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Stanford GSB Faculty Members Recognized for Outstanding Teaching

June 29, 2022

| by
Margaret Steen
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An MBA student hands an award to GSB associate professor of marketing Szu-chi Huang. Photo by Julia Yu.

Marketing professor Szu-chi Huang received the 2022 MBA Distinguished Teaching Award. | Julia Yu

Excellent instruction is a hallmark of the education students receive at Stanford GSB. This year, students honored several faculty members for outstanding teaching.

MBA Distinguished Teaching Award

Szu-chi Huang, associate professor of marketing, received the MBA Distinguished Teaching Award at a ceremony on May 16.

One student noted when nominating her that she “consistently highlighted unexpected research findings that often changed the way I thought about the subject matter.” Another said, “She’s an engaging lecturer and tries to involve students in every part of every lecture — from coffee tastings to skits to examples about toilet paper and dog beer.”

In remarks while accepting the award, Huang credited her mother, an elementary school teacher in Taiwan, with showing her that “teaching and learning go hand in hand.”

“From that light, the Distinguished Teaching Award is really a Distinguished Learning Award,” she said. She thanked her students for teaching her lessons about compassion and courage.

“You have all faced many difficulties, past traumas, personal and professional struggles, and a lot of uncertainties about the future; and yet you all continue to dream big,” she told the students. “Every time I speak to you, you give me hope that no matter how difficult it is to actually change the world, you are on it.”

Huang’s research focuses on motivation science, specifically the temporal and social dynamics of goal pursuit. She uses experiments to examine causal processes, and field studies to test these findings in the real world, such as launching loyalty programs with companies and conducting intervention campaigns with nonprofit organizations like UNICEF. Her recent projects examine consumer motivation in social settings, such as shared goal-pursuit platforms such as Weight Watchers and pro-social behaviors such as philanthropic giving.

Five finalists were also recognized:

The selection committee received 118 nominations for 44 different professors and lecturers. Student members of the committee included Carolina Oliveira, MBA ’22; Radwa Hamed, MBA ’23; Gaby Joseph, MBA ’23; and Kevin Helgren, MBA ’22.

PhD Faculty Distinguished Service Award

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Outdoor portrait of Darrell Duffie smiling at the camera. Photo by Nancy Rothstein

Darrell Duffie | Nancy Rothstein

The PhD Student Association awarded the PhD Faculty Distinguished Service Award to Darrell Duffie, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance. The award, which recognizes exceptional contributions to the intellectual development of the PhD community, was presented June 14.

In nominating Duffie, students praised his commitment to teaching.

“I am always amazed by how much time Darrell makes for me when his outside options are advising the White House, central bank heads, and corporate leaders around the world,” one said.

“His expertise runs wide and deep,” said another student. “The way he just picks a topic and decides to become an expert in it is so inspiring.”

Duffie has been on the GSB faculty since receiving his PhD from Stanford in 1984. His research interests include over-the-counter markets, banking, credit risk, valuation and hedging of derivative securities, financial market infrastructure, financial innovation, and fintech payments.

He is a fellow and member of the Council of the Econometric Society, a research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Duffie was the 2009 president of the American Finance Association. In 2014, he chaired the Market Participants Group, charged by the Financial Stability Board with recommending reforms to Libor, Euribor, and other interest rate benchmarks.

2022 MSx Teaching Excellence Award

The 2022 MSx Teaching Excellence Award was presented to Scott J. Brady, lecturer in management, at a ceremony on May 20.

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Outdoor portrait of Scott Brady smiling at the camera. Photo by Courtesy

Scott Brady | Courtesy

Orly Oz Bejerano, MS ’22, who spoke at the ceremony, lauded Brady’s “enthusiasm, commitment, and dedication to excellence in teaching.” Brady is considered a mentor and advisor by many students, many of whom described how generous he is with his time.

Brady, who teaches management and new venture formation, is a managing partner at Innovation Endeavors and a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded three publicly traded tech companies and is a board member at some of the most ambitious startups in tech. He is a GSB graduate, having earned a master’s degree in management, and he holds multiple software and technology patents.

2021 MSx Teaching Excellence Award

David M. Dodson, lecturer in management, received the 2021 MSx Teaching Excellence Award in December.

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Outdoor portrait of David Dodson smiling at the camera. Photo by Nancy Rothstein

David Dodson | Nancy Rothstein

Dodson “effectively taught students about useful toolkits to align both personal and professional goals, and changed the definitions of success, happiness, and risk taking,” said economics professor Paul Oyer at the ceremony. “It was obvious to the students that Dave has genuine care for student well-being, loves teaching, and has contagious energy that was present in every single interaction.”

Dodson has been active for 30 years in the management and formation of new businesses. His research includes entrepreneurial acquisition, management issues around growing enterprises, small and medium sized acquired companies, and early-stage enterprises. He received his MBA from the GSB in 1987 and a BA in economics from Stanford in 1983.

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