2023 Best Undergraduate Professors: Esteban Petruzzello, University of Miami Herbert Business School

 

Esteban Petruzzello
University of Miami
Herbert Business School

 

“Esteban has emerged as a superstar instructor, has been involved in several developments of the undergraduate curriculum, and has shown dedication to civic engagement, and a deep commitment to student mentorship and leadership. His impact as an educator is nothing short of extraordinary. He has consistently demonstrated his passion and dedication to teaching excellence by offering a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate courses, each of which has garnered high demand from our students. His classrooms consistently run at full capacity, a testament to his effectiveness as an instructor.” – Vice Dean Hari Natarajan

Esteban Petruzzello, 39, is Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Economics at Miami Herbert Business School. 

His research focuses on the economics of addiction, the cost-benefit analysis of medical treatments such as cochlear implants, and the cost burden of hearing loss. 

At the University of Miami, he has received Excellence in Teaching awards and has been an Engaged Faculty Fellow and a Faculty Learning Community Fellow. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University, where he was awarded the Susan Schmidt Bies Prize for Doctoral Student Research on Economics and Public Policy and received Distinguished Teaching Assistant awards. 

He has been an instructor at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, and Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina).

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2015

Education: Ph.D. in Economics, Northwestern University (2015); MA in Economics, Universidad de San Andrés; BS in Economics, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Health Economics, Public Economics, Labor Economics, Game Theory in Economic Applications, and Industrial Economics and Public Policy.

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I was in my second year of college (yes, early on!).

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? We are evaluating the lifetime and societal costs of severe-to-profound hearing loss (SPHL) and exploring whether cochlear implantation during early childhood is associated with better educational and quality of life outcomes in adolescence. We have found that the estimated lifetime cost of an individual born with SPHL is very large; the primary driver of these lifetime costs is associated with earning losses, followed by educational costs and medical costs. We also found that children with SPHL who use cochlear implants have better educational outcomes and quality of life, regardless of age at implantation, than non-implanted children.

If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be …  involved in higher education in some other way. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? My passion.

One word that describes my first time teaching: jittery

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Nothing, the discovery process was fun!

Professor I most admire and why: Profs. Daniel Heymann (macroeconomics), Martin Rossi (microeconomics), and Walter Sosa Escudero (econometrics), because of how passionate and energetic they were in every class and because it was clear they really cared. I (try to) do a lot of what I’ve seen them do.

TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? Their drive and their intellectual curiosity.

What is most challenging? Dealing with student heterogeneity (it’s a rewarding challenge, though!)

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: enthusiastic

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: lackadaisical

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as … tough but fair.

LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Playing soccer, watching football, cooking, watching movies, attending musical theater plays.

How will you spend your summer? An international trip with Hyperion Council students (this is an impact consulting organization in which undergraduate business students gain valuable leadership experience by developing projects that strengthen the bonds between the local Miami-Dade, international, and University of Miami communities) and traveling with my family.

Favorite place(s) to vacation: Costa Rica and Argentina.

Favorite book(s): Finishing the Hat by the late Stephen Sondheim, who could have won the Nobel Prize in Literature based on his body of work as a lyricist.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? Cinema Paradiso (1988). Many things, but to avoid spoilers I’ll just say it has the best score and the best ending of any movie I’ve seen.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Pink Floyd, Genesis, Queen, and Los Redondos (Argentina). I love how they sound.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more… economics! I think it is great that at the University of Miami we have a Department of Economics within the business school, but this is not too common.

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … being sustainable and resilient. This is what we teach in our Master of Science in Sustainable Business at MHBS: how to find those win-win situations that are good for profits and for sustainability as well.

I’m grateful for … my family.

DON’T MISS THE ENTIRE ROSTER OF 2023’S 50 BEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSORS.