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Dr. Jennifer Palthe: decades of developing the next generation of change leaders
Dr. Jennifer Palthe has taught thousands of Western Michigan University undergraduate and graduate business students throughout more than two decades at the Haworth College of Business. One of her favorite courses to teach was Managing Change, which she began teaching in 2001. The perennially popular class often saw students on the waitlist as they sought to become change leaders in their industries. Now, Palthe will draw upon what she teaches about effectively planning for change as she embraces retirement. From the start, Palthe demonstrated her gift for teaching by not only engaging students in the subject matter but also by engaging with them as learners and professionals. Ultimately, she was awarded the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. Equally talented as a researcher, Palthe’s research has been cited more than 800 times on a variety of topics, from global executive success factors, to human rights in business education, to multiple intelligences in change leadership. Read more
Dr. C.R. Krishna Swamy: 39 years impacting finance students
Starting his career as an electrical engineer, Dr. Krishna Swamy, associate professor of finance, earned his MBA from Western Carolina University and then a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He began teaching at the Haworth College of Business in December of 1983. Swamy has published work on research monograph and had 18 research papers in refereed journals, presenting numerous papers at regional, national and international conferences. His publications are still being referenced by hundreds of academicians and scholars all over the world. Throughout his career, he taught 24 different courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, developing two new courses from scratch: eFinance and Principles of Health Finance. He is proud of the eFinance course, as it is one of the courses students enjoy the most. Swamy was a true team player, with a willingness to take on multiple new preparations, despite his seniority, when the department was faced with challenges. Read more
Bob Samples: exceeding expectations
Industry experience is something that nearly all Haworth College of Business faculty bring to the classroom, and Bob Samples’ career experience in food marketing and sales has benefited his students hugely throughout his nine years at WMU. Samples started his second career in academia after more than 30 years with Hormel Foods. He found that seeing students rise above the level they thought possible for themselves to be the most fulfilling part of teaching. “When a student surpasses their own expectations, it creates a sense of making a breakthrough and of greater self-worth,” he says. Samples hopes that students take away three core concepts from his courses: You never succeed alone; your only limits are what you apply to yourself; and always do the right thing. Samples himself has a takeaway from teaching that echoes what he hopes students learned in his courses. “There is such a sense of accomplishment in helping others succeed—in both their careers and in their lives.” Read more
John Weitzel: bringing the real world to the classroom
When John Weitzel stepped into the classroom, he brought decades of industry experience and a passion for marketing that benefited his students for more than 20 years. He now will retire from full-time teaching. When Weitzel began to consider teaching, he had just finished his MBA. “Through a bit of serendipity, I ended up at WMU when Dr. Andy Brogowicz needed somebody quickly in 2001,” says Weitzel. “Although I was new to teaching, I was hopeful that my years in the industry would allow me to share real-world experiences with the students.” And share he did, in both advertising courses and sports marketing courses. “One of the best things that happened for me at WMU was my collaboration with Dr. Ed Mayo,” says Weitzel. Mayo invited Weitzel to become part of Suncoast Sports, a sports marketing firm, and they both brought content from the project to the classroom—a home run for real-world experience. Read more