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Passion for Teaching Earns Business School Professor a 2009 Bender Award. In the second in a series on the award winners, GW Today focuses on Assistant Professor of Management Tjai Nielsen.

Assistant Professor of Management Tjai Nielsen's "personal attention to students in and outside the classroom" secured him a 2009 Bender Teaching Award, one of five given to GW faculty this year.

Endowed by a friend of the University Morton Bender and GW, each award provides a $500 prize to be used by the recipient for faculty development activities.The recipients are selected by a committee of faculty each year based on letters of support from students and faculty, student teaching evaluations, and examples of teaching materials and completed student work.

Dr. Nielsen calls winning the award thrilling. "I love to teach and focus on making my classes meaningful and valuable, so to be recognized for that hard work is not only very satisfying but also quite motivating," says Dr. Nielsen. "Hearing the kind words expressed by colleagues and former students will be an indelible memory for me. I was touched and deeply humbled that they would take the time to share their perspectives on my teaching."

In addition to teaching in GW's Executive Master of Business Administration Program, Dr. Nielsen leads the primary research methods course for the School of Business' doctoral students and developed new core courses in both the doctoral program and the executive program.

In 2008, Dr. Nielsen was one of three worldwide finalists for the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society's New Educator of the Year Award and was awarded the GWSB Teaching Excellence Award in spring 2009. He has published several papers on the topic of management education including a recent paper in the Journal of Management Education that was one of the journal's most cited in 2008. Dr. Nielsen also developed a multimedia teaching aid, the Diaspora Teaching Toolkit, which is used not only at GW's School of Business but in programs across the world.

In the nomination, one colleague said Dr. Nielsen "approaches teaching from the perspective of the learner, creating opportunities for sophisticated abstraction and concrete application," while another commented on Dr. Nielsen's devotion to his students, stating: "His office is frequently occupied with students seeking clarification, additional information, project support or career advice."

Students also singled out Dr. Nielsen as an outstanding teacher. In a letter to him cited in the nomination, one student wrote, "For me personally, you have been a mentor and a true leader. You have demonstrated to me how to lead, and I have in turn put it into practice." Another wrote, "It is when I meet faculty members like you that I am inspired to pursue a career in academia, so that I too may teach and inspire young business leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for your time, dedication, and passion for teaching. It was a pleasure to experience, and I am truly grateful for that opportunity."

Calling teaching "a privilege," Dr. Nielsen says GW's appreciation of both academia and instruction is significant. "GW is clearly a university focused on excellence in both the lab and the classroom," he says. "Many schools focus on research at the expense of teaching or teaching at the expense of research, but GW has managed to create a culture that values both pursuits and readily recognizes accomplishments in them. GW is a great fit for someone like me who greatly values my research and my role in the classroom."

Pitch George!, organized and hosted by GWSB's Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE), the competition had contestants develop an innovative business proposal and successfully sell the idea to an "investor," within a three minute time frame. November 14, 2009

Forty GW students put their idea power and salesmanship to the test in the second annual "Pitch George!" competition last weekend. The student-entrepreneur contestants had to develop an innovative business proposal and successfully sell the idea to an "investor," within the tight physical and chronological confines of a three-minute elevator pitch.

"Pitch George!" was organized and hosted by GWSB's Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE). The competition was open to all GW students, not just those in the School of Business. Erik K. Winslow, professor of management and CFEE director, said twice as many contestant applied as did in the first competition in 2008.

Management professors George Solomon, Jake Messersmith and Winslow vetted applications. The panel selected 40 students (or student teams) for the elevator-pitch competition, 20 undergraduates and 20 graduate students. D.C.-area alumni and members of the Colonial Entrepreneurs, an alumni group of successful entrepreneurs and investors, judged the pitches. The top three competitors in each group - undergraduate and graduate - received seed money awards of $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

CFEE considers "Pitch George!" a preparation for its spring business plan competition. For details and application information, visit GWbizplan.com.

The large turnout for this year's competition was both an indication of students' increasingly entrepreneurial focus and an endorsement of GWSB's commitment to entrepreneurship education. Winslow said entrepreneurship is a driver of the national economy.

"When there's a recession in this country - and this may seem counter-intuitive - business start-ups go up. It has something to do with the American spirit and economy. This is still the most welcoming economy in the world for new ventures," Winslow said, adding that entrepreneurs will play a key role in the country's economic recovery.

The "Pitch George!" competition was covered by both the Washington Post and theWashington Business Journal (see Getting Ink). Winslow thanked the student participants, faculty, staff and alumni judges and expressed appreciation for the support provided by GW's vice president for research, Dr. Leo M. Chalupa, and Dean Susan M. Phillips.

2009 Pitch George! Winners

Undergraduate Students

First Place - Thanil Theoharis for Beat Masters, a Web site for music producers to present and sell their work

Second Place - Andrew Thal for Furniture for Good, which sells furniture and other excess items donated to non-profit organizations in the D.C.-metro area and gives the organizations the majority of the profits

Third Place - Tricia Reville for Green Movers, which moves recycling waste from companies to businesses that can use the products to create goods

Graduate Students

First Place - Lauryn Sargent for Vision LifePreservers, which provides products and services that memorialize the lives of customer

Second Place - Virgil Cabaso, Scott Sellers, Steve Blossom and Matt Kuhn for SmoothRide, an EasyPass toll-system equivalent for parking

Third Place - Patrick Donnelly for StadiumView, a free Smartphone application that lets football fans enjoy games as an augmented-reality experience with exclusive content

2009 Welling Professorship Lecture Series, featuring Eric von Hippel, Ph.D. The Welling Professorship Lecture will be held on Wednesday, November 4 at 6:00pm. A pre-Lecture reception in Dr. von Hippel's honor will be hosted at 5:00pm in Duques Hall, in Room 650.

 

The intent of the Welling Professorships, established in 1995, is to bring internationally distinguished scholars to our campus on an occasional basis to contribute to the intellectual life of our students and faculty. Dr. von Hippel, the 2009-2010 Welling Professor, was nominated by faculty members in the School of Business representing the Departments of Marketing, Management, and Information Systems & Technology Management. Dr. von Hippel will discuss "Democratizing Innovation."

Eric von Hippel is T. Wilson Professor of Management and Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT.  He is also a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School. Von Hippel is known for his academic research into the sources and economics of innovation.  He is known for pioneering research that has prompted a major rethinking of how the innovation process works.

Download pdf flyer (click here)

Tjai Nielsen, assistant professor of management, becomes only the third GWSB professor in the past ten years to be awarded the university-wide Bender Teaching Award

Dr. Nielsen has been recognized by George Washington University for his outstanding efforts in the classroom and his positive impact on students.  A former student from one of his change management classes wrote, "Dr. Nielsen has the unique ability to mesh the theories and practices of change management with real-life consulting engagements.  This ability is essential to effective business education.  I have discovered over the last two years that my favorite and most rewarding courses came from the professors who demanded the most.  Dr. Nielsen gives a lot and demands the same in return." An Executive MBA student from his organizational behavior class commented, "The George Washington University is fortunate to have Dr. Nielsen on staff.  His experience, ability to impart knowledge in a condensed course model, commitment to academic excellence, and his rapport with students is a rare combination. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him. .

The Bender Teaching Awards recognize undergraduate, graduate and professional teaching at GW and are presented annually at the start of the academic year. Endowed by Morton Bender and The George Washington University, each award provides a $500 prize to be used by the recipient for faculty development activities, such as travel to professional meetings or the purchase of equipment or materials to be used for teaching. Award recipients are selected by a committee of faculty each spring semester, and the awards are presented at the beginning of the subsequent fall semester.

Tjai Nielsen, assistant professor of management was recognized for his excellence in the classroom recently by being awarded the GWSB Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Nielsen teaches a broad range of classes ranging from research methods in the doctoral program to organizational behavior in the EMBA program.  He has been consistently recognized by his students by earning an average student evaluation score of 4.6/5.0 across all categories.   This includes a 4.4/5.0 rating regarding the degree to which students find his courses challenging.

The GWSB Teaching Excellence Award was created several years ago to recognize outstanding teaching and is open to any full-time active-status faculty member.  Faculty members must have an overall average score of at least 4.0 on the GWSB standard student feedback instrument and have taught at least 100 students during the relevant calendar year.  A committee comprised of all department chairs led by the senior associate dean then determine the winner(s).  Dr. Nielsen was also awarded $2500 as part of this recognition.

James Bailey, Ave Tucker Professorial Fellow of Leadership and professor of management, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article “Law Firms Embrace Business School 101.” The article examined how some law firms are pushing their top attorneys to step up their business skills and training.

James Bailey, Ave Tucker Professorial Fellow of Leadership and professor of management, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article “Law Firms Embrace Business School 101.” The article examined how some law firms are pushing their top attorneys to step up their business skills and training. The article said: “ ‘Law firms are still run the way they were in the 17th century,’ says James Bailey, a leadership professor at the George Washington School of Business who studies law firms and helps run a program for managing partners. ‘They never really had to worry about [management skills] because every law firm in the country made money every year.’ ” (5/20)

George Solomon, associate professor of management is honored as one of eleven distinguished educators at the 32nd Annual Leavey Awards.

Established in 1977 by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, the Leavey Awards honor outstanding elementary, junior high school, high school and college teachers who inspire students to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the free enterprise system. Since the inception of the award, five hundred distinguished educators have been selected. The 2009 class included: Dr. George T. Solomon, Department of Management fir his efforts in developing the Entrepreneurial Challenge.  The Entrepreneurial Challenge was created in response to a request from the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), College Division -Delta Epsilon Chi- to create an interactive event that would stimulate students to grasp the basic concepts of entrepreneurship as part of the DECA annual International Career Development Conference.

The Challenge engages college level students in a two day program where teams or individuals must develop a new business concept and present the final plan in a competitive setting.  The purpose of the Challenge is to educate and inform students and their collegiate advisors about basic principles underlying the concepts and theories of entrepreneurship and small business management education.  The Entrepreneurial Challenge combines the best elements of 'the elevator pitch concept," with the high energy concept of “speed dating.”  Students are initially exposed to a select number of informative sessions over two days delivered by educators and entrepreneurs

George Solomon, associate professor of Management, is awarded Outstanding Paper  Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009. 

Emerald invites each journal's Editorial Team to nominate  what they believe has been that title's Outstanding Paper and up to three Highly Commended Papers from the previous 12 months. George Solomon, Associate professor of Management, is awarded Outstanding Paper  Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009.  The article entitled Entrepreneurial selection and success:  Does education matter? published in Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development has been chosen as an Outstanding paper  Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009. 

American Librarian Association named Dr. James Bailey's book International encyclopedia of organization studies, Volumes 1-4 (co-edited with Stewart Clegg) one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2008.

International encyclopedia of organization studies, Volumes 1-4 (co-edited with Stewart Clegg) one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2008.  ALA announced this is Choice magazine, and had considered over 7000 new books. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. George Solomon is awarded National Innovator Teaching Pedagogy Award at the United States Association for Small Business (USASBE) Conference.

At the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) annual conference the 2009 National Innovator Teaching Pedagogy Award was awarded to Dr. George T. Solomon, for the development of the multi-level small business role playing pedagogy.  When asked by the judges the motivation for developing the pedagogy, Dr. Solomon said, “I wanted to create an active committed learning environment where students assumed the role and behavior of a small business manager rather than a detached external consultant advising a small business.”

 

BADM class with innovative teaching method.

Each year freshman compete in a case competition as a part of their required course in Organizational Behavior (BADM 66).  The case competition offers young students the opportunity to create and analyze their own business case, and also to present their case analysis to their fellow classmates in a skit.  The winning team from each of the six lab sections competes in a final competition that is judged by faculty and guest judges.  The Fall 2008 Case Competition winners were the “Blue Barracudas” for their inventive skit entitled “Pasadena Paul’s Perfect Professional Practical Portable Pliable Paperclip People.”

Their skit traced the adventures of several colorful employees working for a company in the highly competitive paper-clip market, and in so doing illustrated several core concepts of the course.  The winners receive a certificate of recognition and distinction from the GW Business School.  Congratulations to all the finalists!

Picture:  Blue Barracudas in character from their winning presentation. Caroline Cauley, Jared Hay, Timothy Papa, Laura Scuderi, Lea Thierman.

Academy of Management Learning and Management (AMLE) ranks 7th among all Management journals. Dr. James Bailey, Editor.


After the mandatory three year waiting period and the mandatory three year study period, SSCI/ISI has issued the formal Impact Factor and discipline ranking of AMLE.  AMLE's Impact Factor is 2.796, ranking it 7th among all Management journals--just .116 behind 5th place ASQ and .033 behind 6th place SMJ--and 2nd among all Education journals (see attached for full lists). 

This extraordinary accomplishment speaks not only the quality and relevance of AMLE, but also to the dedication of the Editorial Board, the astute leadership of the founding editor Roy Lewicki, the support of the Academy of Management, and the efforts of many others.  To one and all, thank you and congratulations!

This is a collective achievement for which we can all be proud.