Peter F. Sorensen: Influences, influencer, and still influencing

Abstract

Peter F. Sorensen, PhD, is professor and program chair of the Organization Development and Organizational Behavior Programs at Benedictine University just outside Chicago in Lisle, Ill. This profile contains information that emerged through numerous interviews and document searches. It confirms that Sorensen is still an emerging thinker in the field of organizational change, with his contributions spanning more than 50 years. Sorensen's background, contributions, and insights are explored, with the intent of aligning his work and background with that of Dr. Kurt Lewin, the father of social psychology. From these sharings, it may be concluded that Sorensen follows a Lewinian approach to life - providing insights to colleagues, removing obstacles in change, exploring the global populations, teaching concepts in social psychology, and influencing students (Lewin, Field theory in social science. New York, Harper & Row, 1952; Marrow, The practical theorist: The life and work of Kurt Lewin. New York, Teachers College Press, 1977). One such student of Sorensen's is Dr. David Cooperrider, creator of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) who wrote to Sorensen, "The Benedictine OD program you created and have built is so solid and so key to our entire field. You inspired my passion for a field that is becoming increasingly relevant and critical to human being's lives everywhere."