Pioneers in the classroom, McCombs Teaching Fellows are shaping the future of business education

Role-playing boardroom meetings.
Dissecting business news in real time.
Putting AI to work as a tutor.
Kicking bookkeeping minutia to the curb.

Creative ideas like these have bubbled up from the first two cohorts of the Texas McCombs Teaching Fellows program, launched in 2023 by the McCombs Office of Instructional Innovation (MOII). In some cases, final exams, research papers, and even traditional (boring!) presentations are being replaced.

Designed within McCombs to highlight teaching excellence and support new ideas, the Fellows program is a fast-moving, proactive approach to preparing graduates for the rapidly evolving workplace.

Students practice thinking on their feet, persuasive communication, leadership, analyzing ambiguous business situations, and more real-world situations incorporating traditional theory and frameworks.

Teaching Fellow Bill Peterson, assistant professor of instruction, was in the program’s inaugural cohort. He says investing time in classroom innovation pays dividends for businesses hiring McCombs students. “Employers of our graduates can expect that our students have not only technical skills, but the experience and confidence to drive change through their organizations. It really does minimize the amount of on-the-job training that employers have to give to most new hires,” he says.

Many of the creative ideas generated among Teaching Fellows have taken root in classrooms at McCombs, across UT Austin and, thanks to a national publication, across the U.S. and as far away as Germany.

This dissemination of fruitful insights is a pride point for MOII. Chartered in 2022, the office consists of two assistant deans — Kristie Loescher, professor of instruction in management; and Stephen Walls, associate professor of instruction in marketing — and Assistant Director Brandon Campitelli.

MOII provides a full team to help Fellows coordinate with key stakeholders and refine their ideas, including Ananya Doshi, learning designer; Monse Dayries, education technologist; Sandra Rojas, project manager; and Kristal Trimble, senior administrative associate.

“The office is like a test bed for all these different ideas,” Peterson says. “And then once that idea pops out, MOII is really good at propagating it. They communicate it throughout the University and the business school.”

Limited to four Fellows per academic year, the program provides a platform for creative and impactful teaching, a chance to pilot new techniques, and ways to share success with fellow educators. Membership is by application and includes a modest stipend and a medal.

“McCombs leadership elevates good teaching, and the Fellows program amplifies the forward-looking approach of our office to raise the quality of teaching across the school,” Walls says.

“McCombs is home to pioneers and leaders. We are all learning from these Fellows.”

Encouraging innovation, starting conversations, and showcasing creative approaches are key ways the office helps faculty improve their courses and teaching, says another member of the inaugural cohort, Michael Sury, associate professor of practice in finance.

“Sharing is extremely valuable,” he says. “Even though I was a Teaching Fellow, I learned from another Teaching Fellow and used that approach to enhance my own project.”

Meet our Teaching Fellows here: