#bizprof

The long list for the EIU Business Professor of the Year Award has been announced.

Please see below for the 15 professors that made the long list, made up of the top ten professors who received the most verified votes during the voting stage, and the five additional professors chosen by our judging panel.

The judges will now select four professors from the long list to form the shortlist, which will be announced on February 4th 2013. Those shortlisted will compete in the live teach-off in London on March 14th. For those interested in viewing the live broadcast of the teach-off, full registration details will be announced soon; you can pre-register here.

Economist Intelligence Unit

 

Nomination Details

Gautam Ahuja
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business

 Nominator's comment
Professor Ahuja is exceptional in his ability to actually teach what strategy is about. In all my previous strategy classes, the teachers would often quote a combination of porter five forces and core competencies, but leave me without any concrete understanding of what it means to think strategically. Professor Ahuja takes an tireless approach to go through each framework, breaking down each element step by step, asking provoking questions to test our understanding, and then showing us how to evaluate factors to arrive at a sound conclusion. He does all this with humor and warmth, and quickly becomes the favorite professor that all students love. Furthermore, he conducts the 3 hour class 5 days of week, never without any sign of fatigue or disinterest. He shows that he cares about this students and he loves to teach. The last class of every semester leaves all the students in tears and has us rising in standing ovation.
by Honore, University of Michigan

Long_list

Johanne Brunet
Marketing, International Marketing and Creativity and Innovation
HEC Montreal
Canada

 Nominator's comment
What makes Johanne such a gifted professor is her incredible passion for the subject she teaches and her effortless ability to keep a classroom interesting and engaging. Unlike some professors who become stagnate and somewhat resistant to change, Johanne embraces it and gets excited about learning, almost as much she does about teaching. In fact she is constantly attending conferences and seminars around the world in order to stay at the forefront of the Marketing field. This is vital in our fast evolving and highly competitive global marketplace. Apart from (and despite of) her outstanding academic credentials and accomplished professional experience at some of Quebec’s top organizations, she has remained humble, empathetic, and genuinely caring for her students. I am proud to nominate Johanne Brunet for the Economist’s ‘business professor of the year award’ and truly believe that she is the embodiment of this prestigious title. by Ali , Others

Darren Dahl
Marketing
University of British Columbia
Canada

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Nominator's comment
Professor Dahl brought an energy and a life to the classroom that I had never seen before. His method of using cases to teach and encouraging participation made a truly collaborative environment. Never before had I been in a class where every student contributed, every class. His passion and dedication also extended beyond the classroom; despite a hectic schedule, he would always make time for students to discuss career paths and life goals. In this class, I not only learned how to structure and address a business marketing problem, but also, how to communicate directly, how to share my ideas openly, and the importance of infusing a room with energy. Dahl was able to unite our class's structured business education with a passion for creativity and inventive thinking, and every single student was sorry to see the class end. by Claire, Others

Gregory Fairchild
Strategic Management
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
USA

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Nominator's comment
Greg's passion begins in the classroom teaching students and facilitating invigorating discussion. He views his primary purpose as an educator who is fully dedicated to his students' development. Outside of the classroom, his social investing research has transformed many community development finance programs and has led to changes in public policy. He brings his studies and experiences to class where he encourages students to think about their role in society very differently than merely business managers. He challenges his students with tough questions about how they will use their knowledge, skills, and position to positively impact their communities and to become better contributing members of society. Many of Greg's students will look back and greatly appreciate the inflection point that he planted in their thinking. by Matthew, University of Virginia

C. K. Gunsalus
Ethics, Professional Responsibility and Leadership
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
USA

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Nominator's comment
Assessing value blends both art and science, the former lending its free form creativity and the latter its precision. It’s scarcity, however, from which a good derives value. The pool of business academics abounds in talent, the most valuable of professors ascending high above expectations of a teacher, a value so conspicuous in Professor Gunsalus’ classroom it’s easy to forget how scarce it truly is. In taking two of Professor Gunsalus’ courses, I’ve been exposed to the delicate care she infuses in each student relationship. I’d never met someone so fiercely embodying the values she espoused—leading classes in Professional Responsibility and Negotiations, the values disseminated through lesson plans are the same that govern her personal decisions, bringing ethics and theory to life via personal stories as few others can, because she lives what she teaches as few others do. Cultivating a style that delivers not just knowledge but a unique personal touch to each student, her teaching shapes every decision I make, a subconscious nod to the quality she delivers. Transforming our College into a community—and establishing Professional Responsibility as its cornerstone in doing so—Professor Gunsalus’ impact extends beyond any classroom. Her passion for student learning proves tangible, flowing through her students’ every work, reinventing the concept of learning for me and so many others as she mounts a one-professor campaign to escalate the standard defining scarcity. by Billy and Jordy, University of Illinoisat Urbana- Champaign

Jie Michael Guo
Corporate Finance
Durham University Business School
United Kingdom

 Nominator's comment
He is a great supervisor, for the patient guidance, encouragement and advice he has provided throughout my time as his student. I have been extremely lucky to have a supervisor who cared so much about my work, and who responded to my questions and queries sopromptly. by ji, Others

Kevin Kaiser
Management Practice
INSEAD
France

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Nominator's comment
Kevin is an inspiring and passionate teacher. He introduced me to the theories and practice of corporate finance nearly 20 years when he was a young teacher just starting his career. It is a testament to Kevin’s unique style that, 2 decades later, I can still remember the time spent in his classroom and the lessons that I learnt. Kevin has a great gift for presenting complex ideas in a simple way and for using examples that stick in the memory – even as the memory fades. He is truly a unique teacher who has inspired and educated generations of INSEAD students and countless senior executives. by Graham, Institut national de la Poste et des Technologies de l' Informationet de la Communication

Mark Laplante
Finance
The Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia
USA

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Nominator's comment
What Mark (that’s right, he makes us call him Mark) brings to the classroom is a very rare combination of passion and excellence. From the very moment he strides into the classroom on the first day, the “lunch is for wimps” look he has in his eyes grabs your attention. Mark is an engaging speaker and seasons his lectures with memorable examples which range from strategic decisions of the Boeing management team to how the compensation packages of our professors incentivizes their behavior. Over the course of a semester, you get the sense that Mark believes that there is very little which better explains what is going on the world than time-value-of-money. After a few weeks, wait times turn into opportunity costs and beating the average becomes alpha and you start to believe too. by Phillip, The University of Georgia

Dr. Clinton Longenecker
Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness
The University of Toledo, College of Business and Innovation
USA

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Nominator's comment
Dr. Clint Longenecker is the Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the College of Business and Innovation at The University of Toledo. A world-renowned scholar and educator, Clint has served as a consultant for a variety of Fortune 500 organizations, has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and has even consulted for the United States Navy. He has authored over 150 journal articles and his books have been translated into several different languages. My respect and admiration for Dr. Longenecker extend far beyond his professional achievements. The vast majority of his current and past students will attest to the passion, energy, and integrity he brings to everything he pursues. For me, he has been an educator, mentor, and personal friend. In addition to his work and research in performance improvement, he continues to contribute to humanitarian and charitable causes, including school and hospital construction projects in Haiti and other developing nations. In his role as a community servant, he demonstrates his commitment to ethical and responsible leadership, far beyond anything taught in the classroom. by Jacob, University of Toledo

Ranjeet Nambudiri
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
Indian Institute of Management Indore
India

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Nominator's comment
Professor Nambudiri has this uncanny ability of teaching any topic immaculately well. His amazing lectures have been a treat. He can easily connect real life scenarios to the theory depending on the audience. He is always ready with loads of examples to mimic the scenario. The personal attention he gives to each participant of the course makes the it all the more enjoyable. by Utkarsh, Others

Sharadindu Pandey
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Gautam Buddha University
India

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Nominator's comment
He is an excellent teacher as well as have vast knowledge about strategic management and statistical method for business analytics. His interaction with students is unbeleivable. by rohit, Others

Jeff Sandefer
Entrepreneurship
Acton School of Business
USA

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Nominator's comment
Jeff has this insatiable thirst to build principled entrepreneurs and business leaders that I have never seen in anyone before. His passion to serve the community as well as the classroom is both contagious and inspiring. Jeff's reputation as an entrepreneur and teacher has stood the test of hundreds of customer reviews (the students). Without a doubt, his absolute commitment to the school's three promises and case-method have proved incredibly effective. When Jeff "teaches" he does not lecture nor preach to the classroom. It's all case-method, meaning the students form decisions and discuss, debate and argue using case facts and assumptions. Jeff is merely the facilitator. The best way to describe Jeff is almost as an executive business coach when he's in the classroom - always asking more questions than making statements. I actually cannot recall a time when Jeff made a declarative statement. Most traditional schools and teachers frown upon the case-method or experimental teaching. As a student and alumni, I had my fair share of bumps, scrapes and humbling moments in class, but nothing has prepared me more than Acton and what Jeff instilled in us. The very tools I used in Jeff's class is what I am using on a day-to-day basis as a leader and partner in a quickly growing international company. by Andy, Others

Adrian Saville
Economics and Competitive Strategy
Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria
South Africa

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Nominator's comment
Professor Adrian Saville is one of the most inspiring professors at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Adrian's exceptional academic and business career, combined with his fantastic teaching talents, served to inspire not only myself, but our Master of Business Administration (MBA) classes as well. Adrian challenges students with his thought provoking ideas and his ability to question the status quo. Adrian creates a classroom environment that facilitates learning, ensures people feel comfortable to share their thoughts and ideas and provokes insightful classroom debate. Adrian's extensive business experience and finger on the pulse of current macro-economic and financial developments, both local and international, ensures that academic theories are presented with 'real world' context, making course content relevant and accessible to all. From the perspective of gaining a business education, such context and relevance of what we learn is invaluable. Given my nomination above, I unreservedly nominate Professor Adrian Saville for The Economist Intelligence Unit Business Professor of the Year Award. by Nicky, University of Pretoria/ Universiteit van Pretoria

Vijay Sethi
Information Technology
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore

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Nominator's comment
It is my pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Professor Vijay Sethi to support him for the EIU Business Professor of the Year Award. I had the fortunate opportunity to study under Prof. Vijay this year. He is an outstanding faculty at the Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School that truly deserves this award. He is a devoted and enthusiastic teacher in his New Venture Practicum and Technology and e-Business course. I have been inspired, along with many others, to go above and beyond to excel in my interests. He is extremely knowledgeable and provides sound advice on developing first-class analytical, professional, and presentation skills. He has invested a significant amount of time building an immense rapport with myself and all other students. His dedication, enthusiasm, and sense of humor are contagious and well-appreciated. I give him the highest regards for going out of his way to mentor students on a personal level. Professor Vijay is the winner of several teaching awards, including the MBA Teacher of the Year in 2011 and Nanyang Business School’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2012. I am certain that he will continue to make many more contributions. I give him the utmost possible recommendation for his dedication and passion for his students and classes. by Andrew, Nanyang Technological University

Dr Nikhil Zaveri
Management
SEMCOM (A Charutar Vidya Mandal Institution), Sardar Patel University
India

 Nominator's comment
What makes him an outstanding teacher is reflected in how he carries his impact over a number of students. I am one of them who is greatly influenced by his sympathetic but strict approach to the life of students in the college. In the class-room, he is always though-provoking, encouraging all of us to develop different perspectives on an issue, and guide us to think differently in every situation. What impresses me the most is his ability to entice the students in the class-room challenging the equilibrium of the issue which help throw newer ideas and develop new thinking. His initiative to take the education out of the class-room with a punch “Going Beyond Text-books, Going Beyond Class-rooms” has evolved new pedagogies in business education, like learning team-building in theatre through film screening, learning basics of investment through playing games in casino, etc. His teachings in Attitude building have created focus around Integral Development generating great amount of enthusiasm among students, with innovative activities aimed at “Exposure, Experience, Enrichment”. His style of engaging students throughout the learning process is very inspiring. His high-level of enthusiasm, enterprising spirit, innovative thinking, and student-centric approach motivate the students to engross in the process of learning. In my opinion, he is just not a teacher, but an Institution in himself. by Himanshu, Sardar Patel University

Roy Zuniga
Operations Management and Operations Strategy
INCAE Business School
Costa Rica and Nicaragua

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Nominator's comment
Because he is excellent in the subject he is teaching and knows how to pass on his knowledge. He also knows each one of his students. by Gioconda, Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas