The Favorite Professors of Business Majors

The Favorite Professors of Business Majors by: Jeff Schmitt on October 08, 2019 | 0 Comments Comments 6,057 Views October 8, 2019In some corners, â€Å"college teaching† spurs cynical laughs. Some graduates can remember staring off into space as bumbling graduate assistants rattled off their notes. Others can picture office hours when clock-watching faculty would treat them as unwelcome distractions from their research. In publish-or-perish academia, students are sometimes taken for granted. That’s why, above all else, they evaluate professors by how much they care.At Georgia Tech, Michael Lowe shows his caring in many ways. An assistant professor of marketing – who studied music as an undergrad – Lowe made a deep impression on Meredith Wolpert, a 2019 graduate who joined Linkedin this summer. She describes him as someone who â€Å"makes learning fun† and â€Å"motivates his students with contagious enthusiasm.† At the same time, Lowe no tes, he treats students as respected peers by using their feedback to improve his courses. More than that, he always finds time to â€Å"go the extra mile† for students, even with the demands of his family of four.GOING ABOVE-AND-BEYONDGeorgia Techs Michael Loweâ€Å"When I received news that I made it to the final round for an internship at Red Bull, I was ecstatic, but quite nervous as I never worked on a marketing case interview before,† Wolpert shares. â€Å"So I reached out to [Lowe] for some advice. It was a Friday afternoon and Professor Lowe sat down with me for hours helping me map out different solutions and practice my case presentation†¦He has created such a positive impact on the Scheller community, and I am forever grateful for all of the lessons — both inside the classroom and out — that he has taught me!†Lowe wasn’t the only faculty member to go over-and-above for this year’s Best Brightest Business Majors. At Vi llanova University, Stephen Liedtka has a reputation for doing everything possible to help his students succeed. That made all the difference for Jessica Roberts, a marketer who struggled with the intricacies of financial accounting.â€Å"Professor Liedtka never gave up on me. He continuously pushed and worked with me throughout the semester. He helped identify my strengths and coached my weaknesses. Above anything else, he was a great professor with incredible energy and passion for his students. We mutually agreed that I would never be an accountant, but he believed that I would be a star in the marketing world. I hope to prove him right.†Ã¢â‚¬ËœSHE TRULY CHANGES LIVES EACH SEMESTER’At Washington University’s Olin School, Andrew Bower received a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a great teacher. After being a student in two of Dr. Konstantina Kiousis’ strategy classes, Bower was selected to be one of her TAs. It was here where Bower learned what it t ook to become a great professor.â€Å"I was always impressed with her passion for business strategy and care for her students. Through my role as one of her teaching assistants, I have witnessed Dr. K spend countless hours updating each lecture every semester, which motivates students to keep up with current events and to think critically about the world around them. Dr. K promotes a strong familial culture among the TA team, which creates mentorship opportunities for junior and senior TAs. While it may sound clichà ©, Dr. K truly changes lives each semester!†Washington Universitys Konstantina KiousisTeaching excellence is occasionally overlooked in academia. Among this year’s Best Brightest graduates, great professors were often transformative forces whose lessons resonate for a lifetime. They are far more than subject matter experts steeped in best practices with a penchant for preparation, however. They are custodians who set high expectations and reinforce them w ith a reassuring belief in their students that builds their confidence. As devil’s advocates, they challenge their students’ beliefs to heighten their thinking and broaden their perspectives. Master communicators, they find ways to hold attention by making their lessons clear and compelling. As accessible as they are enthusiastic, these professors possess a love of learning that rubs off, creating communities whose passion only enrich classroom discussions and discoveries. In short, these professors carry that â€Å"it† factor – comfortable in their own skin and able to seamlessly adapt to whatever their students need.SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUCCESSAccording to Boston University’s Meghana Dwaraka, â€Å"The best professors not only teach, but also empower.† David Stolow, who teaches non-profit and social enterprise management at the school, is one professor who fits this description by equipping his students with the resources they need to exc el.â€Å"He has created a powerful alumni network of students wherein everyone wants to help each other succeed,† Dwaraka writes. â€Å"His former students come back to his classes every year to provide guidance to his current students. He not only helped launch my networking efforts to improve career prospects but also took the time to help me navigate various challenges related to my startup. Most importantly, he is humble, approachable, and always goes above-and-beyond.†Such efforts stem from respect – a respect for students and the knowledge they bring and the hurdles they face. According to the University of Notre Dame’s Niko Stjepan Martinovic, no professor respects his students more than Carl Ackermann – who never forgets a name according to students. Martinovic considers Ackermann’s Introduction to Corporate Finance course to be a life-altering experience, with a message that goes far beyond portfolios and pricing.Indiana Universitys Steven KreftCLASSROOM OR DANCE CLUB?â€Å"His main takeaway from these lectures is not that you are going to amass a fortune of wealth by the time you retire, but rather that ‘When you do, DO GOOD THINGS with it,’† Martinovic explains. â€Å"Giving to charities is just the tip of the iceberg. He encourages all of his students to consider working on that community project and seeing it through to the end or devoting your time to better a community and others. Finance has a stigma of being filled with greedy and heartless individuals. Carl breaks that stereotype and strengthens the hearts and wills of every Notre Dame student in his classes to go forward into life with this fire in their hearts to do good.†How do the best professors reinforce such messaging? At Indiana University’s Kelley School, Steven Kreft sets expectations – and follows through on them with more of a playful nudge than an iron fist. Namely, he enforces a no phones rule. If one goes off, the offending student must get up in front of the lecture hall†¦and dance to a song of their choice. That’s not the only way Kreft keeps students’ energy levels up, adds Jada Haynes.â€Å"He also engages students with interactive anecdotes, personal examples, case studies and more. I find it amazing how he can incorporate everyday excitement into traditional business topics as he focuses on one of the most important, but often overlooked parts of business – Sustainability and Ethics.† Page 1 of 41234 » The Favorite Professors Of Business Majors The Favorite Professors Of Business Majors by: Jeff Schmitt on August 06, 2018 | 0 Comments Comments 3,956 Views August 6, 2018Most people think of Adam Grant as a best-selling author and global thought leader. You’ll find him profiled in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Time  Ã¢â‚¬â€ when he isn’t busy co-authoring a book with Sheryl Sandberg, that is. Companies shell out big bucks to hear him speak — and we’re talking firms like Google, Disney, Goldman Sachs, and the NBA. The guy is a rock star, gifted, in demand, and revered. Every day, he is driven by a passion: He loves to teach — and it shows.Just ask his undergrads at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. The program’s top-rated professor for seven years running — an achievement he highlights in the first line of his biography — Grant is described by Kayvon Asemani, a 2018 Best Brightest Business Major, as the â€Å"perfect teacher† — a mix of content mastery, classroom delivery, and genuine caring. It is the latter that left the deepest impression on Asemani.STAR PROF GETS INVOLVED IN STUDENT INTERESTSâ€Å"He knows every student by name, and he offers several days in his busy schedule to hold office hours with students to answer their biggest questions and connect them with others, Asemani says. He also strives to make his classroom a community by helping students build relationships with each other.†Whartons Adam GrantMore than that, Asemani adds, Grant offers his expertise and support to students outside the classroom. â€Å"Last school year, in the midst of all of the political controversy, sexual misconduct, hate crimes, and racial tensions, Adam would take breaks in his own curriculum to address these issues, get the students to discuss these issues, and mobilize us to act on what we were talking about related to each situation.†Grant wasn’t alone in inspiring t he Class of 2018 through his capabilities, consideration, and charisma. Over 30 years, Cindy van Es has emerged as a fabled figure among alumni at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. The reason? She takes a personal interest in her students — and brings out their best with her advice and mentoring. Daniel Abaraoha remembers his first meeting with van Es, one that made him feel welcome as a freshman who was 1,000 miles from home.DIFFERENT APPROACHES, SAME RESULTâ€Å"It was only supposed to be a 15-minute introduction where I go over my schedule, Abaraoha says. Next thing you know, it’s been close to an hour, I’m laughing over some story she’s telling, and I’m late to my economics discussion. It happens every single time I sit down in her office and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Students know she cares, she’s genuine, and of course very resourceful. That’s not to mention she’ s an amazing lecturer who manages to keep about two-hundred students engaged to learn statistics, which is a feat and I will never understand how she does it.†How do they do it? That’s the great mystery surrounding the great teachers. Fact is, the best ones each reach students a little differently. Some make topics come alive to students or relevant to what’s happening around them. Others invest heavily in relationships, knowing trust and understanding are the foundations to stir change. Either way, it is easy to spot the handiwork of the best business faculty. Their students are inspired by their passion and imbued with their spirit. They embrace what they hadn’t considered and take it upon themselves to answer the questions they’d once posed. In a nutshell, top professors engage, entertain, and empower. They teach students to think; they make them believe; and they spur them to care.Each year, PoetsQuants asks the top 100 Best Brightest business majors to name their favorite business professor — and share what made them so special. From there, PQ selects the best responses to honor those faculty members who stand out by truly going above-and-beyond.â€Å"NEVER LET(S) ME GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING BUT MY BEST†One way they do that is by truly challenging their students. That was a favorite strategy of Andy Hannah, an adjunct professor of analytics and entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Pittsburgh. He leaned heavily on hands-on, real world learning, says Rachael White, with his Applied Data Analytics course including client projects handled by teams of a dozen. While he supplemented his exercises with lectures, his end goal was clear: He was pushing students to think for themselves.University of Washington Raj Rakhraâ€Å"Andy focused on not just teaching us what analytics is but also getting us to be excited and intellectually curious about how analytics is being used in the business world today and how it can be used in the future,† White explains. â€Å"In addition, Andy avoided giving us a straight answer to any questions we had as a team. Instead, he pushed us to find the answer ourselves by working through and talking out the problem we were facing. This helped to increase our analytical and critical thinking skills, which we then were able to apply to other coursework and job experiences.†At the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, Kate Jung learned first-hand how unforgiving the real world of business can be. In a business consulting course with Raj Rakhra, her team was penalized for turning in a presentation just a few minutes late. Jung hasn’t repeated the mistake since — and she credits Rakhra for preparing her for the demands and opportunities to come.â€Å"Raj never let me get away with anything but my best,† she admits. â€Å"In his course, Raj challenged his students with experiential learning in consulting a nd constantly pushed us to create meaningful strategies for our clients. I came away from his course feeling like I had truly made an impact in the real-world. Beyond this, Raj would often share insights about his career at Microsoft and how students can prepare for a rapidly changing workforce. Under his guidance, I honed critical skills for my future career — from professionalism to critical thinking.†A GOOD TEACHER CAN MAKE ANY TOPIC ENGAGING†¦EVEN TAX LAWSome professors have even made the step from confidante and mentor to role model. That was the case for Professor Karie Davis-Nozemack, who teaches the Legal Aspects of Business at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. A former attorney, Davis-Nozemack continued to guide Evie Owens long after she finished her course.â€Å"She reminds me of a modern-day Elle Woods with her style, passion for the subject, as well as charismatic personality,† Owens says. â€Å"She made law class interesting a nd dynamic, and instilled a feeling of empowerment as I looked to my future as a woman in business.† Page 1 of 3123 »