for Purpose and Performance, recognizing her research on Intuitive Working—a novel approach to work that relies on adaptive cues—highlighting its potential to promote sustained performance and well-being.
Kate has been recognized across institutions for exceptional teaching. In 2024, she was recognized as a “Career Champion” for preparing her students for post-collegiate careers. She has also received distinguished teaching awards each teaching term since arriving at Purdue. She was also recently nominated for Purdue’s 2025 Early Career Teaching Excellence Award. In 2021, Kate was selected as one of Poets & Quants Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors. In that same year, she also received the Lundquist College of Business Exceptional Teaching Award for Core Business Courses spanning 2019-2021 academic years. In the classroom, she focuses on preparing students to lead effectively in their future organizations and make meaningful contributions to cultivate positive, healthy, and productive workplaces.
In the field, she also serves on the OB division of the Academy of Management as the the Making Connections committee chair planning flagship professional development workshops for the Academy of Management Annual Conference. she also serves on the editorial board for Academy of Management Journal and Journal of Applied Psychology.