Joseph H. Schuessler B.B.A., M.B.A., M.S.

 

Philosophy

 
Teaching I believe the role of a teacher is to facilitate and act in an advisory capacity to aid in student learning by augmenting their learning experiences with other classes, learning materials, and real life experiences.  My desire to become a university-based educator is based largely on the belief that teaching can be as enlightening an experience for the professor as it can be for the students.  However, I did not always recognize that teaching was likely to be my profession of choice.  Growing up and working in a family owned small business, I found that intellectual development involved flexibility and drawing on diverse disciplines in order to effectively run the business and continue my education.  Teaching, and learning for that matter, require the same attributes.  Flexibility requires that I as a professor realize that students come from diverse back grounds and that to effectively teach them, I must find commonality that allows them to collectively develop their thinking skills.  The ability to draw from multiple disciplines aids in identifying such commonalities so that a cohesive picture of the subject matter can be achieved for students.  Teaching is more than a classroom activity though.  It is understanding the intellectual and social development in the greater context of both their university development as well as their lifelong development.  Activities such as advising, mentoring, directing theses and dissertations, and curriculum development are all components of the "teaching."  I believe that these activities can be even more rewarding than classroom activities.  Regardless of the stage a student is in their studies, the ability to influence their development and their outlook on life can be the most rewarding aspect of "teaching."
 
Research When I began my PhD studies, I can honestly say I did not know what "research" was.  After getting my first taste of the role that research plays in academia, I can also honestly say that I was somewhat turned off by it.  However, as I moved through my studies I came to enjoy the intellectual stimulation involved with developing research models that had both academic and practical implications.  I believe that good research should have implications for each to truly be "good research."  I also believe that "good research" is an evolutionary process that takes time.  It is better to more thoroughly develop good research through well developed literature reviews than to hastily move to data collection only to find out that key constructs have been ignored or that competing theories have been ignored.  To this end, I believe that individual interests should be broad but that research streams should be narrow in focus.  Diverse individual interests allow for a variety of competing theoretical foundations from which to be drawn.  However, a narrowly focused research stream allows a researcher to truly develop research that contributes to academic and practitioner community.
 
Service I believe that service duties evolve over the tenure of a professor.  In the early years of a professor's employment, efforts should be focused on teaching and research, the two most important components of the tenure and promotion evaluation process. As a professor moves up in seniority, they must become involved in service, especially at the college level, to make themselves recognized by peer faculty from other academic programs.  Once tenured, the balance of service with the other duties of teaching and research depends on the individual. Some people are more suited to service on committees than others, just as some people are better teachers and researchers. While my interests are likely to change over time with respect to the balance between service, research, and teaching, I currently believe that my teaching and research should take priority over service.  As a professor, I am responsible for the educational and professional development of many students and as such, university service should not detract from those efforts.  Additionally, besides service to the university and local community, there is also service to your profession.  Involvement with professional organizations related to the field of Information Systems should be recognized as a surrogate for university service as it increases the institution's visibility and involvement in the development of the Information Systems field.

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