In Starring Roles
At the heart of every university is the faculty. These talented men and women share passion for their subjects transforming lives every day and every year of their careers.
At Northwood University, we are fortunate to have an extraordinary faculty. Look for your favorite professor to star in upcoming issues. We hope it will take you back to your time on campus and you will remember your exceptional teachers and what it was like as you transformed from a student to a professional.
Tim Gilbert - Florida Campus
What Tim Gilbert, Associate Professor on the Florida Campus, likes best about teaching is seeing the "Ah Hah" moment in the eyes of the students when they understand the concept he is trying to convey. He also enjoys pushing students to think for themselves, to investigate and learn about something rather than just see it on the news or hear about it from a professor. Our NU-CARS International competition is that kind of exercise. It forces students to think through the issues and come up with appropriate decisions, at the same time negotiate with their team members to get them to accept the decisions as valid.
Gilbert's teaching style is to ask penetrating questions and try to engage the students in discussion. He always attempts to get his students to think critically about the issues of the class. For instance, in the government class, rather than a dry lecture on the presidency, he might ask them about how much power the president should be able to exercise to affect change. This would lead to a discussion about the nature of presidential power and possibly a comparison between different presidents and certainly how presidential power must co-exist with congressional power.
He loves when the students become so engaged in a discussion that he virtually has to slow them down so that everyone gets their chance to talk. Sometimes it resembles the "Jerry Springer Show" and he has to interject himself into the discussions to keep emotions from escalating.
Gilbert is passionate about developing our outreach internationally. Two programs he is personally involved with are NU-CARS (Northwood University - Computer Automotive Retail Simulation) and the International Summer University in Wolfsburg, Germany. He is also planning to take a group to Brazil to see how the automotive industry functions there. Brazil is one of most promising markets within the international automotive industry, boasting the most state-of-the-art manufacturing plant Ford has ever built, and a strong dealer network.
Steve Tidwell - Texas Campus
Texas campus Steve Tidwell, Associate Professor on the Texas Campus, knows he's made a difference when he 'sees the light bulb go on' as students grasp a new concept. His favorite subject to teach is Human Resource Management. "Because of the growing importance of HR, it is even more important people understand their role in business," he notes.
Tidwell encourages an interactive and respectful classroom where students feel free to say what they want and challenge him and each other when they disagree. This kind of teaching demands he stay ahead of his students. "Just providing a shallow answer to end a conversation does not work well with students who really want to learn. It is important to be clear with my explanations. When discussing topics, yes/no answers are seldom accepted. When students answer, they must validate their answer," Tidwell explains.
Tidwell is also well known on the Texas Campus for the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the classroom. One of the hardest things to do in his class is fall asleep!
When students look back on the time spent in Tidwell's classroom, they will remember their instructor in many ways. Says Tidwell, "I would like to think they remember me as an honest man who demonstrated a real concern for their future. I would like to also think they will remember me as a person who lived a Christian life. I would like to think they remember me as a person that did more than taught, but got involved in their activities and was willing to help them after they have left NU. And last but not least, as an individual that did not take myself seriously."
Mauro Amor - Michigan Campus
First of and foremost, Mauro Amor, Associate Professor on the Michigan Campus, loves teaching and he loves economics, so teaching allows him to combine the two things he is passionate about. Amor designs his classes to be both informative and challenging, and simultaneously, he tries to contradict several misconceptions students typically bring to the class about the issues of economic efficiency and income distribution. One of his main goals is to, "make students feel uneasy about the conclusion and implications behind those problems, to observe the divergence in opinions on how to analyze an issue as simple as taxes, while arguing with him and their own preconceptions, in the process." The minute they start arguing and refuting the conclusions of the models, supporting their own view with some of the tools developed in class, he considers the process a success.
Coming from Argentina, a country that has completely different customs and educational systems, allows Amor to bring a singular view to the classroom. First of all, he tries to make sure that his class is a place the students want to be, and they are looking forward to go to, even if it means going to 8 a.m. class on a Friday. So initially, his most important challenge is to make sure the time the student would spend there with him is something worthwhile for everyone. And humor is always a part of the class. Ask any student of his ECN 401 classes what they remember the most about market failure and externalities, and the answer would be, "cows jumping on cereal." But after that, they would be able to clearly explain the reasons behind the failure of the market on that situation.
Amor hopes his students remember him as someone who made economics interesting and accessible to them; as that professor with the funny accent who helped them realize that economic principles can be applied to more areas that they initially thought they could; and was able to inspire them to continue improving themselves. He would like his students to remember him as someone who was interested in them not only as just a body who was occupying a chair in a room for a term, but also as the person who was interested in getting to know them as individuals and members of our community.
Bill Bateman-Devos Graduate School
DeVos Associate Professor Bill Bateman learns every time he enters the classroom. He likes hearing the experiences of the students and witnessing the learning that goes on between everyone. Finance is his favorite subject. He finds it an interesting challenge to take a subject many students perceive as difficult, and even impossible, and make it doable. His understanding of finance is through practical experience in the banking industry. Taking the theoretical and technical and helping students apply it in a real way is less threatening and more fun for all. Bateman brings humor into the classroom. Even in a finance class, learning can take place amidst laughter. His Doctoral dissertation was on the relationship between a sense of humor and leadership style so you might almost say he has a "doctorate in humor."
Bateman is well aware of the importance of teaching styles and the need to reach the students in a manner in which they can relate, "Most of our students were brought up with a video screen in the backseat of the mini-van or a Gameboy in their hands. They have been entertained all of their life. They don't expect that to end in college and I agree with that on the surface. I try to incorporate different types of media and engaging activities to reach the most learners," he says.
Bateman is a strong believer in the free-market system, "I talk about it every time I get a chance. With current world events, espousing a free market view point will be even more important. I am very concerned about the recent turn of events and the government's involvement in the markets."
He would also like to start a chapter of "Service to Mankind" (SERTOMA) someday in Midland. SERTOMA is a service group that sponsors charities related to the hearing impaired.
Cynthia Weeks - Adjunct Faculty
When asked what she likes best about teaching, Adjunct Faculty Cynthia Weeks' response is enthusiastic: "The students! Many work fulltime; many have children; many have spouses, significant others, parents, pets, community responsibilities, and hobbies. And still...they come to class at night, on the weekend, or online. They do the homework. They write the papers. They put in the effort. They make the commitment and they make the time. I honestly admire their discipline and I love to hear their stories and understand what motivates them to work so hard."
Weeks' passion is clearly communication. She understands that many adult learners dread taking composition and business writing classes. "Whether it's a memo at work or a research paper for Economics, these reluctant writers get an assignment and just freeze. Or, worse, they plunge immediately into writing without thinking it through first. Then they end up with a disorganized, unwieldy, somewhat APA-formatted mess."
Her goal is to make the writing process simple, repeatable, and fast. She breaks it down into simple steps, times the writing, and makes the organization predictable, and the results consistent. Students practice. And, with practice, students really do learn to deliver effective communication more quickly.
Weeks has a traditional academic background with a Princeton Ph.D. that qualifies her as an "expert in the field," but she also has several decades of experience managing organizations from 5 to 500 employees for the top IT companies in the world. "American business is no ivory tower," she observes. "The 'red pen' I use to correct papers is regularly sharpened in an environment where communication style impacts real dollars."
Her current assignment is a global operational improvement program with teams in 40 countries. They do not have the luxury of meeting face to face or taking advantage of non-verbal communication cues and long-standing personal relationships. The people in this program will know each other only as voices on a conference call or an email in an inbox. In this global work environment, clear written and spoken communication is mandatory. Preparing Northwood students to thrive in this environment is her goal.
