Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Paula O'Callaghan

Since my formative years I have  been interested in three things: law, business,  and higher education. I came of age just as technology  and globalization were making the world smaller and more accessible and, in  hindsight, I can see that I certainly benefitted from those forces  tremendously. However, when I went off to  college the personal computer was yet to be introduced to the masses and the  United States was in the final throes of fighting the Cold War. My political science classes provided a  strong foundation in history and political theory, while in a business class we  were discussing new trade opportunities. I was inspired to go on for graduate study and pursue dual degrees in  law and business. 

My education has allowed me the  privilege to work in the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, and for the  federal government. I’ve practiced law,  managed people and programs, and held a variety of other functional  responsibilities. I’ve also had the  opportunity to develop an interest in international business. I took my first international business trip, to  South Korea, in 1997. That trip expanded  my worldview greatly and from there I traveled to 20 more countries for my  employer.

After 15 years’ experience as a  lawyer and a manager I was ready to teach others what I had learned, but I  needed a catalyst.  In 2003 I met UMUC  program director, Rosemary Hartigan, at a professional conference where she was  presenting about teaching via distance learning. We discussed my background and she encouraged  me to consider teaching online. Even  though it took a few years for me to act on it, I’ll be forever grateful for  that suggestion.

For a brief time I taught one class  at a time as an adjunct while continuing to work in a position that required  quite a bit of international travel. I  recall teaching classes from airport terminals and internet cafes. I once found that a Wi-Fi connection on a  long distance bus was sufficient for me to make use of all the features in the  WebTycho classroom.

However, in 2007, when the  opportunity presented itself I gave up the life of the globe-trotting manager  and joined UMUC as a collegiate professor in the Business & Executive  Programs department.  I teach in our  award winning online MBA program. My  managerial experience certainly helps me relate to my students, but my focus on  teaching the past few years undoubtedly has helped me become a stronger  teacher. I’m proud of my association with  UMUC, and I have a profound sense of satisfaction from this phase of my career.

Along with teaching I’m also engaged  in academic research. Right now I’m  working with my colleague Rosemary Hartigan on a long-term project examining  speech in the work place. We began by  studying employees who were discharged for engaging in office gossip; specifically  we wanted to know whether the courts would support the employee or the business  in post-termination litigation. Our  findings so far have indicated that courts do tend to favor the business in  most circumstances. So far, we’ve  generated two papers and one teaching case; one of our papers won a “best  paper” award and is about to be published. Research work is stimulating because it’s never really complete; there  is always another angle to consider, another theory to test. 

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Paula O'Callaghan

I think I focus on critical  thinking as much as I do on the business law and organizational theory. Being  trained as a lawyer first definitely shaped my thinking. Lawyers ask lots of questions. In fact, we are taught through a process of  questions known as the Socratic Method.

Having been exposed to teachers  with great enthusiasm definitely influenced me. I believe enthusiasm helps to keep students engaged in the class over  the course of the semester, so I look for signs early on. I will engage with individual students in  live chat when I see them in the classroom.  Twice a week I record brief audio lectures for the class so they can  hear in my voice how excited I am about the material.   

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Paula O'Callaghan

Enthusiasm is great, but  reliability and predictability are essential. I think students appreciate knowing what to expect in a professor, so I  communicate on a predictable schedule, post grades reliably, etc. 

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Paula O'Callaghan

I’m teaching  purely online for UMUC and I love the challenge of it.  I believe the online  classroom removes so many of the distractions that exist in the face-to-face  environment. In the online classroom we  don’t need to be concerned about what time of day class begins, whether food or  drink is allowed in the classroom, who sits where, whether cell phones must be  silenced, what the laptop policy is, will there be enough parking, who is  wearing what, etc...  We enter the online  classroom at our own time of day; review the thoughts of others, and present our  own thoughtful contributions. We have time to reflect before we speak.We even have the opportunity to edit  something after we’ve said it – what a great opportunity! 

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Paula O'Callaghan

The course I teach most often is  AMBA 610, The Manager in Organizations and Society, a six credit amalgam of  organizational theory, ethics, and business law. This is a great course because the breadth of  it allows us to examine common business problems from multiple perspectives,  just as practicing managers must. Business  problems are complex and they often require multiple approaches to  resolve. That’s the approach we take in  AMBA 610.

I’m an active member of the Academy  of Management and The Academy of Legal Studies in Business; I’m also an article  reviewer for the ALSB Journal of  Employment and Labor Law. I continue  to take classes as well – I recently completed a challenging certificate  program just because the topic interested me.

Our MBA students represent so many  different types of organizations, including public, private, for-profit,  not-for-profit, governmental, and non-governmental organizations, military, etc. I learn a great deal from our conference  discussions and the students’ contributions about their own daily challenges as  managers. 

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are  there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to  meet the challenges.

Paula O'Callaghan

The best way for students to really  learn about business is from live examples. One of my favorite strategies is to discuss in class examples of  things that did not work – strategies that overreached, reorganizations  that failed, ethical lapses, etc. I  encourage students to discuss examples from their own experience of performance  gaps. I believe very little is learned  just from studying business theories or success stories.

One obvious drawback to the online  classroom is you don’t know what “silence” means, because you can’t read  anyone’s expression. Silence could mean anything. If you are wondering why there’s no reaction  to something you’ve posted in the online classroom, you simply must ask the  question.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Paula O'Callaghan

If possible, I encourage our MBA  candidates to work full time for a couple of years before they enter the MBA  program. For one thing, the student is  likely to bring more to the classroom and also to derive more benefit from the  discussion if they have experience.  We  also find that the theories we teach tend make more sense if one brings some work  experience into the program. 

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Paula O'Callaghan

UMUC offers an impressive array of  program choices, including many joint degree options, with schedules that are  specifically geared to working adults. 

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Paula O'Callaghan

The scale and professionalism of  UMUC simply can’t be beat. Although I’m  one of the newer faculty members, I’ve already been offered more opportunities  for involvement and growth than I possibly could have anticipated. 

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Paula O'Callaghan

Come here to teach, but be open to  learning as well. For example, the  Center for Teaching and Learning at UMUC provides year-round opportunities for  faculty to learn from and alongside their peers. Ongoing professional development is a great  bonus to being part of the teaching and learning community at UMUC.