Annual Endowment Report
Empowering Faculty To Innovate And Inspire
Constantinos Coutifaris is the grateful recipient of the 2026 Jim Nolen Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. Endowed awards such as this make it possible to recognize and celebrate exceptional faculty members who are shaping the McCombs experience.
Constantinos says: “Teaching has always been one of the most rewarding parts of my career, and this award reminds me of just how much I have gained from the experience. Every class I teach on leadership and organizational culture brings new perspectives, challenging questions, and moments of genuine discovery that push me to grow as an educator. I feel so fortunate to have learned from outstanding students, supportive faculty colleagues, and dedicated teaching assistants over the past four years.”
Constantinos Coutifaris
Assistant Professor
Rosenthal Department of Management
Bill Peterson
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing
Endowment support is the foundation for world-class education that produces entrepreneurial, innovative, analytical, and ethical thinkers who solve the challenges of today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow.
For Bill Peterson, great teaching means preparing students for the realities of the business world, bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world decision-making. Through his involvement with the McCombs Office of Instructional Innovation as a McCombs Teaching Fellow, Bill developed simulated leadership meetings, replacing traditional presentations with realistic discussions modeled on corporate product councils. Students analyze complex challenges, defend recommendations, respond to tough questions, and learn to think on their feet.
“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to put this new learning model into practice,” Bill says. “Why should there be two worlds — the classroom and the business office — when we’re preparing students for business careers?”
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