Eckert, Gogan honored with Distinguished Teaching awards

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Drs. James Eckert and Brian Gogan will be presented with Western Michigan University’s Distinguished Teaching Award during a ceremony Friday, Oct. 29.

“We do not often get to experience the instructional excellence of our colleagues because we are rarely ever in their teaching and learning spaces; however, we see their achievements in the quality of our graduates. Exceptional teaching is at the very heart of what we do, and it is where inspiration and lifelong passions are ignited," says Dr. Jennifer Bott, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "The trajectory of a student’s life can change from a single lecture or demonstration. It is my absolute pleasure to celebrate the power of two of our finest teachers, Dr. James Eckert and Dr. Brian Gogan.”

Initiated in 2006, the Distinguished Teaching Award is the highest honor given by the University to recognize faculty members for their work. Eckert is an associate professor of marketing; Gogan is an associate professor of English and director of the first-year writing program. They join 33 other faculty members who have been honored since the start of the award program.

The Distinguished Teaching Award ceremony begins at 3 p.m. in room 2000 of Schneider Hall. It is part of the larger Academic Excellence Awards Series happening throughout fall semester.

Dr. James Eckert

Shortly after joining Western’s faculty in 2000, Eckert began building the newly created sales and business marketing major. Starting with just 30 students in the first class, the program now has more than 300 students and 2,000 alumni who have learned to “Sell the Western Way.” The major has been recognized as one of the top national sales programs since 2007, and students from the program have taken awards at every major national sales competition.

“While big isn’t always better, it was in the case of this program,” says Dr. Kelly O’Reilly, Department of Marketing chair. “Developing the curriculum that would guide the major meant that Dr. Eckert was preparing students for real‐world success in sales and marketing positions, and the short learning curve and strong results of his students created its own cycle of success. Today, over 100 companies come to campus during a specialized Sales and Marketing Career Night which takes place the evening before other career fair events. Recruiters come because they know it will be very competitive to hire Eckert’s students…”

Eckert has spent more than 10,000 hours role-playing and coordinating other experiential activities with his students to ensure they don't just learn about selling but, instead, learn how to sell. He helped found and continues to advise the Sales and Business Marketing Association, which today is one of the largest Registered Student Organizations at the Haworth College of Business.

“Not only is Dr. Eckert a great leader in the classroom but, in his support of letting his students discover new ground outside of the classroom, he implores further student professional development,” says Joseph Berlin, a senior studying sales and business marketing. “He does everything in his power to make his department, his students and WMU as a whole better each and every day.”

Since 2010, Eckert has been the faculty director of the German business and culture short-term study abroad program that has allowed more than 200 WMU students to experience a unique learning opportunity in partnership with three German universities. And in 2018, Eckert founded the WMU Sales Challenge, a sales competition for high school students that attracts more than 200 competitors from all over Michigan each year.

Eckert is currently the Robert S. Kaiser Professor of Sales, and he earned doctoral and bachelor’s degrees at Michigan State University.

Dr. Brian Gogan

Since joining Western’s faculty in 2011, Gogan’s exceptional teaching has been recognized in the past with four teaching awards, including the 2014 Timothy Ryan Hurttgam Memorial Faculty Award, a 2015 College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Achievement Award from WMU and a 2017 Champion of Engagement Award from the Michigan Campus Compact. 

Current and former students attribute his instruction with their success in the classroom, real-world applications and future jobs. Key to this instruction has been partnerships with WMU’s Office of Service Learning and more than 25 community organizations.

“His passion as a professor has had a lasting impact on me academically, professionally and personally. When I think about the transformative power of education, I think of Dr. Gogan’s investment in his work and sincere commitment to his students’ success,” says alumnus Ali Orlandi.

Outside of the classroom, Gogan further supports the rhetoric and writing studies program by orchestrating an annual department event that invites alumni to return and share professional advice and experience. He also directs WMU’s first-year writing program.

“The rhetoric and writing studies department strives to provide students (with) coursework that is career-focused and relevant. Any class led by Dr. Gogan is guaranteed to uphold this goal,” says alumna Hanne Christensen. “His instruction is focused, and every assignment, reading and discussion is firmly set within the context of re-applying the knowledge in a professional setting. In other words, nothing is divorced (from) the department's ultimate goal of professional relevance.”

He earned his Ph.D. at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2011.

About the Distinguished Teaching Award

Each year, WMU recognizes outstanding teaching by awarding one or more Distinguished Teaching Awards. Outstanding teaching is not fixed in form or venue and is not easily assessed. Whether instruction takes place in lecture courses, seminars or laboratories, or whether it is pitched at introductory or advanced levels, exceptional pedagogy is marked by the active, critical role of the instructor and mentor whose demanding presence fosters critical thinking and inspires students to engage the quest for knowledge as a value in itself and as a craft.

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