AACR reviews

2.7

47% would recommend to a friend

(106 total reviews)

Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.)

49% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

AACR has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 106 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The AACR employee rating is 28% below average for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

106 reviews
2.0
Oct 20, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The mission and goals of the organization are truly outstanding. The science that the AACR represents is truly cutting edge and the best in the cancer field.

Cons

The organization is run like a totalitarian regime by a CEO that long ago should have stepped aside. She rules everything, including the board of directors, by fear and intimidation and by surrounding herself with "yes" men/women rather than talented people who can objectively provide input into how to make the organization better. EVERYTHING must appear as though it comes from the CEO's office, and this creates a massive backlog in everything that needs to be done. And then blame for not achieving project milestones is often sent back on the staff person who was simply waiting for their work to clear the CEO bottleneck. I cannot agree more with the other reviewer who said that the CEO treats the organization like her "own personal vanity project." The goal of nearly every piece of output is to make her look good. Her approach to technology is stuck in the (mid) 20th century (the AACR just got a blog launched last year, and it's posts are mostly puff pieces about how great they are). I could go on, but I think you get the point...

2.0
Aug 10, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some employees care about their jobs and the mission of the organization. Convenient Old City location. Some departments are flexible about taking earned PTO.

Cons

No professional development. No management training. Extremely difficult to advance. Toxic culture overall. Hostile workplace in some departments; hostile HR department that will laugh at you for complaints, lie to you, and publicly demean you for their own mistakes. Absurdly depressed wages. Extreme top-down management style. Your experience here heavily depends on the department to which you are hired and the head of that department. Publications tries very hard to ensure that employees are at least happy in their positions, but the CEO and HR thwart any opportunity to actually reward employees for their hard work and dedication. Individuals who have been with the company for a very long time act as though they're a part of a cabal, and go on power trips accordingly. There is very little work-life balance, and no work from home or flex time is allowed, even for employees with terminal illnesses that preclude traveling to the office. Our jobs are 100% online. This is because the CEO refuses to allow it for anyone unless she gives them special permission. CEO insists on approving all yearly performance reviews and merit raises, despite her rarely being in the office. This made sense when the organization had 50 people. The organization now has nearly 300 employees. Despite promising to revamp the review schedule, as of my resignation our reviews were over a month late and employees had gone over a year without receiving their laughably small merit increases. If you work hard, you will not have enough work to do for the day, and will wind up staring at the wall for lack of anything stimulating. Individuals who do not do their work will not be punished, and you will be asked to pick up their slack time and time again.

1.0
Feb 4, 2017

Profoundly Negative Leadership

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Assisting in support and promotion of cancer research is very rewarding. Located in the beautiful historic district of Philadelphia. The staff working in the trenches are great people with strong work ethics.

Cons

As the other reviews have stated, the CEO has been in the organization since 1965, as CEO since the 80s. She is good at raising money, but is very poor at managing the company. The CEO makes over $1 million a year, yet deprives staff of adequate salaries for the work they.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 106 Reviews

Glassdoor has 110 AACR reviews submitted anonymously by AACR employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if AACR is right for you.