Walter Sowden
Dr. Walt Sowden is a Lecturer of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. He teaches management, leadership, and negotiation across the undergraduate (BBA), graduate (MBA), and executive education programs. His teaching draws on nearly three decades of military, academic, and research leadership, integrating behavioral science, organizational psychology, and evidence-based leadership development to improve individual and organizational performance in complex, high-stakes environments.
Dr. Sowden retired from the U.S. Army in 2024 after 28 years of active service. During his time in the military, he served in various leadership positions. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he commanded one of the Army’s first Forward Support Companies in the 1st Cavalry Division. He served as a Tactical Officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he taught the capstone leadership development course (MX 400) and helped establish the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic. As a Principal Investigator and Deputy Branch Chief at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), he founded and led the Operational Research Team, producing influential research on team dynamics, emotion regulation, and performance under stress. His work was cited in a 2021 Congressional report and helped shape the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) initiative.
In his final military assignment, Dr. Sowden was the Director of Research for the Department of Behavioral Health at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where he taught medical residents biostatistics, research methods, and process improvement, and led the department through the COVID-19 emergency as the interim Department Chief. He also held academic appointments as an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and as a Faculty Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. As Chair of the Madigan Army Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), he oversaw all Department of Defense medical research across the United States Indo-Pacific Command’s (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility.
Dr. Sowden earned his PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan, an MA in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA in Sociology from South Dakota State University. His research focuses on the psychology of loyalty and moral decision-making, optimizing performance and well-being in high-stakes occupational contexts, and the emotional demands of leadership. He is especially committed to enhancing military service members' and veterans' leadership, performance, and well-being. His scholarly work includes more than 40 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and trade publications.
Dr. Sowden lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife Erin and their two youngest daughters.
