DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
for AY 2003-2004

DR. JANE PHILBRICK

Dr. Jane Philbrick, Professor of Management, has been selected the Distinguished Professor (DP) for 2003-2004. The DP, a Title III-funded sub-activity of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Academic Support, is an  honor awarded each year to a faculty member who has exemplified consistent excellence in teaching and learning. The recipient receives a $28,000 stipend to implement faculty development activities that have a resultant impact on teaching and learning.

Dr. Philbrick is a civic-minded person. She has served on the board for the American Heart Association for 15 years. She has chaired the Heart Walk and the Heart Ball three times, and currently serves as Heart Fund Director. Additionally, she serves on the board of the American Diabetes Association and the advisory board of The Sullivan Group. Dr. Philbrick believes in supporting the community. Her civic-mindedness has largely shaped her teaching philosophy.

Dr. Philbrick’s teaching philosophy supports Savannah State’s mission: preparing students to perform at higher levels of economic productivity, social responsibility, and excellence in their chosen fields of endeavor in a global community. Specifically, her philosophy is to nurture the students holistically (in mind, body, and spirit) so that they develop into individuals best suited to be future leaders and caretakers of our community.

Dr. Philbrick provides more than homework, quizzes, tests, and final grades to assess student performance. Her classes provide experiential opportunities with real world applications. This year, she was instrumental in getting a team of students to participate in the Walk for Diabetes. The team placed among the top 20 teams in the country. Dr. Philbrick also recruited a group of students to design the procedures for the Silent Auction of the Hill Hall Gala, an annual benefit that provides scholarships for students. Because of their   excellent work, Dr. Philbrick’s students will continue to work with the Silent Auction of the 2003-2004 Gala.

Her contributions in course development have given her the most satisfaction. In updating the management     curriculum, she designed a new course: Management of Diversity. “One of my proudest moments last year,” stated Dr. Philbrick, “was seeing my students present A Taste of Diversity.” The students planned, promoted, and executed a spectacular program to define diversity for the campus and community through food. The students contacted Chef Joe Randall to supervise their preparation of the food, and Gulfstream Aerospace to provide a grant to pay for the ingredients for the “cook off” and t-shirts for the entire class. This was one of several activities that a traditional classroom setting could never provide.

During Fall 2002, she also designed a special topics course on ethics in management. With post-Enron as a timely frame of reference, the class dealt with ethics in advertising, compensation policies, financial statement, honesty, and human resource issues.

Continuing with the theme ethics and experiential learning, her Business   Research class designed and conducted two research projects during Spring 2003 to help the College of Business assess the role that ethics should play in the business curriculum. Moreover, Dr. Philbrick, along with her colleague Dr.       Barbara Bart, assisted two marketing students with analyzing the results of their research projects on ethics. The students plan to present a paper at an academic meeting next year.

In addition to engaging students in experiential activities, Dr. Philbrick engages them in less formal settings. She interacts with students at athletic events and attends their parties (when she is invited). She also takes them to the Chat and Chew, an informal dining  arrangement supported by Thompson Hospitality (food services) to promote campus engagement.

During the upcoming year, Dr. Philbrick’s DP’s agenda will include several activities. Prominent among them will be writing across the curriculum, learning styles and differences, and, of course, engagement of students.