Working in three departments each semester gives me a lot of opportunity to contribute to academic programs. In mathematics, I am researching math anxiety and student outcomes. In ITM, I am constantly revising to curriculum to stay up-to-date with current events and updated software. In entrepreneurship, I have various responsibilities to the program as I am chair of the program.
More detailed information can be found in the sections below.
Department Chair
I also assumed a leadership role as chairperson of the entrepreneurship certificate program in November of 2015. I am excited to chair this program since I am an entrepreneur, having owned my studio (Auburn Yoga and Pilates) since 2004, and do what I can to grow the program.
I believe that the development and growth of the Entrepreneurship Certificate program since I assumed leadership is a significant accomplishment. When I took over the program in 2015, there were approximately 18 students enrolled in the program. As of the beginning of the 2018-2019, there were approximately 22 students enrolled, without counting incoming freshman who enroll. The Spring 2019 capstone class had 11 seniors enrolled, so approximately 33 students were in the program in the spring 2019 semester. The Spring 2020 capstone class had 10 students enrolled.
Many of the general business majors also pursue entrepreneurship as a concentration. Of course, I hope to continue to grow and evolve this program moving forward. (I also submitted suggestions regarding offering EPS as a major, but never heard back regarding my submissions/suggestions.)
PROGRAM REVIEW
EPS went through program review during the 2019-2020 school year. The program review required a lot of preparation, but was an informational process to go through.
Self-study report for EPS Program Review
Oversight of Interns
With the offering of EPS 480, the Entrepreneurship Capstone, I supervised ten student internships during the Spring 2020 semester. For these internships, the students enrolled in EPS 480 had to complete a 45-hour internship related to position/business that they may like to pursue after graduation.
COVID made completing the internships more challenging than usual, but student were able to overcome the challenges and all were able to complete their internships remotely.
Advising for EPS
I also act as the second advisor for students in the certificate program so that I could help advise them. As a result, I have A LOT of advisees.
Career Fair
I participated in the advising day with one of the EPS students, Carly Wilson.
Guest Speakers
In addition to getting many guest speakers to attend my EPS 227 and EPS 480 classes, I also worked with Priscilla and Charlie to bring Kelly Brabants from Booty by Brabants to campus.
Excel
I proposed the Advanced Excel class that now satisfies a requirement for the professional development course in a Nichols student course requirements. I am proud that the class has grown in popularity over the years, moving from an elective that was offered every other semester to a course that is currently offered in both an online and on campus format this semester (2 sections). I am also happy to report that a student who took Advanced Excel with me did well on the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) Exam and reported that the course prepared him well for it!
I have proposed an “Advanced, Advanced Excel” course but it hasn’t yet gained enough traction to run. I do believe that if we offer it, students will eventually take advantage of the course.
I have also agreed to teach SQL but did ask for course development funding because learning this program would be a MAJOR time commitment. However, I believe that the benefits to our students, along with the potential to offer this to working professionals in UAEP and/or the MBA programs would greatly outweigh this small cost.
PowerBI
I was fortunate enough to work for a company that had EY as a client. As a result, I worked as a virtual webcast producer for EY for the summer of 2020. The position was extremely eye opening for me as I was able to produce events for one of the top four professional service companies in the WORLD. I was able to interact with EY employees and their clients throughout the entire world.
I was also able to see, firsthand, what programs and processes the top companies in the world are using when I was producing their sessions. I was also able to ask many of EY’s managers and partners about how the programs were used. (I explained that I taught math and IT at a small business college in MA.) As I result of what I learned,, I offered to teach a PowerBI class for our students at Nichols.
I did not receive an affirmative response to my offer but I am hopeful that the “powers that be” recognize the benefits for our students and allow me to teach the course.
