Favorite Business School MBA Professors

University of Washington's Charles Hill

University of Washington’s Charles Hill (Center)

Change Studentsā€™ Views

ā€œThere are a number of great ones at Foster, but our core strategy professor Charles Hill (aka. Chill) takes the cake in my book. His classes on the Google algorithm, the small-package shipping industry, the Cloud, and the Cola Wars completely changed the way I understand the world. He is a master at the Socratic method of teaching. There was no sitting back and relaxing in that class!ā€

– Emily Claire Palmer, University of Washington, Foster School of Business

Alberto Ribera

ā€œItā€™s difficult, but probably Professor Albert Ribera, who taught our Personality, Happiness, and Self Leadership Class. Yes it was a ā€œsoftā€ class, but it taught me an enormous amount about myself and how we can try to ā€” in between all the meetings, dinners, trips etc. ā€” achieve happiness and meaning in our lives. The Professor took a real vested interest in all of us students, with 1:1 counseling sessions and really trying to help us develop. I felt a real change in myself, mostly in the way I try to treat others now. We had to keep a sheet that recorded the tasks that we wanted to complete daily – small things that we wanted to turn into greater habits. This was a real help for me as it made me actively think about all my actions and how I could improve them until theyā€™d be natural reactions and engrained in my character. It probably also helped my very patient girlfriend who stayed back in Canada, as one of the tasks was to make sure I did something nice for her every day! At the end of the day, one of the biggest drivers of happiness is our relationships with others ā€” not our personal achievements which we MBAs sometimes get caught up in. These types of lessons that I gained from his teachings are ones I hope I still implement in my life 30 years from now.ā€

– Sean Porta, IESE Business School

ā€œProfessor Zhen Zhang of the Mindful Leadership course that I took has been a favorite of mine. His course was well-organized, as he first instructed upon the different leadership theories and practices that have been studied and explored so far in the discipline. After the theories were explained, the students had a chance to dive into dense and complex cases that dealt with practical approaches to effective and ineffective leadership skills. The cases in this course absolutely have been my favorite cases throughout the MBA program as they covered many different industries and functions and, most importantly, the human interaction component of becoming an effective leader under different circumstances. The class has been so meaningful to me, I plan on pursuing a Ph.D. in the field of management in the near future after gaining additional experience in the business world.ā€

– Phil Jeong, Arizona State, Carey School of Business

Minnesota's Myles Shaver

Minnesota’s Myles Shaver

Create A Great Classroom Environment

ā€œStrategic Management and Entrepreneurship Professor Myles Shaver is hands-down my favorite professor. He is brilliant, captivating, and truly the best ā€œfacilitatorā€ I have ever learned from. His classes were a continuous dialogue between students and the professor, all grounded in a framework we could return to time-and-time again. He gave us space to learn and make mistakes, and he was never afraid to tell us we were wrong. This type of learning was so valuable.ā€

– Sara Noret, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

ā€œPaat Rusmevichientong, professor of the Analytics Edge: Data, Models, and Effective Decisions. I have never had a professor with such a high desire to see all of his students succeed. He is extremely passionate about his subject. He is always available to his students. He values feedback and always acts on it. He knows all of his students by their first names and gets to know each of them. He is truly an exceptional professor. (Oh, and the fact that he brings Bottega Louie macarons, Deluscious cookies and other treats to reward winners of challenges almost every class sessions does not hurt!).ā€

– Claudia Caron, USC, Marshall School of Business

ā€œLance Young – for his attention to inclusivity and deep student learning. Lance is an unassuming brilliant mind, and he has such a unique style and energy for teaching that students walk away from his classes confident and excited about financeā€¦.which is pretty incredible. Lance has received many kudos from classmates for his use of the female pronoun whenever talking about business owners and leaders. He cold calls on all students so everyone can participate, intentionally coaxes students into debates about nuanced topics, and relaxes everyone with his great sense of humor.ā€

– Becky See, University of Washington, Foster School of Business

Columbia's Miklos Sarvary

Columbia’s Miklos Sarvary

ā€œProfessor Miklos Sarvary, co-head of the Media and Technology Program, is part of why I chose to come to CBS. Iā€™ve had the honor of taking his introductory media industry survey class, Media Platforms and Content: A Foundations Course. His teaching style is immensely engaging, and he is able to facilitate dynamic class discussions, challenge students, and engage in debates that move our discussions forward. He also brings in amazing speakers across the media and technology space from top firms, such as Shelly Lazarus, former CEO and Chairman of Ogilvy and Mather. In addition, I worked with Professor Sarvary to outline and write the industry analysis section for what we hope will become a case on programmatic advertising. My experience in working with him has been rewarding, and Iā€™ve been able to further my industry knowledge and analytical skills by learning from him.ā€

– Sonie Guseh, Columbia Business School

ā€œProfessor Amy Wrzesniewski. A close runner-up would be David Bach, who had a knack for fostering interesting classroom dialogue.ā€

– Fona Osunloye, Yale School of Management

ā€œVice Dean Suh-Pyng Ku is a truly amazing finance teacher who was able to break down complex ideas and make them digestible. She is always calm and collected and has great control over her classroom. Her ability to make financial theory relevant and relatable to those not financially inclined is a talent that I seek to emulate.ā€

– Jordan Selva USC, Marshall School of Business

ā€œProfessor Suzanne Shu. She taught my marketing core class and it was one of the best required courses that I took. Additionally, she volunteered to teach an abbreviated version during A-Days, and many prospective students mentioned afterward that her style and approach made them really want to come to Anderson.ā€

– Britney Sussman, UCLA, Anderson School of Management

ā€œDr. Dominique Badoer is my favorite professor. He teaches advanced financial management. His emphasis is on the analytical skills and importance to details. His course taught me to financially evaluate a company on the basis of its resources. Dr. Badoer helped me to gain insights into the company not just on the technical basis but also on the financial aspects.ā€

– Sagar Gupta, University of Missouri, Trulaske College of Business

 

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