Kai R. Larsen
University of Colorado
Leeds School of Business
“I currently lead a data implementations team and I wouldn’t be here without Kai. I took his Business Analytics course as an elective and took to the content immediately. Kai saw my love for the material and pushed me to take that interest to the next level by encouraging me to TA for the class the next semester. He hired me as the head TA and jump started my career in Analytics. He also encouraged me to apply for the MS in Business Analytics. I am just one of the many students he has done this for. He’s one of those professors that I will remember my entire life and I can’t think of a more deserving individual for this award.” – Gracie Gerron
Kai R. Larsen, 54, is Professor of Information Systems at University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. He is a courtesy faculty member of Information Science, a Research Advisor to Gallup, an Associate Editor of MIS Quarterly, and a fellow of the Institute of Behavioral Science. Larsen is most known for providing a practical solution to Edward Thorndike’s (1904) Jingle Fallacy and his notable contributions to the Semantic Theory of Survey Response. His book on automated machine learning was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.
He was named one of the 75 leading Academic Data Leaders of 2022 by CDO Magazine. He has received the Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Teaching Award and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award from the University of Colorado.
He has received disciplinary-wide research awards in design science from the Association for Information Systems and INFORMS, and has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. He is currently funded to integrate research on stress through ontology development. Technologies he and his team developed are used by tens of thousands of researchers.
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2000
Education:
- Ph.D. Information Science, SUNY Albany
- M.A. Software Engineering, University of South-Eastern Norway
- B.A./B.S. Pedagogics and Software Engineering, University of South-Eastern Norway
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Business Analytics
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I realized I wasn’t smart enough to be a physics professor.
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? For the last 20 years, I’ve been developing language models to examine what psychological surveys measure and to predict survey answers. If a person is about to fill out their agreement with the statement, “I feel confident in my manager’s effectiveness,” I would like to predict their answer before they give it. If my colleagues and I succeed, which we already do in part, we can integrate a wide swath of human theories and models of behavior.
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be … sad.
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I don’t always stand out, but if I do, it is likely because I work hard to improve student learning. Ongoing focus on conceptual modeling and information structuration allows topical breakdown and reconstitution. I have two goals: First, to make students so good at the process that they can’t help but use it in their life and work. Second, to ignite a passion for the topic on par with my own.
One word that describes my first time teaching: Unimpressive. I am not a born teacher. I have to work at it.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Often, teaching is like painting on water. It is a performance art that is appreciated by those present, but its enduring value is often unacknowledged outside the classroom.
Professor I most admire and why: Knut W. Hansson, one of my undergraduate professors. He put meticulous work into his exhibits, had pitch-perfect delivery, and taught me how to model the world conceptually. Knut gathered anonymous qualitative feedback from his students on the classes he taught. He summarized and shared this feedback in a public forum. I employ the same technique for any class until it is in great shape. Reading each student’s three positives and three negatives about a class is the most humbling experience I can imagine after pouring my soul into a class. When striving to deliver a class that maximally increases student learning, I often think of the example set by Knut.
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? Their minds can stretch far beyond what they know. They are so impressive.
What is most challenging? Understanding that life outside the classroom sometimes throws students curveballs and to switch from a provider of knowledge to a provider of understanding. Some things in life are more important than knowledge.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Voriosity (voracious curiosity)
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: I honestly can’t think of a type. All student types allow me to grow. I want to reach them all. I never do, but it is a worthy goal.
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as …Demanding
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? I’m pretty boring. I am too inspired by the potential of my research to change lives to put it away for long. I aspire to be less boring.
How will you spend your summer? Likely on a bicycle. I would love to do the Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa again. Growing up, I climbed mountainsides a lot. I have retained a talent for it. I hope to engage more with this interest.
Favorite place(s) to vacation: Flekkerøy (an island near the southern tip of Norway accessible through an underwater tunnel). I’m fortunate enough to be affiliated with the University of Agder, so my annual research visit tends to see me living on Flekkerøy.
Favorite book(s): The Old Man and the Sea, The Lord of the Rings, Dune (anything by father and son Herbert). All stories about persevering against incredible odds, sometimes with only your scars to show for it.
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? Stargate SG-1. The endless potential for discovery against all odds.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa. Anything by female artists with a fast beat that empowers me to pedal a bit harder.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this …Research impact.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … Avoiding the tragedy of the commons. We are wasting our precious water resources on AI models that are barely more than advanced spellcheckers and destroying our environment in almost every way to provide convenience. Humanity will likely collapse in a few hundred years after destroying most plant and animal life. Expect to see the destruction increase exponentially.
I’m grateful for … My wife. She accepts me for all my flaws and is better than me in every way that counts.
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