Q. Illustrate your commitment to MOBTS and management teaching with examples of your involvement in MOBTS-related activities, including but not limited to; Board/leadership roles, domestic and international MOBTS conferences, roles (author/publisher/editorial) within Journal of Management Education and Management Teaching review, as well as roles outside of MOBTS that have helped further management education.
Over the last several years, I’ve done everything possible to become completely immersed in the society including presenting sessions, publishing research, and serving as a reviewer and committee member. I’ve presented or been involved with a session at every MOBTS conference since Walsh University (2016), including the International Conference at Maynooth, Ireland, where I received the “Top Reviewers’ Choice Session” Award. I have two publications at MTR and at the time of this writing, I also have two R&Rs at JME. I’ve been an active reviewer for MTR since 2017 and for the last couple of years I’ve volunteered to be an ad-hoc reviewer for JME’s Roethlisberger Award. For the past 18 months, I’ve also been a member of the MOBTS Finance Committee, which is responsible for formulating budgets, handling financial planning, and improving overall financial reporting transparency to the Board of Directors. Rounding out my involvement, I was a member of the 2017 EEI and my school (Salem State, in Salem, MA) was runner-up to host the MOBTS conference in 2022. Hopefully we’ll land it soon! Wouldn’t Halloween in June be fun?!?
Q. What specific personal, professional, and/or technical qualities and experiences will you bring to the MOBTS Board of Directors?
If I were elected to the MOBTS Board of Directors, I would bring commitment, conscientiousness, and a proven ability to work well with others, alongside valuable experience as a member of committees – both within MOBTS and at my institution. As a member of the MOBTS Finance Committee, I’ve learned a lot about not only the budget and spending for MOBTS and its related conferences and journals, but more importantly, I’ve also learned about its values. I believe that my behind-the-scenes access uniquely positions me to step naturally into the role of a board member. In addition to my time spent on this committee, I have a number of years of experience working on various other committees throughout my school, including Salem State’s IRB, the Student Success committee (tasked with improving student retention and graduation rates), and our Management Department’s search committee.
These experiences aside, I’m confident that what makes me especially qualified for this position is the following: anyone who’s familiar with marketing knows that you can’t say certain comparative words such as “more,” so instead, I’ll say that I have an unsurpassed passion for teaching and by extension MOBTS and its pedagogical values. In fact, I was fortunate to earn the 2019 MOBTS New Educator Award based on my contributions, experience, and dedication to teaching. Everyone who knows me knows that I get energized at these conferences and I’m actually the same way when I teach. I plan to bring that same level of enthusiasm to the Board and to organizing the DI. Speaking of which, I know my love of teaching will go a long way in helping inspire doctoral students (i.e., hook them early) and ensure they remain MOBTS members for years to come.
Q. The academic landscape is constantly changing. This not only impacts our institutions, but so too does it greatly impact not-for-profit organizations such as MOBTS. What issues and/or situations do you perceive to be on the horizon that MOBTS will have to assess and adapt to?
What a question… no more softballs, eh? Okay… to me, the most pressing issues are declining enrollment trends and shrinking financial resources for academic institutions (and faculty). Of course, these two issues are correlated with more and more potential undergraduates questioning the value of a college education and the ensuing massive debt. Consequently, many colleges are forced to make adjustments, often resulting in a tendency towards scheduling larger classes. This poses a significant challenge to faculty who take pride in offering transformative experiential learning opportunities (something that’s at the core of MOBTS’ teaching values) as class sizes swell and resources dwindle. MOBTS will need to evolve its programs and publications to account for the realities of these shifts in the academic landscape, while staying committed to its mission “to enhance the quality of teaching and learning across the management disciplines.” So what impact will this have on MOBTS itself? The society will have to continue to be fiscally responsible (thanks to the Finance Committee – shout out!) and to seek out new networks of colleagues who may benefit from our refined teaching practices and collective wisdom. What immediately comes to mind would be enhancing our efforts to attract other programs/majors within a typical business school, such as Accounting, Decision Sciences, or Marketing.