Saint Michael's College

Title: Professor of Business Administration

Education: B.Comm. McGill University; M.B.A. University of Toronto; Ph.D. Concordia University

Areas of Expertise/Research Interests: Case development focusing on business/government relations and sustainability

Testimonial: Teaching at Saint Michael's College gives me the opportunity to connect with students, to challenge them and be challenged by them.

What do you like most about teaching/working at Saint Michael's College? There is never a semester when I can't say I learned something from the students, and hopefully they say the same about me! Even in our largest classes, I get to know each and every student and how they are responding to the course and the material.

What inspires students the most in your classes and/or your academic area? I think they respond to my enthusiasm for the material, and in particular for certain key principles: the power that free market principles can have in addressing key issues such as poverty, economic development and human rights, and the unintended consequences of many well-intentioned but ultimately disasterous policies adopted over the years by countries around the world.

What is your favorite class to teach, and why? International Business because it focuses on the nexus between business and public policy. The course gives students an opportunity to see the connections between the right kinds of public policy and economic development, and the wrong kinds of public policy and economic hardship. The course also focuses on the global trading system and is the gateway for students to understand the role that free trade and open markets has played in reducing poverty and promoting economic progress.

What kinds of unique opportunities are available to students in your classes or department? Saint Michael's faculty can participate in our First-Year Seminar program, which is interdisciplinary. This has been a fabulous experience for me. Ten years ago, I co-developed a seminar on sustainable development with a colleage in our economics cepartment. We taught the course for two years, then I co-taught it with another colleague from our biology department. This past year, I have worked with the chairperson of the biology department to re-offer the course, but it has now been reconfigured to also fulfill the lab sciences requirement. She has led the lab sessions, while I've led the case discussions. It's been a tremendously rewarding experience for me - I have learned a lot from her, and hopefully the students are enjoying getting two different perspectives on a range of environmental issues.