Easing the Research-Teaching Juggle

Teaching Fellow De Simone finds ways to support colleagues by amplifying McCombs values

When Professor of Accounting Lisa De Simone, Ph.D. ’13, joined the Texas McCombs faculty in 2020, she was deeply curious about the three professional pathways she saw before her.

“We do teaching, we do research, and we do service. I wanted to go deeper in all three,” says De Simone. While she leaned into teaching as paramount, she soon recognized a challenge in higher education culture that puts faculty needs at odds: How do faculty members balance research and teaching roles?

“I wondered if there was something I could do to try to help everyone realize how much these priorities can be aligned with each other,” she says.

When the McCombs Teaching Fellow program debuted in 2023-2024, she proposed an ambitious idea: championing cultural changes at McCombs to support the balance of research and teaching.

The two go hand in hand, she says. “As researchers, we’re at the frontier of discovering and producing knowledge. As educators, we’re at the frontier of disseminating that knowledge.

 “There doesn’t need to be a dichotomy.”

Understanding comes before change

When the McCombs Office of Instructional Innovation (MOII) announced her fellowship, she was pleased to hear from supportive colleagues. She also heard from skeptics, and she acknowledges the inherent difficulty in changing a culture.

As a longtime researcher, she temporarily turned from her years studying multinational corporate taxation to learning more about culture, organizations, influence, and change. She also studied the existing culture and values at McCombs, as articulated by the Dean’s Office.

“I was extremely encouraged by how many of the elements were already there because McCombs leadership wants a good teaching culture,” she says. So, her focus was to amplify the school’s existing goals with curiosity and a fair amount of nudging.

“It was just pointing out, ‘Hey, we need to put our money where our mouth is. Let’s push this further,’” she says.

The push included several initiatives:

• Signal priorities early — New hires are required to attend orientation events, such as a workshop focused on how to start strong as an educator. “By socializing new faculty from the start, we are signaling our school’s firm expectation of –– and support for –– a culture of teaching excellence,” she says.
• Broadcast teaching success –– Her project amplifies McCombs’ extensive program of annual teaching awards by generating announcements on digital message boards throughout the school.
• Celebrate specific accomplishments –– Collaborating with the dean of faculty affairs, De Simone proposed that award presentations include more substantive details, to highlight the actions behind successes. Now, when faculty members are honored for their teaching, presenters cite stories, examples, and quotes pulled from student and peer evaluations.

“People noticed! Students and peers began to congratulate faculty in the hallways and through email,” De Simone says.

• Support community –– During De Simone’s fellowship, the McCombs Faculty Friday meetings evolved from siloed, sometimes overlapping gatherings directed to either research or teaching, to a single, schoolwide workshop –– Faculty Fridays –– with lunch provided.

“It wasn’t my idea, but I am really proud of the school. It shows that teaching is as important as research by carving out that time when all are welcome.”

“I had a couple of faculty members reach out to me and say, ‘Wow, you’re a really good researcher, and you’re spending a lot of time on teaching. That’s inspiring that you can do both. It makes me want to try.’”
— Lisa De Simone, McCombs Teaching Fellow, 2023-2024

Long-lasting results

De Simone’s research perspective and enthusiasm for teaching were appreciated, especially during the cohort’s inaugural year.

“As a tenured faculty member, Lisa has offered valuable insight into the challenges research faculty face in balancing research and teaching,” says Stephen Walls, assistant dean for instructional innovation, who sees ongoing impact from her work.

“The lessons from her project have helped shape how we support McCombs research faculty with more effective teaching resources and guidance,” he says.

Currently, De Simone is working with MOII staff members to share their experiences through a professional paper to be submitted for national publication.

Meanwhile, her peers also salute her work. She was selected by the Faculty Teaching Awards Committee for the 2024-25 Jim Nolen Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

Story by Sandra Kleinsasser