For Dr. Lauren Rukasuwan, the path to becoming an accounting professor wasn’t exactly a straight line from the beginning.

In fact, she has a name for it: her “failure story of college.”

Today, Dr. Rukasuwan serves as an assistant professor of accounting at the Lacy School of Business. But as an undergraduate, she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do. She started at North Carolina State University, navigating large lecture halls and classes with more than 300 students, still trying to find her direction.

It was her brother who eventually pointed her toward accounting.

“He was like, ‘It’s a stable field. You can get a job. Just go major in accounting,’” she recalls.

So, she did.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s degree from East Carolina University, Dr. Rukasuwan began her career at KPMG as a Senior Tax Associate. But she soon discovered that her interests leaned less toward public accounting and more toward the classroom.

She found herself drawn to teaching, the opportunity to connect with students, and the ability to make a technical subject feel approachable. That realization eventually led her to pursue a Ph.D. at Texas Tech University and, ultimately, a career in higher education.

Along the way, one experience helped shape the kind of educator she wanted to become.

At East Carolina University, Dr. Rukasuwan experienced something she hadn’t found in her earlier college years: a smaller classroom where professors knew their students, relationships developed naturally, and learning extended beyond the lecture. With roughly 25 students in a class, she had opportunities to work alongside faculty, serve as a teaching assistant, and build meaningful connections.

As someone who describes herself as naturally introverted and a little shy, that environment made a difference.

It also helped her recognize the value of an education where students aren’t just faces in a lecture hall. They’re individuals whose growth, questions, and experiences matter.

It’s a philosophy she carries with her at Butler.

But while teaching brought Dr. Rukasuwan to academia, it was a desire to make a broader impact that helped shape her research.

During her doctoral studies in 2020, she began exploring the history of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the accounting profession. Against the backdrop of a national conversation about racial inequality, one of her professors encouraged her to examine a book exploring the history of exclusion within the predominantly white-collar profession.

What she found stayed with her.

Even decades after the book was written, the numbers surrounding representation in accounting hadn’t shifted as much as they should have.

For Dr. Rukasuwan, the question became bigger than who was entering the profession. It was also about who was staying, who was advancing, and who was being given the same opportunities to succeed.

“I wanted to do research that had more of a human impact to it than just, ‘Other accountants are going to find this interesting,’” the North Carolina native says. “I wanted to do something that maybe would make the world a little better.”

Accounting, after all, is a profession built around defining, interpreting, and communicating information. Those decisions influence organizations, industries, and communities. When only certain perspectives are represented in the rooms where those decisions are made, important viewpoints can be overlooked.

“Having more diverse people in the room is always better,” Dr. Rukasuwan says.

Her research also looks beyond recruitment to the experiences that shape someone’s career once they enter the profession. She examines the role of mentorship and sponsorship in helping professionals navigate their careers.

The distinction, she explains, is significant.

Mentors are often the people you turn to behind the scenes: the ones who offer advice, answer questions, and help you work through challenges, Dr Rukasuwan says. Sponsors, on the other hand, take an active role in advocating for you. They recommend you for opportunities, introduce you to important connections, and put their own credibility behind your potential.

In a profession where relationships and networks can play a significant role in career advancement, that kind of advocacy can make all the difference.

Without someone willing to speak up for you, talented professionals can find themselves at a disadvantage compared with peers who have those relationships and opportunities, Dr. Rukasuwan says.

It’s a reminder that professional success isn’t always determined by technical ability alone. Sometimes, it’s also about who recognizes your potential and is willing to help others see it, too.

That commitment to making the profession more inclusive is also reflected in Dr. Rukasuwan’s recent research.

In “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to an Inclusive Accounting Profession: Navigating the Shifting Sands of DEI,” she and her co-authors explore how individuals and organizations can continue advancing inclusion amid changing social and political pressures.

The work brings together perspectives from accounting academics, legal scholars, and professionals, bridging conversations that don’t always happen across those different areas of the field.

Rather than focusing exclusively on formal organizational initiatives, the research considers the ways individuals can influence workplace culture through everyday decisions.

For the assistant professor of accounting, meaningful change doesn’t always have to begin with a company-wide program or policy. It can start with someone questioning an unfair performance evaluation, challenging an assumption, or recognizing when a colleague is being treated differently.

“I honestly think that individuals are where the change happens anyways,” she says.

It’s an approach that puts responsibility and opportunity in the hands of the people who make up an organization. And it’s a message she hopes professionals will carry into their own workplaces.

Dr. Rukasuwan will share this research at Butler Research Sound Bites on Nov. 13, offering an opportunity to introduce the ideas to a broader audience and encourage conversations beyond the academic community.

At the Lacy School of Business, she brings these same perspectives into her work with students.

She teaches undergraduate financial accounting, managerial accounting, and accounting information systems, along with graduate-level accounting courses. While accounting is an inherently technical discipline, she wants students to understand that its value extends far beyond formulas, financial statements, and regulations.

“Accounting is the language of business,” she says. “Whether students eventually work in finance, marketing, economics or another area of business, understanding that language gives them a common foundation to communicate, collaborate, and make informed decisions.”

And while the technical knowledge is essential, Dr. Rukasuwan also encourages students to think critically about the systems and norms they will encounter in their careers.

Her advice? Take the opportunities that come your way. Don’t underestimate the value of a connection, and make the effort to get to know the people you work alongside.

She also encourages students not to accept every workplace norm simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.”

If something doesn’t feel right, question it. If an opportunity to make a difference presents itself, take it.

One of the most rewarding parts of teaching at LSB, Dr. Rukasuwan says, is getting to see students grow over time. She teaches students at different stages of their academic journeys, sometimes seeing the same individuals progress from their sophomore accounting courses all the way into the master’s program.

“There’s something special about watching the concepts finally click and seeing students recognize just how much they’ve learned,” she says.

It’s a reminder that education is about more than delivering information. It’s about helping people discover what they’re capable of.

And when she’s not in the classroom or working on research, she enjoys cooking, with Thai curry among her favorites, and spending time with her husband and their two young sons.

Her journey into accounting may have started with a practical suggestion from her brother. But the work she’s doing today is driven by something much bigger: the belief that a stable, rewarding profession should be accessible to more people, that talent deserves opportunity, and that sometimes the most meaningful change starts with one person willing to speak up for another.

By Matthew A. Lanham, PhD
Assistant Professor of Business Technology and Analytics
Butler University Lacy School of Business

Receiving the INFORMS Volunteer Service Award has made me think about the people who first welcomed me into this community. The award recognizes exceptional volunteer service to the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. I am grateful for the recognition and for the opportunities that began with someone inviting me to participate. Now I want to extend that invitation to Butler students through MISTA and to students and professionals everywhere through the INFORMS Analytics Society.

An invitation at Virginia Tech

My involvement with INFORMS began with free pizza. I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech, studying in both the statistics department and the business school. A friend from one of my statistics classes, who was pursuing a doctorate in Industrial and Systems Engineering, invited me to a meeting of the university’s INFORMS student chapter. He mentioned there would be free food. I accepted without imagining where that invitation would lead.

At the meeting, a student discussed using optimization to improve healthcare operations. I had been so focused on understanding uncertainty and predictive analytics that I had overlooked another important question: How can we use analytics to identify the next best action? That presentation opened my eyes to the connection between analyzing data and improving decisions. A meeting I attended out of curiosity helped expand what I could imagine doing with my education.

The following year, I became a student chapter officer. Years later, I served as Treasurer/Secretary of the INFORMS Data Mining Section and was elected its Chair. Working with fellow volunteers, I helped the Section grow into the Data Mining Society. I had gone from accepting an invitation to helping create opportunities for others. That is a path I hope more students will discover.

Finding your place in the guild

My late friend Aaron Burciaga often welcomed new Certified Analytics Professionals, or CAPs, into the “Guild.” Aaron chaired the Analytics Certification Board, served the Analytics Society, and received the Volunteer Service Award in 2016. His welcome stays with me. To me, it connected a professional achievement with a responsibility to help others develop their craft.

Medieval craft guilds organized training and standards of workmanship, and provided mutual support. Modern professional societies share some of those functions through education, mentoring, and fellowship. That is the part of the guild tradition I want us to carry forward: people learning together and taking responsibility for helping the next person.

I see those responsibilities in my service on the INFORMS Analytics Certification Board, which oversees the Certified Analytics Professional program and helps set standards for professional competence. This work supports a credential that students and practitioners can pursue as they develop their careers.

As President of the INFORMS Analytics Society, one of the largest communities within INFORMS, I want to help academics, students, and practitioners learn from one another. The Society offers webinars, professional connections, and opportunities for mentorship. A student can learn how an idea is used in practice. An experienced professional can share lessons that help someone else move forward. We need people willing to do both.

Be strong and courageous

My Christian faith shapes how I view service. This year, I have been teaching 20–25 boys at my church’s Wednesday evening ministry about four pillars of Christian leadership: taking initiative, being courageous, building relationships, and serving others.

I look to Jesus as the model for these commitments. He cared for His disciples and washed their feet, demonstrating that leadership includes humbly attending to another person’s needs. He also willingly gave His life to save others. Christian service begins with gratitude for that saving love.

Ephesians 2:8–10 describes salvation as God’s gift, received through faith in Jesus rather than earned through good works. Service is a response to grace already given. Christians believe the Holy Spirit works within believers, cultivating love, patience, and kindness. As I serve, I ask God to make me more like Christ in how I notice and respond to the needs of others.

Earlier this fall, an invitation at Butler gave me an opportunity to put these lessons into practice. The Compass Center had heard from students and alumni who wanted a Christian worship service on Convocation Sunday. I was asked to give the sermon for incoming students and their families. Although I regularly teach children at church, I had never preached a sermon. I was nervous, but I accepted. I am grateful for the new students I have met through that experience. It also reminded me that we can accept an invitation to serve before we feel completely ready.

For fellow Christians, that call to serve extends beyond church and into our professions. Galatians 6:10 calls believers to “do good to all people.” I see mentoring students and sharing expertise as ways to practice that love. Whatever your beliefs, I invite you to join in this work.

Creating opportunities at Butler

When I joined Butler in 2025, one of my first objectives was to establish an INFORMS student chapter. Today, MISTA is Butler’s INFORMS Student Chapter, with an intentional focus on Management Information Systems, Technology, and Analytics. It welcomes Butler students from any major who want to use data and technology to make better decisions. I want students to find both opportunities to develop their skills and people who will encourage them to use those skills.

This year, Butler has the largest number of participants in the 2026 Data4Good Analytics Competition. Students apply analytics to societal challenges while pursuing learning opportunities and professional credentials. We are also experimenting with fall and spring MISTA Challenge events that encourage students to strengthen their résumés through industry credentials and demonstrated accomplishments. These are opportunities to learn with others and produce work students can share with employers.

That connection between learning and action also shapes my teaching. This spring, MS 379 Contemporary Technologies will introduce students to prescriptive analytics, using traditional analytical methods and AI tools to model business decisions. I want students to carry what they learn in class into the questions and projects they explore with their professional community.

My hope is that a student who joins MISTA today will remain part of this professional community after graduation and eventually welcome someone else into it. Some may return as mentors or chapter advisers. One might even become President of the Society. Each can help someone take a first step, just as my friend at Virginia Tech did for me.

Join us

If you are a Butler student, explore MISTA and email me at mlanham1@butler.edu to get involved. Come to a meeting with a classmate, ask about a competition or the MISTA Challenge, and choose one way to contribute. You can begin with curiosity and a willingness to help.

Students at any institution, alumni, faculty, and practitioners can join the INFORMS Analytics Society. Attend a webinar, introduce yourself, and ask how you can help with an event or support someone who is learning. Start with one contribution you can make now.

My friend’s invitation brought me into this community. Consider this mine to you.

Marketing is about more than selling a product or coming up with a clever ad. It starts with understanding people, what they value, how they make decisions, and how they respond to the world around them. For Dr. Alexander Mitchell, assistant professor of marketing at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, that curiosity is at the center of the industry. If you ask someone what marketing is and they might think of advertisements, social media posts, or convincing people to buy a product. But Dr. Mitchell sees the field as something much broader: understanding people.

In the classroom, Dr. Mitchell encourages students to question their assumptions and think critically about the decisions businesses make. For students exploring marketing, his approach offers a look at how the field combines creativity, business strategy, and a deeper understanding of people. 

Why do consumers choose one brand over another? How do their experiences shape what they buy? And how do businesses keep up as people’s needs and expectations change? These are the kinds of questions that interest Dr. Mitchell as a researcher and inform the way he teaches.

His research looks at the relationships between consumers, brands, and the world around them. He draws on fields beyond business, including sociology and anthropology, to understand why people behave the way they do and how outside circumstances might influence their decisions.

His broader perspective is one reason marketing can lead in so many directions. Understanding consumers matters in every step of the business process. Dr. Mitchell wants students to look beyond what a business is selling and consider the people on the other side of the transaction.

“The core job of marketing is to understand people,” he explained. “And that’s like a lifetime exercise.”

Dr. Mitchell knows firsthand that finding the right career can take a few turns.

He began working at a software company in high school and continued there through college. When this no longer felt like the right fit, his employer’s suggestion pushed him to try marketing. 

Over time, his interest grew in the ideas behind business decisions. He didn’t just want to put existing concepts into practice, instead he wanted to investigate questions and develop new knowledge of his own. That interest brought him back to school to pursue a Ph.D.

Now, he brings both his professional experience and academic perspective to Butler students.

His advice for students who are still figuring out their future is personal. Looking back, he wishes he had felt more confident pursuing what genuinely interested him instead of worrying so much about what he thought he should do.

“I would like to see more students follow their instincts and their passions because I wish I had done that more and not try to just follow the things that people told me I should be doing” he says.

One thing Dr. Mitchell hopes students take from his classes is the ability to question assumptions. In marketing, it’s easy to assume you know what customers want or to follow a new trend because other businesses are doing it. But, good decisions require looking at things more closely.

Dr. Mitchell encourages students to think beyond the excitement surrounding new technology. Does it solve a real problem? Does it provide something useful to consumers? Or is a company adopting it simply because it feels like everyone else is?

For him, learning to ask those questions is just as important as knowing how to use a particular tool.

He also wants students to connect what they learn in class to what happens outside of it. Through LSB’s internships and other working experiences, students can see how business concepts work in real settings. Dr. Mitchell has noticed that students often return from internships with new perspectives and a better understanding of how classroom lessons apply to real work.

He sees undergraduate research as another opportunity for students to explore their interests and develop ideas of their own. That experience can be valuable even for students who don’t plan to pursue research as a career. The goal is to help students become comfortable thinking through problems rather than looking for a single right answer.

Dr. Mitchell’s career shows how one opportunity can lead to another. A move away from computer programming introduced him to marketing. An interest in the ideas behind business led him to graduate school. And that path eventually brought him to the classroom.

“It’s so much more fulfilling when you get to do the things that you really are excited about” he says.

His experience shows that college is a time to explore your interests, learn from different perspectives, and discover opportunities you may not have considered before.

Dr. Mitchell hopes students leave his classroom better equipped to ask questions, think critically, and make decisions about what comes next. You don’t need to know your entire career path before you begin. Sometimes, you just need to be willing to try something different.

When Dr. Shubhra Sharma looks back on how she became an entrepreneur, it doesn’t begin with a business plan, a pitch competition, or even a desire to start a company. It begins with 45 diaries.

After her father passed away, Dr. Sharma, an anthropologist by training, inherited his diaries. While reading through them, she came across a series of numbers that didn’t make sense to her. She asked her mother about them and uncovered a story she never expected.

Her parents had spent about 25 years developing a scalp formula made with just four organic ingredients. For Dr. Sharma, the discovery revealed more than an interesting family story. She saw a potential problem to solve, a story to tell, and a way to connect with people. She had never studied business. But she launched a business anyway.

Now, about a decade after starting Cria, Dr. Sharma brings that experience into the classroom as an entrepreneurship professor at the Lacy School of Business. Her experience has shaped a philosophy that goes beyond teaching students how to build a business plan. She believes entrepreneurship isn’t simply about having a great idea and finding the courage to pursue it. She sees that idea of the “brilliant entrepreneur” as one of the myths surrounding entrepreneurship.

“You have to make decisions with incomplete information and with absolute lack of certainty,” she says.

In her Real Business Experience course, students aren’t simply asked to create a polished business plan. They begin with a possibility and a story, then experience what happens when that idea encounters real constraints.

Students have one semester to develop an idea, execute it, and close the company. Along the way, they have to make decisions, rethink their assumptions and respond when something doesn’t work.

“I want them to experience what it means to start with the possibility, but also a story,” she says. “And then, how does reality confront it in ways that they will have to pivot, they’ll have to rethink, they would have to revise.”

Rather than viewing those challenges as evidence that they aren’t good at entrepreneurship, students can begin to see them as problems they are capable of solving. One of the most important ideas Dr. Sharma wants students to take away from her classroom is that entrepreneurship isn’t just for people who plan to start their own companies.

She sees it as an ability to engage with possibility and recognize something that could be different and ask questions. That could mean looking at something as ordinary as a pillowcase and asking how it could be redesigned to solve a specific problem. 

In her own travels, Dr. Sharma found inspiration in an unexpected place. While visiting Naxos, Greece, she learned about Ariadne, a figure from Greek mythology. Dr. Sharma noticed a statue of Ariadne that seemed to receive little attention. She began asking questions. Why wasn’t anyone paying attention to her? Why wasn’t her story being highlighted? Why had she become almost invisible within the larger narrative? For Dr. Sharma, that process of noticing what others overlook is at the heart of entrepreneurship.

“To me, I think that’s what entrepreneurship literally is. It’s like taking something that people have forgotten, have made invisible over time, and making it visible,” she says.

That mindset also makes entrepreneurship relevant to students across the Lacy School of Business, regardless of their intended career path. A student who plans to pursue accounting, finance, or another field can still benefit from learning how to identify problems, ask questions, imagine possibilities, and test ideas.

That philosophy is reflected in the way Dr. Sharma approaches her courses at Butler. In addition to Real Business Experience, she has taught First Year Business Experience FBE, RBE, Business of Storytelling, and Impact Practicum, part of the MBA Program. In these courses, she sees the value of giving students opportunities to learn through doing rather than simply learning concepts from a textbook.

“Experiences teach you things that a textbook may not,” she says.

Real Business Experience, in particular, gives students the opportunity to experience the uncertainty, frustration and problem-solving that come with creating something in real time. Students are given resources, skills and space to imagine, but they also have to confront constraints and determine whether their ideas can actually work.

“I want them to know what it feels like to have an idea, what it means to put it out in the world, to have somebody challenge it, to discover that, oh my God, something didn’t work,” she said.

The lesson isn’t that every idea will succeed. It’s that students can learn what to do when it doesn’t. That approach can be especially meaningful for students who arrive at Butler without knowing exactly where their interests will take them.

For students who aren’t sure where they fit, she encourages them to start with questions rather than answers. What problems do you notice in your everyday life? What experiences keep coming back to you? What stories matter to you? What have you noticed that other people might be overlooking? Her goal is for students to give themselves permission to imagine before immediately worrying about whether an idea is practical.

“The starting point has to be allowing yourself to imagine,” she says. “Allowing yourself to imagine what an idea could become in real life. My goal is to have them leave having experienced themselves as capable of creating something that didn’t exist before.”

For Dr. Sharma, that experience is valuable far beyond entrepreneurship. It is a lesson in what students can do when they are willing to notice, question, imagine and then put an idea into the world. At Butler’s Lacy School of Business, entrepreneurship isn’t just about learning how to start a company. It can be an opportunity to discover how you think, what you notice and what you’re capable of creating.

A new academic year brings new ideas, new perspectives and new voices to the Lacy School of Business.

This year, we’re excited to welcome three new faculty members to the Lacy community:

• Dr. Yunsik Choi, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management
• Dr. Hongki Kim, Assistant Professor of Business Technology & Analytics
• Ken Turchi, visiting Lecturer in Business Law

While each brings a unique background and area of expertise to LSB, they share a common goal: helping students connect what they learn in the classroom to the world beyond it.

We asked each of our newest faculty members to tell us a little more about their journey to Butler, what they’re excited to explore with students, what’s happening in their fields, and the advice they hope students take with them.

Get to know the newest members of the Lacy School of Business.

Meet Dr. Yunsik Choi

Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management

For Dr. Yunsik Choi, the path to the Lacy School of Business has been shaped by a curiosity about what happens behind the scenes of business. After growing up in South Korea and working for a company that manufactured products for global brands including Nike and The North Face, Dr. Choi developed an interest in the complex systems that move products from an idea to a customer’s hands.

After earning his Ph.D. in Supply Chain and Operations Management from Clemson University and spending eight years teaching at Meredith College in North Carolina, Dr. Choi was drawn to Lacy’s strong connections between classroom learning and real-world business. He was also excited by the opportunity to help shape Butler’s growing Supply Chain Management program.

Now, he’s bringing his industry experience, research and passion for teaching to the classroom—and encouraging students to stay curious, ask questions and look beyond the surface of a problem.

What drew you to Butler and the Lacy School of Business?

I first heard about Butler from a close faculty friend, who praised its strong reputation in Indiana and the high regard in which employers hold Butler graduates. That gave me a great first impression, but my campus visit truly drew me to Butler.

During my visit to the Lacy School of Business, I was impressed by the engagement of students and faculty and the strong relationships they seemed to share. I was especially excited to learn about the Real Business Experience, which allows students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real business situations. I could also tell that the faculty genuinely care about their students and work hard to help them succeed.

Another major factor was Butler’s growing Supply Chain Management program. Because the program is still relatively new, I was excited to help shape its future. I was especially impressed by the passion and energy of the three faculty members already building the program, and I wanted to join that team and contribute to the culture they were creating.

And I have to admit, there was one more small bonus: Indiana has an NFL team! As a huge football fan, I found having the Indianapolis Colts nearby certainly didn’t hurt.

Tell us a little about your background and the path that led you to Lacy.

I grew up in South Korea and completed my education there before moving to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Supply Chain and Operations Management at Clemson University.

Before entering academia, I worked for a company in Korea that manufactured products for global brands such as Nike and The North Face. That experience sparked my interest in supply chain management. I became fascinated by what happens behind the scenes—how a product moves from an idea to production and ultimately into a customer’s hands.

After earning my Ph.D. from Clemson, I spent eight years teaching at Meredith College in North Carolina. Over those years, I found that I enjoy helping students connect what they learn in the classroom to how businesses operate. That combination of industry experience, research, and teaching eventually led me to Lacy, where I’m excited to continue teaching supply chain management and analytics and to help students prepare for real-world business challenges.

What are you most excited to teach or explore with students?

What excites me most is getting to know my students—not just how they perform in class, but also what they are interested in, what they struggle with, how they learn best, and what they hope to do in the future.

I enjoy watching students grow through the learning process. Sometimes a class or a new concept feels difficult at first, but it is incredibly rewarding to see students persist, gain confidence, and eventually realize they can do more than they thought. I hope what they learn in my classes helps them move closer to the careers and goals they care about.

One of the most rewarding moments for me is hearing from former students after graduation. When they tell me, “I’m actually using what I learned in your class at work,” it means a great deal to me. It reminds me that what happens in the classroom can have an impact long after the semester ends.

I also hope students can learn from my background and perspective. Having grown up in Korea and built my career in the United States, I enjoy sharing diverse cultural perspectives with students. I hope that through our interactions, students become more curious about other cultures and learn to approach differences with openness, kindness, and respect.

What’s something happening in your field right now that you think business students should be paying attention to?

One of the most important things business students should pay attention to is how AI is reshaping supply chain management. As in many other fields, supply chain management is increasingly using AI to identify problems, improve productivity, make better decisions, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.

The pandemic also reminded us how important—and how complex—supply chains are. A product shortage, delivery delay, or quality problem is rarely caused by a single issue. Supply chains involve many interconnected companies, people, processes, and decisions, so fixing one part does not necessarily solve the whole problem. I think one of the most exciting questions right now is how AI can help us better understand those connections and make smarter decisions across the entire supply chain.

At the same time, I think there is a misconception that AI will make the human side of supply chain management less important. In reality, supply chains are still managed by people. Communication, teamwork, negotiation, and conflict resolution are just as important as technical and analytical skills. Students who can combine AI and data skills with strong interpersonal skills will be especially valuable in the future.

What’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving students again and again?

One piece of advice I give students again and again is to keep asking questions. We sometimes focus too quickly on the problem we see on the surface, but that is not always the real problem we need to solve. By continuing to ask “why,” looking at the issue from different perspectives, and challenging our first assumptions, we can often uncover what is really happening.

I tell students that finding the right problem is often just as important as finding the right solution. Good questions lead to better decisions.

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

When I’m not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family, working out, reading, and, of course, watching football. Football is a big part of my weekends, especially in the fall, so you can usually find me watching a game whenever I get the chance.

More than anything, though, I value time with my family. Whether we’re exploring somewhere new, spending time outdoors, or just relaxing at home, that’s how I recharge outside of work.

Meet Dr. Hongki Kim

Assistant Professor of Business Technology & Analytics

Dr. Hongki Kim was drawn to Butler by an opportunity to bring together two things he values deeply: teaching and research. After growing up in South Korea and earning his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Kim spent several years as an assistant professor at Clemson University before joining the Lacy School of Business.

As an assistant professor of Business Technology & Analytics, Dr. Kim is particularly interested in the intersection of emerging technology and business. In the classroom, he hopes to help students understand not only how technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning work, but when, why and how they can be used effectively and responsibly.

What drew you to Butler and the Lacy School of Business?

I was looking for a place where I could find a meaningful balance between teaching and research, and Butler really stood out to me in that regard. I was especially drawn to the Lacy School of Business because of its strong focus on students and its emphasis on connecting what we teach in the classroom with real-world business practice.

Tell us a little about your background and the path that led you to Lacy.

I was born and raised in South Korea, where I completed my undergraduate and master’s education. I then moved to Canada to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. After completing my doctorate, I joined Clemson University as an Assistant Professor, where I spent several years teaching and conducting research before coming to Butler and the Lacy School of Business.

What are you most excited to teach or explore with students?

I’m especially excited to explore how emerging technologies can be applied to business problems. My teaching interests include information technology and business analytics, particularly the use of newer technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. I want students not only to learn how these technologies work, but also to understand when, why, and how to use them effectively in business settings.

What’s something happening in your field right now that you think business students should be paying attention to?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how people work and how organizations make decisions. I think business students should pay close attention not just to what AI can do, but to how it can be used effectively and responsibly in the workplace. Knowing how to work with AI, evaluate its output, and incorporate it into decision-making will become increasingly important regardless of a student’s specific career path.

What’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving students again and again?

Faculty are here to help you, not just to evaluate or test you. If you are struggling with something, have a question, or simply want to talk through an idea, please reach out. I always encourage students to ask for help early rather than waiting until a small problem becomes a bigger one.

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

I actually enjoy doing research even when I’m not teaching, especially when I have time to explore new ideas without a deadline. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, cooking, and exercising. I also like trying new foods and exploring new places with my family.

Meet Ken Turchi

Visiting Lecturer in Business Law

For Ken Turchi, returning to Butler is a bit of a homecoming. After first teaching at the University in the 1990s, Turchi went on to build a wide-ranging career spanning law, banking, commercial real estate, and higher education. Now, he’s bringing that experience back to the Lacy School of Business as a visiting lecturer in Business Law.

Turchi is especially interested in helping students understand the many ways law shapes the business world—and how they can use that understanding to navigate their careers with confidence.

What drew you to Butler and the Lacy School of Business?

I taught here in the 1990s and was impressed by the quality and collegiality of the students and faculty. Things have only improved and grown since then.

Tell us a little about your background and the path that led you to Lacy.

I have had careers in law, banking, commercial real estate, and law school communications and development. I inquired about teaching opportunities when I retired from George Mason Scalia Law School this summer, and it turned out that a visiting lecturer position was available for this academic year. I am excited to rejoin the Butler community.

What are you most excited to teach or explore with students?

The intersection of law and business—the law affects business in more ways than ever, and I hope I can help students identify those relationships through an understanding of the law, informed by my experiences over the years.

What’s something happening in your field right now that you think business students should be paying attention to?

The changing role of people in the business world due to AI. More than ever, successful businesspeople will have to bring a value-add through human capital.

What’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving students again and again?

Starting right now, put yourself out there! I have been fortunate to have a wide-ranging career, and every job I have had has been due to personal contacts. My appointment this year is in part due to Prof. Lewinski, whom I’ve known since college!

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

Travel, study piano, research and write about Indiana history.

Written by Brad Seehausen
Marketing and Communications Intern, Lacy School of Business ’26

Is your equity valuation professor a pro piano player and published author? 

Probably not. But if you’ve ever had Dr. Tom Hanson, you know he’s not your average finance professor. 

From working as a tour guide and playing piano, to now teaching future finance professionals how to analyze macroeconomic trends through spreadsheets and Wall Street, his path has been anything but ordinary. 

Dr. Hanson, an Associate Professor of Finance at the Lacy School of Business, also serves as Faculty Director of Bulldog Reports and advisor to the Financial Management Association (FMA). He maintains a busy schedule centered around the financial world, but his journey did not start here. 

“I came to finance through a very non-traditional route,” Dr. Hanson says. “As an undergrad, I was primarily a math major, but I was also playing piano many hours a week.” When he graduated, Dr. Hanson worked as an accompanist and tour guide while running a theater company and teaching at a high school. 

After several years of a gig lifestyle, he decided it was time for a new challenge. 

“I eventually decided to use my math degree and got a job at the investment bank Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis,” Dr. Hanson offers, “They were very committed to my professional development. So that’s where I started my journey on the CFA.” 

After earning a CFA, MBA, MS, and a PhD, Dr. Hanson’s found his niche in equity research: a field that combines analytical rigor with intellectual curiosity. 

“In equity research, you get to be creative and do math at the same time. You ask ‘How do we marry together the quantifiable data and Excel spreadsheets with really understanding a business and trying to predict the future and understand the macroeconomy?’” Dr. Hanson shares. 

That passion for equity research inspired Bulldog Reports, a program where Lacy students analyze small- and mid-cap publicly traded Midwest companies and publish professional-quality equity research reports. For Dr. Hanson, having Lacy students gain this real-world experience is one of his top priorities. 

“We get to sit down with students and teach them the theory, the spreadsheets, and the data used to predict trends,” Dr. Hanson says. “But then we also get to visit companies, talk with people, interact with their products, and see what’s really happening in the business.” 

Dr. Hanson’s passions for finance and education are palpable. In addition to lecturing in data science and equity valuation, he has led students to New York City on the annual Wall Street Trek as well as across the pond as a faculty member of Leadership London. 

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Hanson also serves as faculty advisor for Butler’s Financial Management Association (FMA), a chapter recognized nationally as a Superior Chapter. However, he attributes the success of the chapter to LSB students. 

“It’s always fantastic to work with Butler students. The ones that I work with are some of the most motivated. They want a leadership role. They want to create something new. They’ve got big dreams,” Dr. Hanson highlights. “I love getting to enable that. They always surprise me with really creative ideas.” 

Dr. Hanson’s commitment to research extends well beyond his own graduate studies. In his time, he has co-authored several student-led research papers, along with co-authoring the book Quantitative Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies with Dr. Christopher D. Mellinger, professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 

“I teach courses related to research methods in translation and interpreting, communication studies, business analytics, and many others. Because I’ve got this toolkit of statistics that everybody needs, and the book is that side of my work. My goal is to help teach other people how to use this toolkit wherever their disciplinary home is,” Dr. Hanson says. 

His most recent research focus? Financial literacy. 

“I just published a paper recently on digital financial literacy in the age of AI,” Dr. Hanson comments on his article, Trust in Financial Technology: The Role of Financial Literacy, Digital Financial Literacy, Technological Literacy, and Trust in Artificial Intelligence, coauthored with Lacy alum Caleb Ott ’26. “The reality of it was very sobering because it found that people use financial technology because they like computers and they like AI and not because they understand anything about finance. That is one of several research projects that I’ve done around how we can improve people’s understanding of finance so that they have better, more successful lives.” 

Life isn’t all finance and equity research for Dr. Hanson. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, including hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain last year, as well as cycling and the creative arts. Even during the summer, Dr. Hanson’s passions for finance and research follow him. 

“At the moment, I have a couple of research projects I’m really excited about. It’s probably the dorkiest thing ever, but I’m really looking forward to reading and writing this summer and just having time to do some deep dives into projects,” Dr. Hanson adds. 

For all of his accomplishments, the most rewarding part of Dr. Hanson’s work remains seeing former students succeed. 

“I’m incredibly proud that when I take students on career exploration trips now, we visit a lot of my former students. I’m proud of their accomplishments, and that I have played at least some small role in where they ended up. I love seeing those generations of students building on one another. It’s one of the great things about teaching at Butler.” 

Written by Brad Seehausen
Marketing and Communications Intern, Lacy School of Business ’26

It would be hard to find a better place to begin a career in supply chain management than at the Crossroads of America.

While some follow trends, others capitalize on them. Early in her career, Dr. Jane Siegler recognized that a supply chain boom was coming — and chose to build her expertise before the field fully emerged.

Many years later, those educational and entrepreneurial investments have paid dividends. Now eight years into her tenure at the Lacy School of Business, she is exposing students who share her passion for supply chain to the opportunities she identified decades ago.

Born and raised in Brazil, Dr. Siegler was instilled early with a passion for entrepreneurship and business — one she pursued in the classroom and in the marketplace at the same time. Across her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies, she put her learning into practice in parallel, her industry of choice: cosmetics.

“I was in the beauty industry and ran a few cosmetic stores, but there was also a school component,” Dr. Siegler says. “We would provide cosmetology training while also supplying the products and equipments for any new entrepreneurs starting their businesses in the cosmetics industry.”

Teaching through experience was a strength she would carry through the rest of her career.

It was during her Ph.D. at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a leading higher-education institution in São Paulo that she decided her journey would continue somewhere new: Indianapolis.

Having planted her roots in Indianapolis, the Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Analytics has gone on to teach around the world — from undergraduates to MBA students, from the U.S. to Brazil, Europe and India. That global reach now extends into her research as well. She chairs the SC4 Network (Supply Chain 4.0) and collaborates with partners across Europe and Brazil. Despite the range, Dr. Siegler emphasizes that supply chains play an integral role no matter the location.

“Across the world, supply chains are apparent, but it is not the same as here,” Dr. Siegler says. “From a teaching perspective, you need to understand that it’s not what you were teaching, but who you are teaching to. In India, for example, I had to look for a case that was meaningful to the students. I remember trying to use an example of Peloton. The students would look at me like ‘what are you talking about?’ So, when we talk about effective communication across cultures, it’s not just about the language that you are speaking, it’s about conveying the language of the business.”

The challenges of teaching across cultures only deepen Dr. Siegler’s conviction that understanding them matters. In shaping her approach within Lacy’s MBA program, she watches both domestic and international trends closely.

With the recent establishment of the Supply Chain program at Lacy — built with her direct involvement — the curriculum has centered on a deliberately diverse skill set. From forecasting sales to managing production and labor costs, Dr. Siegler stresses that supply chain management develops soft and technical skills in equal measure. Her pitch to interested students? Look at where the technology is heading.

“When you look at the top ten purposes of AI usage in business, they are related to operations and supply chain,” Dr. Siegler says. “So if you’re curious and want to look ahead at what technology and AI are going to do to your job, while also being able to make a difference, look at a career in supply chain.”

From a background in the cosmetics industry, much of Dr. Siegler’s research has since moved into the automotive industry — a fitting focus for a Hoosier. Indiana is the only state to host U.S. assembly plants for three of Japan’s major automakers: Toyota, Subaru, and Honda. Her work increasingly examines how automotive supply chains and manufacturing clusters operate across regions and borders.

Dr. Siegler does not underestimate the importance of that industry to the state, and she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

“I don’t believe that you can teach business if you’re not very much integrated in the business atmosphere. Indy is where you do that, it’s where you get integrated.”

That sense of integration shapes how she runs her classroom, especially with graduate students.

Her goal is a collaborative environment built on transparent learning, where she draws on students’ lived experiences for two reasons: relatable case studies and real value creation.

“There are not a lot of expectations that the professor has all of the knowledge,” Dr. Siegler says. “You build knowledge together. Part of the deliverables is actually creating value for students to bring to companies that are looking to grow and expand their business abroad.”

Her time at LSB has only sharpened her ambition to grow the supply chain program. She credits her success not only to her own work but also to the staff, students, and faculty of Lacy. She is also proud of having raised two Butler graduates herself and remains optimistic that the program’s opportunities for real-world experience will keep expanding.

The summer months show no sign of slowing her down. From a research conference in Europe to consulting work with energy companies in Korea, her drive for the field is unmistakable.

Outside of operations, Dr. Siegler enjoys gardening, hiking, running, and cycling. She may be as much an expert in athletics as she is in supply chain management, having completed a marathon, an ultra-marathon, and a 100-mile “Century” bike ride. Her beloved dogs and loving family keep her company as she continues to thrive in a booming industry that continues to evolve in Indianapolis and beyond.

Written by Brad Seehausen
Marketing and Communications Intern, Lacy School of Business ’26

Portugal. Chile. Denmark. Australia. What seems like a travel bucket list for some is just a part of Dr. Marleen McCormick Pritchard’s Modus Operandi. She doesn’t just teach about international business – she lives it. She brings this vision to life for other students as well. Whether leading students in Portugal through Butler’s Study Abroad program that she helped create, or by shaping the Butler Overseas three-year program, Dr. McCormick Pritchard offers assistance for students who share a passion for business abroad.

After acquiring her M.S. at the University of Colorado Denver and PhD in International Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. McCormick Pritchard foresaw a smaller school in her future.

“When I came to Butler on my visit during my interviews for the position, it felt like home the minute I walked around campus.”

Come 2026, Dr. McCormick Pritchard will have been with the Lacy School of Business for her 12th year. However, a career in academia was never the original plan.

“I was initially drawn to international studies and became especially interested in the intersection of global markets and business. At the time, I was working in the financial industry, which further reinforced that interest and led me to pursue a master’s in international business. I originally planned to continue in a corporate role, but along the way I discovered how much I enjoyed teaching. With that realization—and encouragement from mentors—I chose to pursue a PhD, which ultimately set me on my path in academia.”

Along with being an Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy, she leads a short study abroad program to Portugal and has also contributed to curating the Butler Overseas Program. When asked, “what’s the importance of students learning about business abroad?” Apart from stamping their passports, she expresses the importance of first-hand experience.

“As much as we can learn in the classroom, something different happens when you put a student in another country,” the associate professor says. “What’s powerful about study abroad programs is that students can learn these concepts in the classroom and then see them happening in real time. That’s when you step into a whole new world.”

Apart from teaching, Dr. McCormick Pritchard continues to research and publish in interdisciplinary fields. In a collaborative effort with Lacy’s own Dr. Sheryl-Ann Stephen, Professor of Finance, the pair published Students Perceptions of Emergency Remote Instruction during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The article depicts the effects of a remote learning environment on students’ mental well-being and attitudes towards the shift to e-learning.

“My research is interdisciplinary. I focus on international business, international entrepreneurship, strategy, and business education, and I publish across these areas.”

For students who may think international business is out of their wheelhouse, Dr. McCormick Pritchard says otherwise. In fact, much of the time, she analyzes how trends, cross-country business expansion, and various cultural normalities span across the globe. These domestic and global trends are important to understand, regardless of if an individual steps foot outside the United States.

Of course, Dr. McCormick Pritchard can’t be abroad at all times, but this doesn’t halt her communication with industry professionals across the world. She currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of ie-scholars.net, an online community for international entrepreneurs and academics with over 850 members from 70 countries. In a collaborative effort, the global hub shares resources, methodologies, and recent developments regarding all things international business.

“I’ve had the opportunity to connect with people all over the world. I get to highlight conferences and emerging ideas within academia. It’s been really rewarding,” Dr. McCormick Pritchard says. “In this role, I also consult with colleagues at other universities who are doing interesting research or reach out to be included in the community.”

Her hopes for the future of the International Business program at Lacy? One is to continue to expose students to the importance of cross-disciplinary exploration as part of their global business education. The second is to watch Butler Overseas grow, a program she is extremely excited about.

“I’m really pleased that every student at LSB takes an international business–themed course because it provides a global perspective. In today’s connected world, that experience is increasingly important.”

Over the summer, Dr. McCormick Pritchard will attend two research conferences in Manchester as well as Philadelphia. Outside of her work, she spends time with family, along with hiking, gardening, and cooking – bringing the same curiosity to her personal life that she brings to her teaching and research.

When Professor Chad Miller talks about his career in technology, he often starts with a memory from when he was just 13 years old.

“I remember teaching BASIC on a Timex Sinclair Z80 computer to a room full of eight- and nine-year-olds,” he says. “It was chaotic, fun, and challenging all at once. That experience taught me early on that technology is more than just machines. It’s about people, problem-solving, and helping others see what’s possible.”

That curiosity, combined with a desire to teach and empower others, would shape the next three decades of his life.

After earning a double major in Integrated Science and Mathematics at Northwestern University, Professor Miller stepped directly into a Systems Analyst role at Eli Lilly and Company. There, he designed and developed a data-driven, client/server tool to support FDA submissions.

“It wasn’t just about coding or databases,” he explains. “It was about building something that could actually make a difference for people. That sense of impact has guided every decision I’ve made since.”

The Ohio native’s career path has been anything but linear, but it’s all connected by a single thread: using technology to solve complex problems while empowering others to grow alongside him. After six years at Eli Lilly, he and his family moved to Evansville, Indiana, where he helped Shoe Carnival navigate a challenging technical transition.

“We were fixing systems, building networks, and training staff – all while keeping the business running day-to-day. It was stressful, but incredibly rewarding,” he recalls.

From there, he transitioned into consulting at C/Soft, architecting networking and system integrations for multiple clients, before taking on staff positions in Butler IT, and later taking  IT leadership roles at Butler University and MJ Insurance. At MJ Insurance, Professor Miller served as Chief Information Officer, overseeing enterprise-wide technology strategy, managing an eight-person team, and guiding a $1 million budget.

He led a complete overhaul of IT infrastructure, orchestrated two full building migrations, managed a pandemic transition to remote work, and led his team to build the company’s first data warehouse to serve as a single source of truth.

“People often think IT is just about computers,” he says. “But really, it’s about trust, collaboration, and enabling others to do their best work. That’s what I focused on – transforming IT from a cost center to a strategic partner.”

Professor Miller has also maintained a strong and enduring connection to Butler University throughout his career. From serving as Senior Director of Technology Development to multiple adjunct and faculty roles, he has contributed to the campus community in a variety of ways.

“I’ve always felt a part of Butler,” he says. “Whether it was supporting systems, mentoring students, or teaching, Butler has been a place where curiosity, collaboration, and people matter. It feels like home, and that sense of belonging drives everything I do here.”

Now a Lecturer in Business Technology and Analytics at the Lacy School of Business, he brings this perspective into the classroom, helping students connect the technical aspects of IT with real-world business strategy.

“I want students to see how technology intersects with business outcomes,” he explains. “It’s not enough to know how to build a system – you have to understand why, how it impacts people, and how it creates value.”

He draws on decades of experience in enterprise architecture, data governance, and organizational strategy to provide students with real-world context. His teaching philosophy mirrors his approach to leadership: thoughtful, supportive, and future-focused. He always tells students that mistakes aren’t failures – they’re opportunities to learn and pivot.

“The best leaders are the ones who can guide teams through uncertainty while still moving forward,” he says.

Professor Miller’s commitment to mentorship extends beyond the classroom. As an Executive Career Mentor, he advises students, alumni, and executives, helping them navigate career transitions and develop leadership skills.

“Even after 32 years in IT, I’m energized by innovation and learning,” he says. “Technology changes every day, but problem-solving, collaboration, and mentorship – those are timeless skills.”

His story is a reminder that technology careers are not just about code, networks, or systems; they’re about curiosity, perseverance, and people. From teaching BASIC in a small basement to shaping enterprise-wide IT strategy, and now inspiring the next generation of business leaders, Professor Miller has spent a lifetime building systems and developing leaders.

“At the end of the day,” he says, “I hope students remember that it’s not just what you know – it’s how you use it to help others succeed.”