Degrees, Certificates and Certifications
- MBA, DeVos Graduate School – Northwood University
- BA, Accounting, Hope College
My Teaching Philosophy
Theory and philosophy are important primarily as it relates to practical application. I make extensive use of stories and applications as it relates to my professional business career. I use stories of existing companies and business professional. I also use case studies from Harvard Business Publishing because they are about real companies with real issues to be analyzed. In Entrepreneurship as well as Franchising Management, I believe it is important for the students to get up in front of their classmates and make verbal presentations. In all of the projects I assign the students, they make the project about their idea/concept, not one I assign. This allows their passion to shine through.
Why I am at NU
I believe in the Free Market System and I believe that Northwood University is America’s Free Market University. We approach teaching business from that perspective and that is important because it has made America the envy of the world. I witnessed the free market system at work as a banker working with over 80 small business entrepreneurs, as an executive and part owner in a manufacturing business and as President and part owner of a service company. We believe that it is important for our faculty to have real world business experience and I bring that with me to the classroom and my students.
Selected Professional Experience
- President and part owner, MedAudit Services, Inc. (A medical bill review company), 7 years
- Vice President, CFO and part owner, Packaging Direct, Inc. (a plastic thermoforming company), 5 years
- Vice President – Corporate Banking, Comerica Bank, 13 years
- General Accountant, Bil-Mar Foods, Inc., 2 years
