UT has recently garnered significant national accolades, including the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Trailblazer award for retention and graduation rate gains and the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for outreach. These successes are due to the hard work of our innovative employees. Here’s a look at two Haslam College of Business faculty members who are trailblazers in and out of the classroom.
Phillip Daves
Phillip Daves is a numbers guy and an analytical thinker. He teaches finance and is an expert in business valuation.
When asked to head the Global Leadership Scholars (GLS) program, he answered the challenge and stepped out of his numbers-driven comfort zone. He relied on his Haslam College of Business colleagues who teach management and leadership to help him stretch his skills.
“I’ve had to learn a lot about leadership on the fly the last year and a half,” Daves said. “I’ve also found that analytical problem solving doesn’t always solve problems. It’s the human side—the relationship side—that has been so interesting and helpful to me.”
Daves is a Voigt Scholar and an associate professor of finance. He began directing the GLS honors program in 2013. GLS enrolls about thirty sophomores a year who pursue their chosen business major with a concentration in international business. Students spend spring semester of their sophomore year studying and working in London. Students work in government and corporate jobs that range from Parliament and the Fulbright Commission to Citigroup, Savoy Hotels, and Zurich Financial Services.
“One of the biggest reasons for students to study abroad is for them to be and feel displaced. This makes them grow up fast and gives them a new perspective on culture. I’m interested in expanding our program outside of London. Having sites in non-English-dominant cities would ramp up that experience,” he explained. “It would also be nice to have locations that would encourage students to become conversant in a foreign language.”
For more than twenty years, Daves has taken on new challenges and has helped to shape several of the college’s most innovative programs.
“I am fortunate to be in a very entrepreneurial environment. We have a culture for developing new programs and not being afraid to give new things a shot,” he said.
Daves has developed and teaches the finance components of the Physicians Executive MBA program. Now he’s working on curriculum for the new MBA for health care executives
“I’m not afraid to say ‘yes’ to things. I like challenges and I like learning about new things, and many of the activities I’ve undertaken are new to me,” he said.
Daves is also an award-winning teacher.
“I think Dr. Daves is an innovator in the way he motivates students to be more than who they thought they could be and supports them throughout the college experience. He always comes in the room with a smile and tries to make everyone feel comfortable expressing themselves” said Maddie Rule, a junior in the GLS program. “He tries to keep the conversation light and interesting while still teaching us how to have a meaningful conversation with others.”
Daves plays the bass several weeks a month for the All Souls Church services at held at 4 Market Square. He’s involved in the church’s redevelopment work in the inner city. He also chairs the investment committee for the Tennessee Theatre Foundation.
He and his wife, Bonney, a high school math teacher, have three grown daughters.
Anita Hollander
Anita Hollander wears many hats at UT, but she considers being an innovative teacher her most important role.
“Lifelong learning and inquiry are important for growth and success,” she said. “My objective is to teach students how to learn, and how to adapt to—and hopefully lead—change in a dynamic world.”
Hollander, a distinguished lecturer, director of information management, and assistant department head in the Department of Accounting and Information Management, customizes content for several courses.
Without dependence on traditional publishing, “we can incorporate trends and concepts into our curriculum in real time,” she said.
“I love the fact that things evolve and change in my field, but it requires a lot of investment to stay current,” she said. “Because it is something in which I am genuinely interested and so many of my classes depend on it, I make it a priority.”
Joseph Carcello, head of the Department of Accounting and Information Management, said her commitment to stay current is a real plus for her students.
“Her excellence and commitment to our students benefit them on a daily basis,” he said.
Hollander holds an ongoing designation as a scholar for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.
A self-described geek, she was drawn to information management through her curiosity.
“I find it relaxing and fun to write computer code,” she said. “I have always loved math, reading, writing, learning new technology, logic problems, and finding patterns.”
A love of sports and teaching seems to run in the Hollander family.
Hollander’s husband, Joe, and her son, Christopher, both teach math and coach baseball at Knoxville Catholic High School. Hollander’s daughter-in-law, Rachel Rushworth-Hollander, teaches English and coaches soccer at Maryville High School.
“Most evenings and weekends in the spring, you can find me in a dugout keeping the official book at one of the Fighting Irish baseball games,” Hollander said. “The baseball dugout is the most fun place to be. I get to see a side of my husband and son that I usually wouldn’t see,” she said.
The Hollanders soon will welcome another sports fan to their family.
“I will become a grandmother for the first time late this summer. I am over the moon,” she said.