Chris Paisley, Santa Clara University (Leavey)
“My Intro to Accounting professor, Chris Paisley, has been my favorite professor at Santa Clara. He was considered to be one of the toughest ACTG 11 professors, and provided a great challenge in both learning the topics and applying them in difficult situations, forcing his students to truly learn the concepts. At the same time, he always helped connect our in-class learnings with his business experiences, providing a better educational and classroom experience. I’ve been grateful to him for staying in contact and providing advice on my professional career path during our email correspondences or office visits. His years of experience and understanding of young professional career tracks were very helpful in deciding what I wanted to do for my full-time career and how to best pursue it. Overall, he was one of the most impactful professors that helped significantly transform my business education.”
Yash Tanna, Santa Clara University (Leavey)
“My favorite is supply chain professor, Raymond Hummel. And I was fortunate to take his class before his retirement later this year. He has a teaching style that is so different that it is even hard to explain. Classes were taught in a conversational style and would often steer off course onto topics that seemed random but, at the end of the semester, they all made sense in a big picture way. I feel sad that not many others will have the opportunity to take classes with him since he is retiring but I feel lucky to have learned from such a wonderful, unique person.”
João Pires Coelho, University of San Diego (Knauss)
“My favorite professor at Seton Hall is John Shannon. As a freshman I was in his Business Legal Foundations course which inspired me to then take his Disruption Technology & Law course in the fall. His courses were very non-traditional since the material was fairly complex, but he took a very unstructured approach to teaching since he wanted students to develop their unique perspective on topics. This was all apparent when he would end class with the famous “Think Different” slide featuring the Apple logo. Beyond his courses there is a Slack group designed for his current students and alumni to engage in conversations and share articles regarding policy and disruptive technology. Professor Shannon has pushed me to think different and motivated me to explore my limits.”
Luke Tyler, Seton Hall University (Stillman)
“My favorite professor at the SMU Cox School has been Professor. Mukunthan Santhanakrishnan, known to his students as “Muku.” I was fortunate to have Professor Muku for my first and last finance courses – Financial Management and Derivatives. He relies on real world examples to explain formulas and theory, and he pushes students to ask questions constantly. In any given class period, Professor Muku will ask “does this make sense?” a dozen times. I credit my success in the finance program to the foundations he laid for me. He is also a supportive professor beyond the walls of the classroom. He was always available and excited to work through problems one-on-one, and those semesters when I didn’t have a class with him, Professor Muku kept in touch, making sure that I maintained the momentum begun in his class.”
Greta Felten, Southern Methodist University (Cox)
Brad Harris, Texas Christian University (Neeley)
“Dr. Brad Harris, one of my leadership professors and the Academic Director for the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program. He doesn’t teach through a hyper-academic lens that is focused solely on lecturing and regurgitating textbook answers to his students. He understands the nature of vulnerability and has this seemingly inherent ability to cultivate a feeling of safety, trust, and reflection among his students. Dr. Harris made it clear to our cohort that leadership and life do not exist in a vacuum. He pushed back against traditional teaching styles by encouraging us time-and time-again to look deeper into the juxtaposition between leadership in the academic realm and being leading human beings in our lives by asking the “tough questions” and approaching problem solving from unconventional angles.
Every Monday and Wednesday, our classroom was never quiet. Class engagement was constant, punctuated by moments of probing curiosity and thoughtful tangents of discussion. If he genuinely didn’t have an answer to a question, he would tell us. If he thought we asked him something that we would be able to reason our way through, he would push back at us to do so. In a progressively automated world nuanced skills like creative problem solving, flexibility, and calculated risk-taking are what separate the greats from the goods, and real impact from average improvement. This is exactly what Dr. Harris challenged us to embody. Teaching didn’t end for him after class let out, either. He made and continues to make a direct effort to follow up with students and check in on both personal and professional means. On our last class of the semester, he gave his final words of wisdom: “You’re smart, now you have to be courageous.” Even as graduation nears and I no longer have class with him, Dr. Harris challenges me to keep choosing courage in everything I do and I am forever grateful for the depth of impact he has had on the way I go about living my life.”
Cassie Trosino, Texas Christian University (Neeley)
My favorite professor is Britt Harris, founder and instructor of the Titans of Investing Program. Britt Harris, current chief executive officer of the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), has generously given his time and resources to prepare students like myself for a future that merges a high-paced career with global competencies, ethical standards, and key leadership skills. Britt has changed the way I view the world around me by strengthening my ability to remain curious and informed within a rapidly-changing world. I have not only gained tangible financial knowledge from this course, I have strengthened my personal and professional values in a way that will serve me for years to come.
Sarah Sriram, Texas A&M (Mays)
“My favorite professor would be Professor Rob Lalka, who taught me the year-long Student Venture Accelerator course. While the class is primarily about entrepreneurship and creating new ventures, Professor Lalka’s primary goal is to prepare his students to enter life after college, regardless of job status. For one, he treats the class like a structured work environment; assignments are due at 5:00 PM, and students correspond via Slack instead of through other learning management systems. He also leverages his real-world experience serving on the board of major companies to simulate in-class board meetings, investment pitches, and team-building exercises. Beyond teaching for the real world, he maintains a professional network of investors and industry experts, and he connects students with these people who can serve as mentors both for student venture projects and for future career advice. Undeniably, Professor Lalka cares deeply about his students and wants to encourage young entrepreneurial thinkers to tackle our world’s future challenges.”
George Ingrish, Tulane University (Freeman)
Carl Voight, USC (Marshall)
“Carl Voigt was my favorite professor. I had him during my freshman year for the Global Leadership Program. The class met every Friday and we had to wear proper business professional attire. Every Friday, he would email us early in the morning and challenge us to respond before 7 am, proving we had control over our lives and choices. Professor Voigt gave me my first glimpse into business and leadership and created an empowering classroom. We had many guest speakers and Professor Voigt encouraged us to ask questions. He set a high expectation saying he would note who did not raise their hand rather than who did, and so everyone’s hands went up to ask questions at the end of a speech. Professor Voigt taught me all sorts of lessons, such as setting an agenda, having a global mindset, building self-awareness, and having cross-cultural awareness.”
Kate Donenfeld, USC (Marshall)
“If I had to choose one favorite professor, I would say Professor Ryan Nelson. In my third year, Professor Nelson was my teacher in McIntire’s Integrated Core Curriculum, and I now serve as his teaching assistant for the program. Most students would remember Professor Nelson as a funny, Buffett-loving, and approachable professor who always has the students’ best interests in mind. Professor Nelson has been a constant source of support and advice throughout my two years at McIntire. He is a flexible and innovative teacher who is highly devoted to delivering the most up-to-date material in information technology. I enjoyed how Professor Nelson used real-world projects and interesting software like Miro and Tableau throughout his class.”
Emily Eason Kruse, University of Virginia (McIntire)
“My favorite professor is Kenny Herbst who teaches me the Principle of Marketing. Professor Herbst is very passionate about teaching and getting to know each student. He is able to connect the learning materials to real-life scenarios and provides us with thought-provoking instructions. He is always willing to help in or out of the classroom and makes sure all his students have an idea to contribute. Professor Herbst is a wonderful attribute to the Wake Forest Business School and makes every class an enjoyable experience.”
Natalie He, Wake Forest University
Washington University’s Konstantina Kiousis
“My favorite professor at WashU is Dr. Konstantina Kiousis! She was my first business instructor, and I loved her course so much I’ve now worked as her teaching assistant for seven semesters. Dr. K is a shining example of someone who genuinely puts her heart into her profession and leads with compassion. She maintains the highest standards for her courses – whether that be through putting together polished slide decks or thought-provoking, application-based exam questions. I’m inspired by her intellectual curiosity and drive to stay on top of the next big thing. She’s the easiest person to talk to, loves to throw parties and is always there if I need anything!”
Carmen Rottinghaus, Washington University (Olin)
“Tod Bergstrom. His class was so interesting and engaging. His personality and teaching style was full of life. The level of effort he put into the class was unparalleled. Our case study for the quarter was NCAA NIL rules. He brought in guest speakers like the former UW football coach, NFL players, the UW athletic director, authors, congressional members, and many other interesting speakers. He also coordinated with local businesses for us to work with for group projects. I’ve never seen a teacher go above and beyond for a class like Tod Bergstrom.”
Josh Lee, University of Washington (Foster)
“Professor Vincent Buccola. Not only is he one of the most thoughtful and engaging lecturers I’ve had, but he’s also an expert on pushing students to think and discover knowledge for themselves. He breaks down complex legalese into analogies that students from all backgrounds can wrestle with, such as using Lyn’s, a popular campus food truck, as a model for learning corporate legal theory. Further, he’s also been one of the most accessible professors outside of class, always open to grabbing coffee and answering my many unformed questions. He is genuinely curious and genuinely cares to learn more about his students’ lives too. I was in his class during spring of 2020, and he jumped to find ways to support students who had to leave campus at the beginning of the pandemic, far above-and-beyond what I would have ever expected of any professor.”
Javion Joyner, Wharton School
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