Rob Crawford

Auburn University, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business Online MBA Program

“Husband, Father and Experienced, Inquisitive, Business Technology Professional Continually Looking To Provide Business Value Through Technology.”

Age: 49

Hometown: Appleton, WI

Fun fact about yourself: As high school sweethearts, my wife and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage this year.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Bachelor of Business Administration (Management Information Systems)

Where are you currently working? Menasha Corporation, Senior Director – Digital Innovation

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Hands-down I am most proud of the accomplishments my teams have achieved while I have been leading them. I am proud of my personal accomplishments and the efforts I have put into getting to where I am through experience and education, but leadership is about team successes and not individual success.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? With an undergraduate degree in business administration, many programs were a review of the undergraduate curriculum. Auburn’s program was substantially different. It offered an end of program, semester-long capstone course with a real-world management consulting engagement. Our team provided management insight to Hyster-Yale after analyzing their request for assistance in establishing a project management office, processes and systems. The program also provided the ability for specializations, of which I chose to pursue the cyber-security management certificate as it was most applicable to my profession. Additionally, an international business course with an in-country experiential learning opportunity was also offered. The program provides the flexibility to gain the cyber-security management certificate and the international business experience through electives and did not extend the number of courses I needed to graduate. Auburn University is also recognized around the country for its faculty and commitment to excellence. These things, along with the fact that the university was outside of my region and the students were from across the country, provided the diversity of experience that I was looking for.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? Being able to set a schedule that allowed the flexibility to work full time, still have a family life, and earn a degree at the same time is the best part of an online MBA program. This program offered several on-campus experiences as well as the experiential international course all of which allow the distance students the ability to connect in person.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? The two experiences were night and day different. My undergraduate study was done when online learning was not an option. While it was an adjustment to watching recorded lectures and taking exams via online proctoring, I preferred the online experience over the in-person traditional classroom experience.  Ironically, I found myself more engaged with the professors in this online MBA than I did during my traditional in-the-classroom undergraduate experience. I’m sure some of this is due to experience but a portion is due to the way the program fosters interactions with peers and professors.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? You will get out of the program what you put in. Be engaged, make the program your own. There are plenty of resources available for you to be successful. The faculty and the staff want to see you succeed and they want to know you. Make use of the resources provided. Stay on schedule with the lectures and activities. Use published office hours even when you may not have a specific question. Discuss the lectures and the activities near the time they happen. Pop in during office hours and ask a professor to elaborate on something you heard during a lecture. Turn your cameras on and introduce yourself to your professors and your peers just as you would if you were physically present.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? I used concepts and learnings from the courses in my professional role from the first semester. As an experienced professional, I found a lot of value in the courses applicable to management. While I found most of the courses applicable, the Organizational Leadership course taught by Dr. Michael Wesson was one that had immediate applicability for leading teams.  In the course, we learned about ourselves through self-reflection, about what motivates our teams as well as best practices for leading change in enterprises. Also, as a technology professional, I’ve found myself somewhat lacking the tools needed to justify initiatives because I hadn’t framed them in the proper financial context. The Financial Analysis and Cost Analysis & Systems courses provided these tools in a way that made it “fun” to learn. Overall, I feel that I now have the confidence and skills needed to pursue technology initiatives in an enterprise through the well-rounded courses the Auburn program provided.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? I earned a promotion within 6 months of graduation at my current employer. Along with earning the MBA, I was involved in several other leadership development programs, as well as high profile work within my company. Along with my many years of experience in enterprise technology, the recent programs have prepared me well to take on an elevated role within our IT leadership team. I am now the Senior Director of Digital Innovation. In this role, I lead teams to use their creativity, along with secure enterprise platforms to create solutions aligned with our sales teams to increase revenue while reducing SG&A costs by also aligning with continuous improvement initiatives.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential or executive MBA program? There were two reasons. First, it was the flexibility and secondly, the cost to value. The online format provided me the flexibility I needed to continue working full time in a demanding role as well as be present to be a father and a husband. The cost of the Auburn program was similar to others in my area and significantly less expensive than the full-time or executive MBA program. In the end, the degree, whether earned via full-time physically present or online is the same. With a family and working full-time, online was the only realistic option for me.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Aside from a small case study on AI in our capstone management consulting course, I can’t recall any instances of using AI in the program. With AI being a very quickly evolving area, the program may have incorporated AI that I’m not aware of.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 20-25 hours per week

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My ultimate long-term professional goal is to lead an entire information technology function. In many organizations, this would be the Chief Information Officer but could also be a Chief Technology Officer role.

DON’T MISS: BEST & BRIGHTEST ONLINE MBAS: CLASS OF 2025