FACULTY AWARDS

Energized by Helping Students Succeed

ilseu — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 23:29:56 +0000

Energized by Helping Students Succeed ilseu Fri, 04/10/2026 - 16:29 More Blog Posts Darin Estep April 10, 2026

Professor of Practice in Management Raj Singh worked for years as an engineer, manager, and consultant in aerospace, technology, defense, manufacturing, and crime analysis. During his career in the private sector, he also taught night courses — and that’s where he learned something about himself.

“I realized that when I leave the classroom, I have more energy compared to when I went in,” he said. “So, I decided to go and get his Ph.D. and start teaching full-time.”

That decision has benefitted students for decades. At UCR, Singh has taught, supported, and encouraged students in the classroom and beyond since 1998 — and his students have responded to his dedication by repeatedly voting to honor him with awards. These include the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award and four Golden Apple awards.

He received his latest Golden Apple in 2025, for Excellence in Teaching the Undergraduate Prerequisite & Core Courses. As one student voter said: “His teaching made a profound impression, and his passion radiates through his lectures.”

Deep connection with students

Hearing that he made an impression is gratifying for someone whose main motivation is to see his students succeed.

“I enjoy supporting students, whether it's helping them to go to graduate school or writing recommendations to get a job,” said Singh, who stays in touch with students long after they graduate.

“When a student writes to tell me that they've been promoted to be a vice president of a company, that makes me really happy. It gives me a sense of contribution — supporting students, nurturing them, helping them, and teaching at the same time,” he said.

“Teaching business is about relationships, ethics, and making an impact on the students. This is what I try to do every day.”

Most of Singh’s students are the first in their families to go to college. He is familiar with the challenges they face — because he also began his academic career as a first-generation college student.

“So I can understand where they come from, the issues that they face, whether it's a finance issue or not being familiar with a big institution like Riverside — what to do, what not to do,” he said. “That really connects me with them at a deeper level.”

For example, Singh said, one of the lessons he learned early in his own college experience in India was the importance of being able to work with a diverse group of people.

“I came from a small town, so for me it was really eye-opening how students from a variety of backgrounds come together,” he said. “I had to learn how to relate to them, how to work with them, how to be part of a team, work on team projects, how to deal with faculty, how to approach faculty.”

“That experience was really helpful, because when I assign my students team projects, I am able to support them, encourage them to work together, cooperate, and learn about each other as well.”

Applications for real life

The advantages of learning those skills extend for years and far beyond the classroom, Singh said. He speaks from experience, having managed diverse teams in private industry.

“My experience of working with and making friends from different backgrounds helped me a lot with employees, whether it was in the defense industry or the police,” he said. “So I encourage students to get to know their classmates on a personal level, whatever background they come from. This will help them manage their workforces when they go to companies.”

Another way Singh uses his experience in the private sector is to inform the content he presents to students. That advantage was noted by one of the students who voted for his Golden Apple recognition: “His use of real-life examples helps students better understand how things translate to the real world.”

Making that translation to the real world is a priority for Singh, and he stays connected to the constantly changing business landscape by being a lifelong learner. In addition to the multiple degrees he has earned, he continues to take courses, study books, and attend conferences and webinars.

“I really enjoy learning, and there's no end to learning,” he said. “Our system in the United States is constantly changing, and these changes are coming from so many directions. So that's just my internal motivation to keep on advancing, keep on learning, because once you stop learning, I think that's the end. So I feel learning will be a constant process as long as I'm going to live.”

‘A great opportunity’

For students just beginning their own lifelong learning journey, Singh hopes they take advantage of the strong foundation provided by UCR.

“I would say to them, ‘This is a great opportunity for you, first of all, to get admitted to UC Riverside, which has so many resources and opens doors for you,’” he said.

“They can learn a lot, meet a lot of people from different backgrounds, professors from different backgrounds, and they can really walk out of this campus with a tremendous advantage of learning about many things.”

But taking full advantage of that opportunity, Singh said, requires hard work and a willingness to find support.

“If you are having difficulty, go to your professors, go to the resources that we have for you — but do not leave without completing a degree, because this is an entrance point,” he said.

“Our approach here at UC Riverside is to really support the students to succeed. So if you persist, work hard, and look for help if you need help, you will succeed. And you will do well and make something of yourself.”

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FACULTY AWARDS

It All Adds Up in His Classroom

ggree024 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 21:37:21 +0000

It All Adds Up in His Classroom ggree024 Tue, 04/07/2026 - 14:37 More Blog Posts Darin Estep April 06, 2026

Some people are drawn to mathematics because of its certainty. Two plus two, after all, will always equal four.

But for Assistant Professor of Finance Mike Dong, the math gets more interesting when things are less certain, as in financial economics.

“I like that they're not so perfect, because you have to make a lot of assumptions to build models so you can explain things,” he said. “You can have different people having very opposite opinions on the same asset or on the same issues, and no one's right or wrong all the time.”

Exploring multiple viewpoints is a hallmark of Dong’s classroom — and one of the reasons students selected him for the 2024-25 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Graduate Core Courses.

Diverse opinions and open discussion

In voting for Dong, students said: “He clearly loves what he does and delivers a high-value course;” “he teaches a difficult subject yet makes it understandable and enjoyable;” and “he’s a solid dude!”

But Dong credits the students themselves for creating an engaging environment in his classes.

“It is wonderful for me to meet with students from such diverse backgrounds and majors and cultures,” he said. “We have a lot of international students, and we have different ethnicities of students as well. And they all have different opinions about how financial market should work or how different assets would be valued, how different companies should be valued, or how confident they are in the market and different perspectives.”

Dong often starts his class by asking students what they want to discuss — about their daily lives or topics in the news that relate to finance or economic policies.

“We have had great discussions about terrorism, about interest rates, about COVID, about where the market should go,” he said. “I think one of the reasons students like the class is because they can hear what other people's opinions are on the things that interest them.”

These discussions can reveal details and perspectives beyond numbers. Dong said he encourages the students to not just state their opinions but to build their cases, make predictions and — most importantly — to find ways to convince others.

“One of the most valuable skills in the finance industry is how persuasive you are,” he said. “A lot of things in the financial market are very hard to price. I think it's worth $20. You think it's worth $30. How do I persuade you that you are overspending on this? Or how do you persuade me that it's actually worth more than what I think?”

Putting concepts to the test

The practice of making the case for a point of view also relates to what draws Dong to teaching— as opposed to focusing strictly on research.

“I think teaching is a great way to validate your research because one of my beliefs is that you never truly understand something until you can easily explain it to other people,” he said. “And if you can get them interested in what you're talking about, it means that you truly understand it and the significance of it.”

Dong also tries to show students how what they are learning is meaningful, not just for a grade but in their own lives. For example, he created a website with financial tools for students to explore. They can apply the time value of money to calculate the payment for a mortgage or car loan. They can estimate depreciation for companies based on variable assumptions or visualize returns on investment strategies.

“I really encourage them to test it on their own and see if things work their way,” he said. “I want them to be able to form their predictions and test them out. This is a way to see whether what they're learning is true or not.”

How numbers influence behavior

Dong’s interest in the intersection of mathematics and human perspective is evident in one of his research focuses, behavioral finance. While investor sentiment clearly is influential on the financial market, he is considering exploring the flip side: how market fluctuations influence real- life decisions — like buying a lottery ticket.

“So one thing you could imagine when everybody’s happy, the S&P 500 is going way up, everybody's earning money, they feel wealthier, they feel more confident, and they feel optimistic, and that's when they might take on risk,” he said. “What things are safely risked outside the financial markets? Well, it’s gambling, it’s lottery tickets. When I have time, I might look at speeding tickets as well.”

In the end, two plus two still equals four. But human perspective remains important. That’s why Dong encourages open discussion and debate in his classroom.

“I think math is interesting from the start because it can quantify things, but the story is equally important,” he said. “You can have different people having very opposite opinions on the same asset or on the same issues.”

And there’s a larger lesson there beyond finance, Dong said.

“We need to have more conversations in general between people with different opinions,” he said. “We need to sit down with people with different opinions to talk about it, to understand each other more.”

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FACULTY AWARDS

Helping Students Discover Intellectual Confidence

ggree024 — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:15:28 +0000

Helping Students Discover Intellectual Confidence ggree024 Thu, 04/02/2026 - 14:15 More Blog Posts April 02, 2026

Students describe Dr. Rich Yueh as “a dream professor: intelligent, fun, and compassionate.” They say that he “goes above and beyond to ensure the course material is applicable to the real world.”

Those qualities earned the assistant professor of teaching in information systems the student-voted 2025 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award.

Yueh has long been an early adopter of technology. He was one of the first instructors at UCR to bring generative AI into the classroom. But he’s quick to emphasize that technology alone isn’t the point.

“My focus isn’t just on adapting to a changing world,” he said, “but on how we can be more human within it.”

In a world where AI can deliver content, Yueh believes what remains distinctly human is the capacity to think for yourself. That’s why he approaches teaching not as a transfer of information, but as a process of helping students develop their own judgment. He said he feels he has done his best work as a teacher when he becomes less necessary, when students begin to rely on their own capacity to think.

'Pull everything out of your students'

To explain that philosophy, Yueh points to a poster in his office listing the “Ten Rules for Students and Teachers,” developed in the 1960s by artist, activist, and educator Corita Kent. Originally intended for art students, the rules have grown to inspire other creative fields, including teaching, Yueh said.

One of the rules that stands out for him is No. 3 — "General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students.”

“That’s the whole thing. My job isn’t to fill them up. It’s to create the space and rhythm where what’s already inside can come forward,” he said.

A lifelong teacher

Teaching, Yueh realized early on, has been a consistent thread throughout his life. He partly credits good luck and good timing for becoming a professor at UCR, but he also points to a clear element of intentionality.

As a child, he helped his immigrant parents learn colloquial English. In high school, he worked as an after-school math and reading tutor. During his PhD program, his department chair recognized his aptitude for teaching and assigned him multiple courses to lead before he graduated.

“When I was approaching the job market, I looked back and thought, ‘I’ve been teaching my whole life,’” Yueh said. “’Let’s make this into something I can really do well.’ That’s how I found my way into this role.”

Making learning approachable

In the classroom, Yueh focuses on making the learning process feel approachable without lowering expectations. Students arrive with different backgrounds and levels of confidence, he said, and his goal is to design courses that meet them where they are academically. That approach is especially important for transfer students and first-generation students, who may encounter unfamiliar expectations in a large university setting.

“I start by understanding their assumptions and experiences,” he said. “Then I build the class from that foundation.”

In information systems courses, that means helping students see technical concepts through familiar business contexts, particularly when the material initially feels intimidating.

“If you’ve ever used a basic function in Excel — even something as simple as SUM — you’ve already written instructions for a computer,” he said. “If you’ve ever calculated profit or loss as the difference between revenue and costs, you’ve used logic. It’s about helping students see that technology isn’t separate from how they already think about business.”

Learning beyond the classroom

Yueh also serves as a faculty advisor for student organizations, including those focused on product management and UI/UX. In that role, he helps students apply classroom concepts to real-world projects and professional development opportunities.

Yueh said he learns as much from the students as they learn from him. “They still learn from me— how to run an organization, how to network,” he said. “But they’re also at the forefront, running workshops and reaching out to professionals. They and our alumni are the first line of feedback on what’s happening in the industry.”

It’s a practical extension of the philosophy he describes in the classroom: creating conditions where students’ ideas and initiative can surface.

Recognition for teaching excellence

The Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award is the latest in a series of student-voted recognitions Yueh has earned. In the School of Business, these include three Golden Apple awards — two in 2022 alone, the same year he received the inaugural James Merino Innovation Award. In 2023, he received campus-wide recognition with the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Innovative Teaching Award.

Rich Yueh standing proud and holding his certificate for the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award.

Established to honor exemplary teaching that awakens curiosity, encourages creativity, and fosters an open and engaging learning environment, the Shulman Award reflects many of the values that guide Yueh’s work in the classroom. For him, the award carries both meaning and motivation, but the measure that matters most is simpler: “If a student leaves my class more confident in their own ideas than mine, that’s a good quarter.”

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FACULTY AWARDS

Creating a Fun and Safe Space for Serious Learning

ilseu — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:26:13 +0000

Creating a Fun and Safe Space for Serious Learning ilseu Wed, 04/01/2026 - 09:26 More Blog Posts Darin Estep March 31, 2026

Karisa You

Think about the parts of kindergarten you enjoyed most: Holiday decorations and treats. Maybe some music to start the day. A teacher who cared about you personally and made you feel safe.

Now think about some of the most serious topics of a business management class: How to handle layoffs respectfully. Negotiating salaries and making commercial real estate deals. Leadership styles and the different forms of organizational culture.

Put them all together, and you might find yourself in the classroom of Karisa You, Lecturer in Management and the recipient of the 2025 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Elective courses.

“I think that learning should be fun,” You said. “You could take a really intense theory and teach it in a 37-page document, or you could teach it in a very engaging presentation. Personally, I am most interested in learning things when I find them both relevant and when the learning experience is enjoyable.”

That’s where the holiday decorations meet weighty business topics: “It feels kind of like we're in kindergarten, but we're discussing MBA subjects.”

Inspired by ‘kindness from the podium’

You’s teaching philosophy is evident in the comments from the students who voted for her Golden Apple recognition:

“It feels like we are having a conversation in the class, not being lectured at.”
“She is kind and really cares about her students.”
“She helps us understand the concepts with real life examples making the content memorable.”

Hearing those comments was gratifying to You, who began teaching as an undergraduate student at UCLA and as she earned her law degree at USC.

“When I was in law school, I had a professor — it was during a really rocky time politically and financially for the world — and she gave a message before one class saying, ‘If anyone needs anything or if you're ever having a hard time, I am here for you,’” You recalled.

“It really struck me to have kindness from the podium. She set this balance where students both respected her so much that they wanted to do well in the class to impress her, but they also really loved her and felt safe with her.”

You puts that inspiration into action by being open with students about her own challenges with stress and mental health. She often starts or ends each class with “grace notes,” reminding students to take care of themselves and telling them she can be a resource if they are struggling.

“My biggest lesson in life is learning to give myself grace and learning to fully accept myself and love myself as I am,” she said. “My faith plays a big part of my life, and I’ve been learning just how much God loves me as I am and how he embraces my messiness and designs humans to be messy. Just as I've been learning that lesson in my own life, I think it's just poured out into the classroom inevitably.”

Getting down to business

That’s not to suggest every class is full of such personal topics. Every lecture is very structured — starting and ending on time and covering important subjects, You said.

She prepares for each class with research from academic business journals. And before diving into practical topics, she asks herself, “Is this something I would pay to learn as a student?” Then she looks for creative ways to explain the relevance of each topic.

”For instance, before I teach employment discrimination, I have them close their eyes and paint a detailed full story so they can imagine their first day of work a year from now, in a wheelchair after an accident, unable to access the second floor and being late to a meeting,” You said.

“When we discuss disciplining an employee, I pretend to be that employee and sit in a chair before the class, opening the floor for any of the students to have a shot at giving me hypothetical feedback.”

You also invites students to bring up topics that interest them — then leads role-playing exercises to act out scenarios in class.

“We pretend to be landlords and tenants. We negotiate over commercial real estate deals, or we pretend to be an employee letting another employee go,” she said, noting that while the approach is engaging, the topics can be serious.

“Of course, I’ll shift the gravity. I don't believe in a fake, happy-go-lucky attitude that everything has to be positive. I believe in authenticity,” she said. “So we're going to sit with real emotions when they're hard and we’re going to talk about real deep things.”

That relatability is evident in faculty evaluations for her courses. One student wrote that they “appreciate her building case studies for us and asking us to give our recommendations in assignments. This is a great practical approach and very much in sync with what the industry practices are.”

Strong work ethic

You is grateful for an upbringing that taught her to be self-sufficient, responsible, independent — and to keep busy.

Her passion for social justice led her to work with a faith-based program helping international students find homes and get connected to families and mentorships. At an inner-city law center, she helped clients get off the streets and into housing. She reads to kindergarteners once a month and advocates for foster youths. She maintains a website, karisayou.wixsite.com/karisa, posts supportive resources on two Instagram channels — @goodnews_timelesstruths for mental health and spiritual formation topics and @misskarisy for teaching topics. She publishes a blog and contributes articles as a journalist for the SOLA Network, a faith-based resource for the emerging generation of Asian Americans. She has written two books and is finishing a third.

“I appreciate that work ethic that I was taught. It definitely taught me to go for my dreams,” she said. “I enjoy many things, and I think every time an exciting thing pops up, I'm excited to do it.”

That approach to life might help explain why You is energized by connecting with students.

“My friends will say that whenever I'm passionate about subject, I wanted to tell everyone about it,” she said. “I feel like I have the personality of a kindergartner, and I think that's why my class feels fun. I would hope so.”

_____________________________
Header image: Karisa You, Lecturer in Management at the UCR School of Business, celebrates winning the 2025 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Elective courses.

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FACULTY AWARDS

Challenging the Notion of “Right Answers”

ilseu — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:28:17 +0000

Challenging the Notion of “Right Answers” ilseu Wed, 04/09/2025 - 15:28 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin April 09, 2025

It comes as no surprise that Kyle Ingram has received various prestigious student-voted awards five times during his seven-year professorial career at UCR.

Assistant Prof. Kyle Ingram

“Dr. Ingram is an incredible professor and is, thankfully, doing what he is meant to do,” wrote one of the many students over the years nominating Ingram for a teaching award. “He makes an indelible mark on all his students, and I am thankful I was able to learn from such an incredible person.”

This year, the professor was honored with the 2023-2024 Golden Apple Award for Business Administration Pre-requisite Courses by undergraduates, who were asked to vote for professors in whose classes they had the best overall experience in learning, engagement, teaching style, and innovative teaching methods.

Previously, Ingram was honored with the 2022-2023 James Merino Endowed Innovation Award: Students select a faculty member demonstrating innovative teaching or using innovative tools and technologies in the classroom. For 2021-2022, students recognized Ingram with the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award for overall effectiveness of teaching, including invoking curiosity and creating an academic environment that is open and encouraging.

Ingram says that central to his instructional philosophy is challenging the traditional notion of “right answers” and cultivating an appreciation for the complexity of social and psychological phenomena.

“I believe that while we may not have all the answers, there are certain things we do know, and it is important to develop sensitivity to different levels of certainty,” he says. “I aim to engage students in critical thinking and encourage them to question assumptions by presenting them with contradictory research findings and theories.”

Outside the classroom, Ingram will lead the UCR Business Brazil Leadership Experience, a three-week study trip covering two leadership courses encouraging students to “engage in a deeper understanding of human behavior in organizations,” working on the “idea that behavior is a function of a person in his/her environment.” Which means the way “we behave is largely dependent on who we are and the various contexts we find ourselves in,” according to the program description. Students will study leadership and international management with academics and practitioners in Brazil, in addition to interaction with business leaders with an emphasis on sustainable leadership.

In spring 2024, Ingram also served as coach for the UCR team representing the UCR School of Business at the Collegiate Leadership Competition, which saw 200 teams from the U.S. and Canada compete in two contests: the U.S. Invitational at John Caroll University in Ohio, where the UCR team placed fourth overall, and the online Global Challenge with UCR placing fifth overall, an impressive showing for the inaugural School of Business team participating in the competition.

During the 10 weeks of competition preparation, including weekly coaching sessions, “I watched a transformation that went beyond skill enhancement. It was a profound evolution perspective and unity,” says Ingram. “As our team prepared for the competition, they learned to see their vulnerabilities not as weaknesses but as invaluable strengths. This shift turned each session into a steppingstone, building trust and resilience.”

This dedication to helping students learn both about the subject at hand and about themselves is the hallmark of Ingram’s teaching, coaching, and mentorship.

“Professor Ingram shows great care for his students and has always made himself available for any questions,” wrote another nominating student. “He was the first professor to encourage me to step out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad he did.”

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faculty spotlight

Professor Takes UCR Students Around the World

cfabi002 — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 23:11:05 +0000

Professor Takes UCR Students Around the World cfabi002 Wed, 03/19/2025 - 16:11 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin March 24, 2025

Professor Sean Jasso

Professor of Practice Sean Jasso teaches both inside and outside the classroom—sometimes, way outside of the classroom: For 15 years, Jasso has led, as a volunteer, the UCR School of Business’s educational domestic and international travel program.

Jasso has also served as advisor to many, many victorious UCR Business teams at student competitions locally and nationally over the same time span, with multiple winning streaks at the annual UC Davis Case Competition, International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition, and the UCR Women In Business Case Competition.

Due to these endeavors and his popular in-classroom instruction style, Jasso was recognized with the student-voted 2023-2024 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award. The accolade was established by an alumnus and his wife to honor David Shulman, a retired economics professor, and annually rewards an exemplary business professor who embodies teaching excellence just as Shulman did.

While presenting the award during a banquet ceremony, Jaya Gazula ’24 shared a student’s comment: “Dr. Jasso embodies excellence and fosters that in his students. His involvement with the case studies and competitions highlights that education extends beyond the classroom; this approach not only enriches academic learning but prepares students for future success.”

Jaya Gazula ’24 and Prof. Sean Jasso at the UCR School of Business Faculty Awards Dinner 2024

Last year, Jasso established the Dr. Sean Drake Jasso Global Endowed Scholarship, which funds student participation in UCR Global Programs, with a preference for School of Business third- and fourth-year students.

“In all the years that I’ve done the global programs, I’ve been moving toward creating a scholarship,” says Jasso, who also received the student-voted Golden Apple Award in 2023, 2018, and 2017, for teaching excellence. “I want to help students in need see the world.”

Among the several excursions he conducts annually, Jasso led a student group to China last summer for an immersive experience to help them better understand the nation’s considerable worldwide economic and political influence.

“A global mindset enables students to broaden their perspectives on everything,” says Jasso, and firsthand, on-the-ground exposure in a very different business landscape is tough to beat when it comes to expanding students’ academic résumés.

“The objective is for our students to gain confidence and strengthen their overall competitive value in the labor market.”

___________________

Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

Any faculty member (ladder-rank and lecturer) who has taught at least one class in an award category and at least three classes over the last two academic years is eligible. After winning an award in a category, a faculty is not eligible to win the same award for the next 5 years.

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FACULTY AWARDS

“He Puts a Ton of Effort Into His Courses”

cfabi002 — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:07:16 +0000

“He Puts a Ton of Effort Into His Courses” cfabi002 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 12:07 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin March 07, 2025

Associate Professor Marketing Ye Li

Within his courses, Associate Professor Marketing Ye Li provides what he characterizes as “minor things” for his students.

“I arrive 10 minutes before class and play music from a custom playlist that the students create related to decision-making topics,” says Li, who teaches Judgement and Decision Making and Managerial Decision Making courses at UCR School of Business.

“I learn all my students names every year, which is about 150 students per quarter, without name tents or name tags, and I take a daily class photo for attendance instead of having them sign in,” he adds. He also encourages attendance at office hours, he says, “by allowing students to decorate their own 1-inch wooden star, and I’ll make a framed collage once I have enough stars.”

Li also runs a class Discord server to enhance communication in addition to office hours, and updates course content by sharing podcasts and TED talks relevant to course work.

These “minor things” are obviously considered major things by his students, who once again honored Li with the student-voted 2023-2024 Golden Apple Award for Business Administration Elective Courses. He was also awarded the prestigious Golden Apple in 2017 and 2022.

“Professor Li is an amazing professor. He cares about his students and puts a ton of effort into his courses,” wrote a student voter when nominating Li for the award. “He has designed courses with activities, data-driven application of class concepts, and intriguing lectures.”

Indeed, Li focuses on active learning. “I encourage students to not take notes during class and just listen to the content of the lecture,” says Li, who provides students the lecture slides and recording. He also designates half of the classroom “as an electronics-free zone, where students can commit at the start of quarter to not use electronics during class, including laptops to take notes. Students in this zone love the lack of distractions,” he says.

Another student voter wrote: “Professor Li is extremely passionate about the topics he teaches, and his form of teaching ensures that students use critical thinking to make decisions. He also makes the material absorbable.”

Li’s courses include weekly web assignments, “which consist of experimental stimuli from the papers they’re going to read that week,” says Li. “I analyze this data to show them the effects—such as anchoring, overconfidence, etc.—that they’ll learn in class.” He also sends personalized emails to each person with their scores.

These strategies are coupled with other innovative teaching methods, including an exercise where student partners design their own precommitment device and track their behavior quantitatively over the course of two weeks. “This demonstrates the power of precommitment/prepayment to help self-control problems, like spending less time on the phone or exercising more,” says Li. “It helps them understand the psychology of dynamic inconsistency, the benefits of precommitment, and what went well or not about their self-control attempt.”

The professor’s research “studies the reasons people make various kinds of decisions, especially involving tradeoffs between sooner and later consequences,” he says. “Some of my most influential work has looked at the role of emotions and cognitive ability influencing these types of decisions. For example, sadness makes people less patient, while gratitude—but not happiness—makes them more patient.”

Along these lines, another student voter wrote: “Dr. Li is well versed in his subject area. I was able to improve my decision-making skills after taking his course. He also provided valuable feedback throughout the course, which let us know how we were performing. He is attentive and cares about his students.”

Recognizing this commitment, Li was lauded by Poets & Quants with the 40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors recognition in 2020. “Ye Li has wowed us as much as he has his students, who have had the luck to see him in action in a classroom,” stated Poets & Quants award evaluators. “What impressed us even more than his mountains of research was the feedback current and former students gave, particularly about how much he genuinely and truly cares for those he teaches.”

With the strategies mentioned and other innovative approaches—including embracing AI as part of the learning process and a group project that resulted in student-generated ideas for campus dining calorie equivalent information, a way for diners to make informed choices—Li is invested in both the education and welfare of his students.

“Professor Li’s courses have offered lessons that will be applicable outside my career, both in life and in personal finance,” wrote a student. “He has been extremely helpful about finding opportunities outside the classroom.”

To that, Li responds: “My favorite moments are when students report using class concepts in their lives and jobs.”

___________________

Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

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faculty spotlight

Fostering Student Understanding and Interaction

ilseu — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 17:44:04 +0000

Fostering Student Understanding and Interaction ilseu Mon, 01/06/2025 - 09:44 More Blog Posts Aurora Abt January 03, 2025

Serious learning. Students of Associate Professor of Management Elaine Wong credit her with offering this – and much more. Her signature teaching method of fostering critical thinking and thoughtful discourse has literally earned an apple for this instructor. Dr. Wong has the distinction of being the 2023-2024 recipient of the Golden Apple for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Core Courses and the James Merino Innovation Award for inventive teaching methods. At the core of this double recognition is the admiration and appreciation of her students.

One student assessed Professor Wong’s classroom style and commented on her standout approach: “The inverse format of the course allowed us to digest the material in advance and engage in valid arguments with other serious learners during class time– that’s gold.” Sharing opinions and defending individual positions are hallmarks of the critical thinking process. Business leaders use critical thinking to make tough decisions that impact hundreds, if not thousands, of employees and consumers, so the importance of honing these skills in the classroom cannot be understated.

Professor Wong’s student-centered approach is a key factor in her teaching effectiveness. One student noted that she was “always innovative and attentive to student’s needs, adapting as she taught.” This adaptability acknowledges what works for individuals and fosters reciprocal respect between the instructor and students. Professor Wong’s dedication to student success is further highlighted by a student who believes she “brings energy and compassion along with insight to make the course interactive and memorable.” She has demonstrated an ability to lead a classroom of keen, motivated learners and make a long-lasting impression.

Undergraduates and graduate students often find their voice at various times, developing a point of view deeply rooted in acquired knowledge, a unique perspective, and self-confidence. Professor Wong encourages students to exchange ideas and experiences for the betterment of all. She believes: “Class discussions play a crucial role in student development, as they not only help students meet general program goals to refine their critical thinking and communication skills, but also specific course goals to diagnose, evaluate, and improve the organizational challenges they face and will encounter in their careers. The amazing diversity of the student population at UCR heightens the benefit of class discussions, as students share and hear a wide range of perspectives, making for important and interesting interactions.”

Professor Wong ensures that students can share their understanding and interpretation of class topics without feeling judged by classmates. As one student stated: “I never before felt like my voice mattered in the way it did in her class.”

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Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

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Students Honor UCR Business Faculty

ilseu — Thu, 23 May 2024 16:48:08 +0000

Students Honor UCR Business Faculty ilseu Thu, 05/23/2024 - 09:48 More News Laurie McLaughlin May 23, 2024

Students honored five professors for their achievements inside the classroom with the business school’s May 17 awards dinner. The evening was hosted by the president of the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM) Student Association, Mrinal Hulkoti ’24 MBA, and the association’s vice president, Harman Dhillon ’24 MBA.

“Each year, the school provides students an opportunity to give awards to the professors who have had an impact on their academic journey,” said Hulkoti at the AGSM Student Association Banquet celebrating the end of the academic year, which celebrated both faculty and student achievement.

There are three award categories: the Golden Apple Award recognizes teaching excellence in the core and prerequisite courses and elective courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for a total of four awards; the James Merino Innovation Award; and the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award.

Undergraduate Ambassador and School of Business Leadership Council (SBLC) Director of Communications Jaya Gazula ’24 and SBLC Treasurer Nico Palencia ’25 together presented the honors for the undergraduate program and said: “The Golden Apple Award, as voted by the students, are for professors who have provided the best overall experience in terms of learning, engagement, teaching style, and for employing innovative teaching methods.”

Undergraduate students Nico Palencia ’25 and Jaya Gazula ’24 with Golden Apple Awards 2024 recipient Asst. Prof. Kyle Ingram

Assistant Professor of Teaching in Management Kyle Ingram received the Golden Apple For Excellence in Teaching the Undergraduate Prerequisite and Core Courses, and the presenters shared what some of his students wrote in their nominations: “[Dr. Ingram’s] students said, ‘I have learned so much that has contributed to my leadership development’ and ‘he implemented creative, hands-on activities to promote mental stimulation and increase information retention.’”

Associate Professor of Management Ye Li received the Golden Apple for Teaching Excellence in Undergraduate Elective Courses. Nominating students’ comments included: “[Dr. Li’s] form of teaching ensures that students use critical thinking and data in order to make decisions,” and “he offered lessons that are applicable to my career and personal life.”

Graduate students Mrinal Hulkoti ’24 MBA and Harman Dhillon ’24 MBA with Golden Apple Awards 2024 recipient Dr. Alexandru Roman

Management Lecturer Alexandru Roman received the Golden Apple for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Elective Courses. Roman’s students said that he teaches “effectively by giving real-world examples and encouraging participation in discussions,” “inspires UCR students to push boundaries,” and “forces us to look at known cases from a strategic point of view.”

Mrinal Hulkoti ’24 MBA and Harman Dhillon ’24 MBA with 2024 James Merino Award & 2024 Golden Apple Awards recipient Associate Prof. Elaine Wong

Associate Professor of Management Elaine Wong was honored with both the James Merino Innovation Award, which recognizes a faculty member for bringing innovative ways of teaching or utilizing innovative tools and technologies in the classroom, and the Golden Apple for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Core Courses. Her students wrote: “[Dr. Wong] brings energy and compassion along with insight to make the course interactive and memorable,” “I never before felt like my voice mattered the way it did in her class,” and “the inverse format of the course allowed us to digest the material in advance and engage in valid arguments with other serious learners during class time, and that’s gold.”

Mrinal Hulkoti ’24 MBA and Harman Dhillon ’24 MBA and Nico Palencia ’25 and Jaya Gazula ’24 with 2024 James Merino Award recipient Prof. Sean Jasso

Professor of Practice Sean Jasso received the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes an outstanding faculty member who embodies the fulfillment of learning through their excellence in teaching. While presenting the award, Gazula shared a student’s comment: “[Dr. Jasso] embodies excellence and fosters that in his students. His involvement with the case studies and competitions highlights that education extends beyond the classroom; this approach not only enriches academic learning but prepares students for future success.”

The evening’s proceedings also recognized the recipients of teaching awards from the UCR Academy of Distinguished Teaching: Associate Professor of Marketing Ashish Sood received the Innovative Teaching Award, and Assistant Professor of Teaching Jonathan Lim received the Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

Congratulations to each of these exceptional professors who infuse their courses with enthusiasm, intellectual rigor, caring, and a concentrated focus on how best to share knowledge so that students learn from their shared experience in the classroom.

Kyle Ingram, Elaine Wong, and Sean Jasso with their 2024 awards

View more photos of the event:

2024 AGSM banquet Flickr album

Learn more about the annual School of Business Faculty Teaching & Innovation Awards:

Faculty Teaching & Innovation Awards

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‘Dr. Ingram is doing what he is meant to do’

ilseu — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 18:21:09 +0000

‘Dr. Ingram is doing what he is meant to do’ ilseu Thu, 03/07/2024 - 10:21 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin April 02, 2024

Challenging the traditional notion of “right answers” and cultivating an appreciation for the complexity of social and psychological phenomena is central to the instructional philosophy of Kyle Ingram, assistant professor of teaching in management.

Ingram’s philosophy works for students, and they honored him with the student-voted 2022-2023 James Merino Innovation Award, which recognizes a faculty member for innovative ways of teaching or utilizing innovative tools and technologies in the classroom.

“Dr. Ingram is an incredible professor and is, thankfully, doing what he is meant to do,” wrote one of the students nominating Ingram. “He makes an indelible mark on all his students, and I am thankful I was able to learn from such an incredible person.”

Professor Kyle Ingram with undergraduate business students in the UCR Student Success Center

Ingram aims “to keep the classroom fresh and engaging by integrating a variety of teaching methods and tools,” he says. “For instance, in my Designing and Leading Teams course, I employ a method known as concurrent design, where students learn about team-related theories as they work on solving real problems faced by organizations.

“This approach allows students to gain hands-on experience and apply theoretical concepts in a practical context. I also collaborate with external partners, such the School of Medicine’s Healthy Campus Initiative and the Department of Music, to provide students with opportunities for real-world consultation and project-based learning.”

Ingram also incorporates case discussion, research-driven lectures, and in-class exercises to engage students and foster their love for the subject matter, he says. “In my Organizational Behavior course, students participate in a case competition, where teams of student consultants compete to provide the best solution to a given business challenge.”

The contest culminates in a grand finale with a panels of judges, including professors, former students, and administrators. He also incorporates similar interactive experiences in his

Leadership Development course, where students engage in a leadership consulting exercise interacting directly with organizations based in Riverside.

Among the challenges professors face is ensuring everyone grasps difficult subjects. “This requires adaptability, creativity, and perseverance. It is important to continuously assess and adjust my teaching strategies based on student feedback and learning outcomes,” says Ingram. “Establishing a supportive and inclusive learning environment is essential when teaching subjects that might be challenging or, perhaps, revealing. It is essential to encourage open dialogue, questions, and discussion.”

Supporting this notion, one of his students wrote: “Dr. Ingram does a great job creating a space where interaction is encouraged and makes class extremely interesting and engaging. I think that he does a great job of utilizing the classroom space and innovating in his classes.”

Another student’s input included, “… Professor Ingram incorporates new and exciting ways to teach us and really helps us understand the meaning of his lessons. He prepares us very well for real-life business situations, and I appreciate his connection with his students.”

“This recognition as a recipient of the James Merino Innovation Award motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries of traditional teaching methods and finding new ways to inspire our remarkable students,” says Ingram, who last year received the 2022 Innovative Teaching Award from UC Riverside and the 2022 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCR School of Business.

“Every student can be successful in my courses—it just takes the right attitude and motivation.”

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