Category: Faculty Spotlight

Roger Woods Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

by Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

Dean Johnson, College of Business dean, has selected Roger Woods, teaching professor in operations management and engineering management and affiliated faculty with the construction management program, for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase. Woods will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Woods has taught 10 different classes with an emphasis on getting students to “Think!”, not just repeat information from lectures. As the primary faculty for BUS2300 Quantitative Problem Solving, Woods teaches business and nonbusiness majors that Excel is not just a calculator, but a communication tool. His emphasis on formatting details sends students off to be critical of other spreadsheets that don’t follow his “Cardinal Rules for Spreadsheet Modeling.” And, Woods’ infamous take-home exam challenges students to incorporate all the concepts, techniques and models in the context of an actual business. In addition to the exam’s 20 versions, each iteration has unique values based on random number generation. As any College of Business alum will note, completing the exam is a badge of honor.

Roger Woods

“Students don’t always appreciate his teaching until they have been out in industry — then they get it,” said Jodie Filpus-Paakola, coordinator of academic services.

Woods’ high expectations carry on to other upper-division courses. His hands-off approach to Advanced Project Management allows students to grapple with the question of which methods are appropriate to the presented scenario, instead of just applying all of the tools they have available. Woods also uses a combination of lecture, discussion, in-class exercises and quizzes to engage students in his Six Sigma class, which includes a variety of nonbusiness majors. From Woods’ “Question of the Day” to his useful/useless piece of knowledge, students engage in discussions and class activities. With all of his classes, he uses a variety of markers (black, blue and red) to create points of emphasis, which students appreciate.

“I truly want to thank you for your passion and how much you care about your students,” an alum wrote to Woods. ”Your excitement about the topics you teach fuels our fire and willingness to learn. I would also like to thank you for caring about your students far beyond what your job requires, it really makes all of the difference.”

Mari Buche, associate dean of the College of Business, said Woods plays a critical teaching role in the College: “For the majority of incoming business students, their journey to earning a tech-savvy business degree starts with Roger’s course. For students graduating with a supply chain/operations management degree or engineering management degree, their journey to a successful career is launched by his hands-on upper-division curriculum.”

Johnson emphasized Woods’ rigor combined with his dedication to student-centered experiential education: “While his Quantitative Problem Solving take-home final exam is legendary, students continually rave about his teaching ability and his dedication to the individual student. His Advanced Project Management class has consistently placed well in project management competitions, including first and second place awards this last year. His commitment to student-centered learning and experiential education directly support the College of Business’s mission and reputation.”

Professor of Practice Joel Tuoriniemi Passes Away

Joel Tuoriniemi

by Dean Johnson, Dean, College of Business

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Joel Tuoriniemi, professor of practice in accounting in the College of Business, on Tuesday (Sept. 19).

An open memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 24) at the Hidden Pine Barn, next to the Erickson Crowley Funeral Home on Pine Street in Calumet, Michigan. The Tuoriniemi family welcomes all members of the Michigan Tech community to attend, especially Joel’s current and former students.

Joel would often tell his students that he didn’t see teaching as a job; he simply showed up on campus each morning to do what he loved most — which was being with his students, all day, every day. “And,” he would say, “for some reason the University continues to put money in my bank account for it.” 

Joel approached all situations by saying, “If we ask what is in the best interests of the students, the answer on what to do is usually obvious.” He would simply tell everyone, “Just be nice.”

Joel is remembered by his colleagues and students for his dedication to always providing whatever was needed to benefit students. He often proclaimed he had the best job in the world, and it showed in his passion for teaching. His rhinoceros tattoo reminded him how to approach every class.

A native of the Keweenaw, Joel received his bachelor’s in business, concentration in accounting, from Michigan Tech in 1994, and his juris doctorate from Michigan State University in 1997. He completed postdoctoral studies in accounting at the University of Florida.

Joel started at Michigan Tech as an instructor in 2001, teaching Foundations of Taxation. As time went on, he also picked up Business Law, which was a perfect fit given his JD. In 2006, he was hired full-time as an assistant professor of business law, and in 2014 he became a professor of practice in accounting. His teaching ability spanned from introductory accounting to the MBA and MSA, to the Applied Portfolio Management Program. He conducted research in taxation, financial statement analysis and contractual bargaining power.

Joel earned the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the College of Business Teaching Award, and was a member of the University’s Academy of Teaching Excellence. He held memberships in the American Taxation Association and Taxation Section of the Michigan Bar Association, and was the Ed and Betty Robinson Faculty Fellow in Accounting. In 2020, President Koubek appointed Joel as the MTU faculty athletics representative.

Joel’s office reflected the important items in his life: photos of his wife Julianne ’95 and children Wyatt, Hanna and Hunter; thank-you cards from students; hockey and golf memories; accounting and APMP posters; and a Keweenaw County map.

Read Joel’s full obituary and leave a memory if you wish. The College of Business has provided an additional space for memories at Kudoboard.

Research Q&A with Elham Asgari

Elham Asgari
Asgari is an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Michigan Tech.

Elham (Ellie) Asgari, the Charles C. and John G. Gates Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is at the leading edge of entrepreneurship research, studying the formula of success in this high-stakes sector of business. Last month, Dr. Asgari was selected as a recipient of the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning Instructional Award for Innovative or Out-of-Class Teaching. Asgari’s selection was based on her innovative teaching strategies, including use of crowdfunding campaigns to help Huskies gauge startup interest, and working with students individually to help them prepare for regional and global investment pitches. During the 2022-23 academic year, Michigan Tech student teams collected $67,000 in pitch prize money.

Jenny Apriesnig Earns Research Award for Collaborations Impacting Region and World

Jenny Apriesnig
In addition to her research, Dr. Jenny Apriesnig serves as the Collegiate DECA advisor on campus.

The 2022-23 Michigan Tech College of Business (COB) Research Award has been presented to Jenny Apriesnig, natural resource economist and assistant professor of economics.

Apriesnig’s research evaluates natural resource allocation issues of regional economies, i.e., how firms and consumers respond to changes in the availability of natural resources or natural resource policy. She was selected as the award recipient by her COB colleagues.