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Professor Spotlight: Robert Prentice – LEB 323H

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Professor Spotlight: Robert Prentice – LEB 323H

Written by Audra Fields

“’Be the kind of person your dog thinks you are’ ~Robert Prentice” I read as I cracked open my BHP-customized fortune cookie, a part of a playful initiative to encourage ethical behavior at McCombs. Not only is that advice humorous, but credible– If anyone should be fortune-telling over ethics, it is Dr. Robert Prentice, director of BHP, 37-year running professor of Business Law and Ethics, behavioral ethics expert, and dog enthusiast. This week, I sat down with him to find out more about his career, background, and joys in life.

What courses do you teach? I teach the BHP required LEB323H course (Business Law and Ethics) and the BHP Lyceum 151H. I have taught for 37 years at UT, and taught LEB every year.

But which class is your favorite? LEB323H because I get to do all the talking.

What do you enjoy the most about teaching BHP students? The kids are very smart and engaged. They take ownership of their education more than most students. It’s all relative, but in the great scheme of things, they take it more seriously. They’re all smarter than I am.

It’s rumored that you were once a farmer. Tell me more about your career path and how you got into teaching. I had three jobs before teaching at UT. The first was working my parents’ farm in Kansas, which I did until I was 17 and could pay my way through college and law school. The second was being a law clerk for Federal District Judge Richard Rogers in Kansas. I did that for five years and loved it! The third was teaching a public speaking course at night school. After that, I knew I wanted to teach.

Any crazy stories from that night school gig? Yes! Linda Brown, from Brown vs. Board of Education, was actually a student in my public speaking class. A girl whose dad started Westboro Baptist Church was also in the class. Even weirder, during my time as a clerk, I faced that guy who started the Westboro Baptist Church cult in court, as he was a lawyer.

Let’s learn some fun facts about you. Give me five!

  • I have two great daughters, Indie and Kira. Kira is in a dance troupe at Harvard, but I am deathly afraid of dancing. Dancing in public is a nightmare scenario for me. I’m just terrible at it.
  • My favorite animal is a dog, specifically a Border Collie.
  • I’m big on baking, watching movies, and reading. If you have any book recommendations, let me know!
  • I love watching college sports. The teams I root for are the Kansas Jayhawks for basketball and UT for football. I also love playing softball!
  • Traveling is one of my biggest hobbies. My favorite travel destinations are Scotland, Switzerland, and New Zealand.

When and where are your office hours? Come find me in CBA 5.256 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-11 am and Wednesdays from 8-9 am, but I’m here lots and lots of other times too.

Professor Spotlight: Douglas Hannah – MAN 374H

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Professor Spotlight: Douglas Hannah – MAN 374H

Currently, only BHP seniors have the privilege of learning from Douglas Hannah in class, but that is about to change. Dr. Hannah currently teaches the BHP capstone course MAN 374H, which focuses on business strategy. All BHP students take MAN 374H before graduating, and if you are in Dr. Hannah’s section of the class, studying strategy includes tinker toys and lots of chocolate. Starting in the fall of 2017, sophomore students will also get to enjoy Dr. Hannah’s dynamic and engaging teaching style. Dr. Hannah is developing a new course for first-semester BHP sophomores that will focus on entrepreneurship and creativity. He hopes the class will be a gateway to introduce student leaders to all of the entrepreneurship course offerings, resources, opportunities, and student organizations on campus. The course will include lessons on idea creation and how to turn an idea into a company. According to Hannah, the fundamental skill of entrepreneurship is “how to see something no one else has seen and convince others that it is a good idea.”

Dr. Hannah’s research focuses on entrepreneurial strategy in emerging high tech industries. He explores the balance between cooperation and competition in these developing industries and is very interested in the interdependence between actors that need to coordinate to bring new products to market. In high-tech industries, decision making happens in settings with high uncertainty, and strategy theories are constantly changing. With a background in environmental policy consulting, graduate degrees in both engineering and strategy, and extensive research experience, there is no doubt that Professor Hannah will create an enjoyable and valuable learning experience for students through this new entrepreneurship class.

Professor Hannah’s advice to students is to worry less about the specifics of an assignment and more about what they can do with the skills they are learning through the assignment. He says that the people students look up to seem to have been on a straight path, but that is an optical illusion. In reality, everyone’s career paths are much more winding than we realize. Students in BHP tend to be conservative in risk-taking, but Dr. Hannah suggests that students should “have faith in themselves to figure out new things” and take more challenging risks.

Students are encouraged to visit Dr. Hannah’s office hours, which are held this semester on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in CBA 4.254. He is also available by appointment. Want to get to know this impressive professor but not sure how to start? Here’s a list of questions to ask in office hours! They are guaranteed to start a great conversation and help you learn something new.

  1. What companies really won through the Pokemon Go phenomenon?
  2. What is the Herb Kelleher center?
  3. Are Intel and Microsoft’s incentives well aligned?
  4. What kind of competitions have you participated in in over 30 states and 6 countries?
  5. Tell me about the time you lived on a bus for the summer.
  6. What’s new in the world of environmental advocacy?

Professor Spotlight: Christopher Meakin – LEB 323H

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Professor Spotlight: Christopher Meakin – LEB 323H

Professor Christopher Meakin teaches LEB 323H- Legal and Ethical Environment of Business. Professor Meakin lights up the classroom with his passion for ethics; from the readings, to cases, to real-life examples in class, Professor Meakin is able to evaluate the ethical challenges that we will all surely face in the business world, and help students come to the best possible solutions. With 28 years of teaching under his belt, and 15 years at The University of Texas alone, Meakin has taught classes ranging from entrepreneurship to negotiations, from law school to business integrity and ethics, and currently teaches both undergraduates and MBA students.

Professor Meakin used to be involved in the BHP admissions process, so he is truly aware of how hard it is to gain acceptance into this program, and the quality of students that he has in the classroom. “I like BHP because the high quality of the students means that I have to do my very best every class and that raises my game. These students don’t mind working hard,” he said. In addition, Professor Meakin mentioned the small class sizes as another plus. He enjoys taking the time to get to know his students and loves to be on a first name basis in class while conducting ethics exercises (as his students, both current and past, are sure to tell you).

While Professor Meakin doesn’t have any formal research areas, he enjoys “going off on tears,” focusing on a particular subject of interest to him. When asked for an example, Meakin was delighted to chat about his research concerning dishonesty in grocery store checkouts and the rationalization behind such behavior. If you are interested in ethics and rationalization, this man is the one to talk to!

Meakin started on the path to professorship because he “was a really bad student,” so he was well equipped to understand what worked and what didn’t when it came to making an impact on a student’s education. Before coming to UT, Professor Meakin was teaching law school in Houston, but was ready for a change. An opening became available in LEB at UT and Meakin was offered the job. He decided to give it a shot, and has loved teaching undergrads ever since.

If you want to make the most out of your office hours and truly get to know the amazing professor Meakin, try asking him some of these questions about the latest and greatest in cycling, or about the Girl Scouts. You could also ask him to read you a sheet of music, but if you really want to get to know Meakin, you should talk to him about his two beautiful daughters, or his “airport” dog (that one is a good story).

No matter what your reason is for stopping by, Professor Meakin will be ready to chat. He urges students to “come see us, because most of the time we are pretty quirky.” Drop by Professor Meakin’s office anytime; he holds office hours before his 9:30 class, but is more than happy to schedule a visit at another time. Just shoot him an email. His office can be found in CBA 2.236, which is on the ground floor of McCombs in the glass area in the northeast corner that houses the BGS department offices. Dropping by office hours “really helps to put a face to a name. Come by, we are still 20 years old at heart, I have really not grown up, and I love to spend time with my students.”

Professor Spotlight: Eric Chan – ACC 312H

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Professor Spotlight: Eric Chan – ACC 312H

Professor Eric Chan teaches Managerial Accounting (ACC 312H) for the Business Honors Program at UT – the second class in the introduction to accounting sequence. Chan’s schooling has brought him around the world: from his hometown in the bustling city of Hong Kong, to grade school in England, undergraduate studies at The University of Maryland, Ph.D. studies at The University of Pittsburgh, and finally to his professorship at The University of Texas at Austin.

This semester is Dr. Chan’s third semester at McCombs, and he currently teaches three sections of BHP classes. Chan enjoys that managerial accounting focuses on a company’s management structure, with a strong focus on behavioral elements, as opposed to a focus on strict financial structure. Chan finds it very fulfilling to see young students evolve as they learn, and grasp more in-depth concepts within the material he teaches.

Dr. Chan loves teaching, but it is not all that he has done. After graduating from The University of Maryland with his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance, Chan received his Certified Public Accounting license and worked as a senior auditor for Ernst and Young for four years. While he saw his department as incredibly important for the health of a business from an audit perspective, Chan ultimately did not see himself pursuing this path decades in the future. Instead, Chan desired a path of further learning, achieved through academia. This inspired him to attend The University of Pittsburgh where he received his Ph.D. in Accounting, allowing him to explore different fields of accounting and economics.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Chan spends much of his time conducting research on behavioral and experimental economics, performance management and evaluation, and promotions and incentives. Chan says that he is most proud of his dissertation paper that he wrote while pursuing his Ph.D. The paper, titled “Promotion, relative performance information, and the Peter Principle,” focuses on how employers make promotion decisions differently depending on relative information provided to workers. In fact, Chan was honored with the Best Dissertation Award of his 2016 Management Accounting Section, and he hopes that he will be able to publish his findings soon.

After teaching at The University of Pittsburgh, Chan took a leap and moved to Texas to become an assistant professor at McCombs due to its stellar #1 Accounting department, the distinguished professor colleagues, and the unprecedented access to research UT provides. When asked about long-term plans, Chan said that he does envision himself at UT in 40 or 50 years’ time, believing that he will still love accounting as the practice changes over time.

Dr. Chan loves discussing all things accounting and economics, so stop by his office hours (even if you’re not in his class!) on TTH 2:30-4:00pm at CBA 4M.234. If you want to get to know Dr. Chan a little bit better, but already understand the fundamentals of managerial accounting, consider asking him the following questions:

  1. What is your favorite type of music, modern and old-school? (note: Dr. Chan likes to begin class with nostalgic early-2000’s music)
  2. Out of the many places you have lived, where has been your favorite?
  3. If you could have an alternative career, what would it be?

Alumni Spotlight: Laura Rosen, Class of 2004 – Senior Policy Analyst

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Laura Rosen, BHP 2004, is a Senior Policy Analyst and Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, where she manages program strategy, advocacy, marketing and communications for their job quality and asset building work. Prior to joining the CPPP, Laura worked for Wells Fargo. She completed a master’s degree in public policy with a concentration in social enterprise and economic development from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.

Briefly take me through your career path.

At BHP I discovered microfinance. I was inspired by a community development and social enterprise course taught by Eugene Sepulveda. I felt motivated to use my business skills to give back and do something non-traditional. I received a Fulbright scholarship and worked in Cusco, Peru for a bank providing micro-loans for women starting businesses.

After my time in Peru, I felt I needed to get banking experience, so I went to work at Wells Fargo to get credit skills and ended up working in international trade. I knew that I didn’t want to stay in corporate banking long-term, so I went to grad school to study international development with an emphasis on social enterprise. I discovered a field called asset building, which aligned with my interest in finance. Asset building helps people build both financial and non-financial assets, such as savings and education, so they can reach financial stability.  My eyes were opened to how much need there is for this work and how limited the programs are for people. There are only a few positions in Texas that work in this area, but I was lucky enough to land one of those roles with a respected think tank in Texas, the Center for Public Policy Priorities.

In my role there, I have been focused on expanding household savings and financial education in Texas as well as advancing consumer financial protection policies. We have been working to reform payday and auto title lending in Texas for many years. Unfortunately, they remain virtually unregulated. These predatory lenders target low-income families with their payday loans, which average 500 percent APR in Texas. I am also working on trying to expand access to good jobs in Texas. It is so important to have adequate income to be self-sufficient and be able to save for your future. I am excited to work with the business community to try to advance the work. It isn’t sustainable for our economy to have a huge segment of the population that can’t make ends-meet.

You made a big shift in your career from finance to marketing and public policy. How hard was it to start down a new career path?

Graduate school provides a great opportunity to make a shift. Working in banking really helped me build my resume to take the next step. Having private sector experience in finance was helpful and appealing to the non-profit sector when I was moving into policy work. I knew I didn’t want to stay in the banking role I was in, but I think if I had shared more with my manager about what my interests were, I could have maybe moved into some of the philanthropic work that Wells Fargo was doing. Good mentors want to help you get to where you want to go.

How did your master’s degree in public policy complement the skills you gained in BHP and set you up for success in your current role?

The degrees are similar in some ways. They are both professional degrees, but the sectors are just different. The skill set is similar and a lot of what I learned in BHP was transferable, like strategy, writing, presentations and data analysis. I discovered the one of my good friends from BHP, Pamela Chan, transitioned to the non-profit sector and was doing similar work in DC, so she was very helpful to me in getting me to where I am. Some of my BHP friends have also helped me in thinking about next steps in my career. They are such a great network, professionally and personally.

What is most challenging about your role at CPPP?

Working in the non-profit sector is different from the private sector. Resources are constrained, but the need is so vast. The challenge is trying to be effective with fewer resources and be effective with my time by focusing on the right things. I have to wear a lot of different hats.

What do you envision things looking like for the people of Texas if CPPP is successful in their work?

Our mission is to make sure all Texans are healthy, well-educated and financially secure. We have a very long way to go, but it is such important work. There has been a shift in our economy. The share of low-wage jobs in Texas has grown 15% since 1979, while the middle class has shrunk. At the same time, Texas is not adequately investing in public and higher education, which we need to build a skilled workforce. Both of these trends will be detrimental to our state’s economic growth. We would like to see that regardless of where you live, you have the same access to quality healthcare, food, education, etc. that mean so much for your life trajectory. Even nationally less than half of households could cover a $400 unexpected bill. Many people are struggling to manage their money, because they don’t earn enough, but also because they don’t have access to tools and basic benefits that help them save and provide income stability or financial education.  Sixty percent of Texans have sub-prime credit scores.  Half of Texans don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work. Forty-five percent of private sector workers in Texas don’t have access to the basic benefit of paid sick days. It would be great if jobs paid enough and provided basic benefits so that families could make ends meet and work to move up the economic ladder.

You were selected as Fulbright Scholar and completed field work in Peru for a year. Tell us about that experience and what you were working on.

I would highly recommend it to people. It was a peak life experience for me. I heard about the opportunity to apply for a Fulbright scholarship and was interested in international work, so I jumped at the opportunity. I conducted research for a small organization in Cusco that operated village banks through the region. Through my research, I studied the impact of why people defaulted on their loans, which gave me the opportunity to interview a lot of people living in extreme poverty. Those interviews really impacted me.

For students interested in going into policy, non-profit or social enterprise work, what would you encourage them to do as students to prepare for that kind of role?

I think it is great to get some experience in non-profit and social enterprise through internships or other experiences. You can always volunteer. Try it out before going to get a master’s. I wish I had figured out what skill sets would be the best fit for me earlier. In grad school we had a course about looking at your strengths and what skills sets you enjoy most. I wish there had been more focus on self-exploration of aptitudes in undergrad. I am happy that I had the business honors degree because a business degree provides a lot of transferable skills and flexibility. I was able to easily transition to something else, and I feel I could always transition back.

I would also add that every year my colleagues and I speak about our work to the UT undergraduate tax practicum class that prepares income taxes for clients at a local non-profit, Foundation Communities. A similar UT business school class inspired my career trajectory, and I really enjoy giving back. Who knows, maybe I will introduce one of the students in the class to a non-traditional career in business like the guest lecturer in my class did when I was a student.