McCombs TODAY

Eight McCombs School faculty members who received the highest scores on the Course Instructor Surveys completed by students at the end of last semester were honored by Dean Thomas Gilligan at an hour-long reception March 23.

The biannual Faculty Honor Roll is sponsored by the Undergraduate Business Council and Undergraduate Programs Office and included about 30 McCombs students, faculty and staff members. Julia Ke, academics director for the UBC, said high scores on the surveys reflect the instructors’ ability to make class both informative and interesting.

Dean Bredeson, a senior lecturer who teaches business law and ethics, received the highest marks among the eight honorees and was honored with a $1,000 cash grant donated by Lockheed Martin. In the photo above, Bredeson accepts the award from Lockheed’s Randy Talley, BBA ‘82. Bredeson said the teaching honor, which he also received last year, “reminds me of the two things that make my life good: my family and teaching.”

The seven other instructors honored were assistant professor Ethan Burris, lecturer Gretchen Charrier, lecturer Stephen Courter, senior lecturer Gail Gemberling, lecturer J.W. Kamas, lecturer Brian Lendecky and lecturer Lawrence Turner.

Maggie Wallace, a finance and business honors senior, currently enrolled in one of Bredeson’s courses, said class is made interesting and engaging because of Bredeson’s ability to give students real-world applications for business law challenges.

“He really makes the material interesting and makes us actually want to go to class,” she said. “In his class, we learn not just the laws but how to apply the laws. It’s his passion that makes the business cases come to life.”