Daft holds a B.S. from the University of Nebraska, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
He has made fundamental contributions to the study of organization behavior and organization design, and authored several books in these areas.[2] He co-developed media richness theory, with Robert H. Lengel, and is one of the most widely cited scholars in the field of management.[3]
He developed and managed the Center for Change Leadership at the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, where he also served as Associate Dean for Academic Programs. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management.