Loeken Academic Excellence Awards
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Lada’s teaching focuses on positively impacting students’ lives by providing relevant professional knowledge while fostering their moral and cultural development as future business professionals. Her teaching evaluations and student feedback highlight this commitment. One example of her innovative approach is an experiential learning activity she developed based on the movie Congo, My Precious. Through a combination of online and in-person discussions and a country background presentation, Lada engaged students in discussions on emerging markets, colonialism, and social justice. These discussions encouraged deep reflection, as seen in one student’s comments on the resilience of Congolese miners. Lada plans to publish this methodology.
Her research on cultural intelligence and diversity further supports her mission. In the past year, she published one article, presented two peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and received a Distinguished Paper Award at the 2023 IGBR Conference. This research informs her course design, helping her promote cultural intelligence in line with Jesuit business education values.
Lada also contributes to global business education through her work on the globalization committee, where her data analysis prompted discussions on increasing global exposure for business students. Her work reflects a strong commitment to both academic excellence and students' ethical development.
Yelin emphasizes interactive learning in his finance courses. In his Principles of Finance course, students lead class discussions by asking insightful questions. At the same time, in his Financial Institutions, they work in teams to investigate and solve agency problems in financial institutions. He encourages students to focus on the economic intuition behind financial theories, prioritizing analytical skills and critical thinking over rote memorization. Yelin also builds long-term relationships with students, offering personalized support and writing recommendation letters for job or graduate school applications. He integrates Jesuit values into his teaching, emphasizing business ethics and social responsibility in finance.
Students appreciate his engaging approach, often noting his passion and sense of humor in making finance approachable. In BFIN 320, one student remarked, "This course changed my perspective on professors because Yelin showed his genuine interest in his students." Another praised his ability to make complex topics more accessible and engaging.
Yelin is also active in academia, having received the best reviewer award from the British Academy of Management in 2023-2024. He has published a book chapter on crowdfunding and presented at the Academy of Management. Beyond teaching, he actively participates in student recruitment, orientation, and outreach efforts to support the business school’s growth.
Loeken Vision & Values Awards
Tim fosters strong connections with local CIOs, non-profits, and the City of Spokane through his involvement on various advisory boards. He regularly brings practitioners into his classroom, encouraging student engagement with industry professionals. In his Information Systems Theory and Practice course, Tim hosts panel discussions with CIOs from organizations such as Multicare, Avista, and Gonzaga, allowing students to ask questions and learn directly from experts. He also facilitates student interviews with local CIOs on IT management challenges, with some findings already published.
In his Systems Analysis and Design course, Tim’s students worked with World Relief to develop a language model to help Arabic-speaking refugees in Spokane with housing questions. He also wrote a teaching case on the “diaper database” for Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, a local non-profit, which has been integrated into his course and submitted for publication.
Tim brought in Lloyd Tabb, the creator of Google’s Looker and Malloy, as a guest speaker in one of his classes. Malloy is a new language for transforming and modeling data. In his Fundamental Technologies of Business Analytics, Tim encourages students to publish their analytics projects, fostering engagement with professional communities through data-driven publications.
Vivek is dedicated to student success and appreciates the positive feedback he receives on his teaching. He has invested significant effort in updating his Principles of Marketing course and has enjoyed developing three new courses: Marketing Theory and Practice (hybrid), Current Issues in Marketing: Data Visualization, and Survey Design (both weekend intensives). He hopes these new formats offer students greater flexibility and meet their diverse learning needs. He continuously seeks ways to enhance the learning experience and strives to empower students through analytical tools, such as Tableau, R, and Orange data mining software. Vivek values engaging with the community by inviting guest speakers from various industries to his classes and through his service with organizations such as Vanessa Behan, Human Rights Spokane, and the Health Services Research Roundtable.
Vivek has worked toward a fair and transparent faculty evaluation process as a member of the University Committee on Rank and Tenure for five years, including three as the faculty co-Chair. He also appreciates serving as the Marketing discipline lead and collaborates with the Marketing Advisory Board to improve curriculum and student support. Vivek's research focuses on addressing real-world problems. He has presented on topics such as neighborhood inequities and social justice issues and is currently involved in a study examining how Fortune 500 companies approach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He remains dedicated to contributing to the School of Business Administration's mission of engagement, innovation, and impact.