Celebrating Kellogg Faculty in Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we wanted to take a moment to recognize some of our many amazing faculty here at Kellogg. To do so, we asked a few students to share who their most inspirational professor was and how that person has impacted their education, career and/or life. Here is what they said:

It’s extremely difficult to pick a favorite professor at Kellogg, as I have had the good fortune to have a number of “rockstar” professors over the past two years. I had Professor Victoria Medvec twice – for my very first class at Kellogg and then last quarter for Negotiations. She is truly a phenomenal teacher who loves teaching and cares deeply about her students.

Our final assignment for the negotiations class was to do a real world negotiation, and the day before mine, Professor Medvec spent nearly an hour on the phone with me, helping me strategize and prepare. The class itself was the most useful I have taken – at Kellogg or elsewhere – and I have already made use of my negotiating prowess several times since last quarter!

—Briel Steinberg ’13

Professor Tim Calkins is one of my favorite professors at Kellogg because he is able to synthesize complex problems in the world of marketing into simple solutions that I know will be immediately applicable to my career post-Kellogg. His in-class lectures are always engaging, informative and extremely entertaining, and his wealth of knowledge – in terms of providing anecdotal evidence – is unmatched. It has been a pleasure learning under the guidance of Professor Calkins, and his nomination for Professor of the Year is well deserved!

—Evan Fleming ’14

My favorite Kellogg Professor, far and away, is Mitchell Petersen. I had the opportunity to take his corporate finance class and also work with him on an independent study project that evaluated impact investing initiatives in Asia. In the classroom, he was exceptional and encouraged students to take a step back from the nitty-gritty of numbers and calculations and view finance from the broader perspective of corporate incentives and investor behavior. Moreover, he has a knack for being able to explain challenging concepts through real-life examples and active classroom discussion. But perhaps most importantly, he’s an incredible human being outside the classroom. He deeply cares about your life and career path, and his office is always open if you have questions or just want to talk.

—Rakesh Mani ’13

@rakeshmani

My favorite professor has been John Aiello ’95, as he pioneered the entrepreneurial selling course at Kellogg in the winter quarter. John has a genuine passion for our success and would regularly invite students to come to class early for one-on-one pitch coaching. I walked away with some of the most valuable and practical knowledge I have ever gained in a subject that is often overlooked in business school education.

—Jeremy O’Briant ’14

@jobriant

My favorite professor at Kellogg was also John Aiello ’95 who taught Entrepreneurial Selling. John took his experiences of building a sales consulting company and distilled them into lessons he taught with passion. He also inspired the class each time, making us want to implement sales strategies in our own startups.

—Viren Tellis ’13