Faculty
Paul Benedict
Paul Benedict is a seed-stage investor, executive and entrepreneur bringing 14 years of industry experience to the classroom. Paul teaches entrepreneurship in the Professional MBA program and management in the Integrated Business Cluster. Paul earned his BA in political science from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. He earned his MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.
David Boss
Dr. Boss is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship in the Management Department at Ohio University's College of Business. He earned an MBA from Babson College in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from Texas A&M in 2014. His research interests include resource-based theory (RBT), corporate governance, entrepreneurship and organization development.
Chris Crawford
G. Christopher Crawford is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Ohio University. After working in industry for two decades and founding his own consulting company, Dr. Crawford received his Ph.D. in entrepreneurship from the University of Louisville in 2013. His dissertation, "Causes of Extreme Outcomes in Entrepreneurship," received a $20,000 Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship Award. Dr. Crawford's recent work has been published in Journal of Business Venturing, Small Business Economics, Journal of Management Inquiry, and International Small Business Journal. His research interests include: new venture strategy, creation, and growth; complexity science and agent-based simulation modeling applications to entrepreneurship; and understanding the mechanisms that generate power law distributions and outliers in social systems. Dr. Crawford won the 2015 National Federation of Independent Business Award at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference and was the keynote speaker at the 2016 Strategic Management Society Conference extension in Bolzano, Italy, with the presentation title "The Emergence of Outliers in Social Systems: A Rockstar Theory." He currently teaches entrepreneurial leadership to undergraduates; capstone strategic management to undergraduates, MBAs, and executives; and organizational theory to Ph.D. students. His $205,000 National Science Foundation grant will build and test a universal theory about the emergence of new order (e.g., outlier ventures, technology, innovations, or extreme events).
John Louis Keifer
John has 23 years experience practicing law, representing the interests of commercial firms in the banking, savings and loan, and fast-food franchise industries among others. His research interests include competitive strategy, organizational development and configuration, and corporate renewal strategies.
Vern Kennedy
Vern spent the last 15 years consulting with small and medium size companies at various stages along their organizational life cycles. Along the way he has developed relationships with financial institutions, suppliers, business consultants, marketing specialists, and other business owners.
Alan McMillan
Alan spent 30 years in executive leadership in technology companies but discovered a new calling nine years ago when he identified an unmet need and that is helping 18 to 24 year olds understand what it takes to secure a career and lifestyle that makes them happy successful, fulfilled and proud, and all along the way, secure their financial independence.
He inspires students and newly minted college graduates to create a vision based on what they want out of life and then provide actionable steps based on real life examples to support their transition from college to the workplace and beyond.
He presents at college campuses across the country, posts weekly blogs, writes syndicated columns, develops on-line learning opportunities, and is in the process of writing/publishing his first book. This body of work is for today's American college students and those who love them.
Fortune 500 companies also retain his services to help with college and diversity recruiting and entry-level employee development.
Dr. Luke Pittaway
Dr. Luke Pittaway is the Copeland Professor of Entrepreneurship and Chair of the Department of Management at Ohio University (Athens, OH) where he leads the academic programs in the College of Business and is leading enhancements to University-wide programs. He was formerly the William A. Freeman Distinguished Chair in Free Enterprise and the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning and Leadership at Georgia Southern University where he managed programs in entrepreneurship until May 2013.
Dr. Pittaway has previously worked at the University of Sheffield (UK), Lancaster University (UK), and the University of Surrey (UK). He has been a Research and Education Fellow with the National Council of Graduate Entrepreneurship and an Advanced Institute of Management Research Scholar. He is on a number of editorial boards including: International Small Business Journal; International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research; and, the Service Industries Journal. Dr. Pittaway's research focuses on entrepreneurship education and learning and he has a range of other interests including: entrepreneurial behavior; networking; entrepreneurial failure; business growth; and, corporate venturing.
Paul Mass
Paul Mass is the "Entrepreneur-in-Residence" at the College of Business at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. He also serves as Director of the University?s Center for Entrepreneurship where he helps build the entrepreneurial ecosystem supporting student and faculty entrepreneurs, as well as individuals and businesses throughout the southeast Ohio region. Paul has benefited from a diverse career beginning as a corporate attorney and continuing on as a successful entrepreneur and business executive helping to create, fund, manage and lead companies in the cable television, radio, information service, biotech and e-commerce industries. Paul has served as a partner, General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, and President and CEO, respectively, at various times throughout his more than 35 year professional career. Paul has long sought to teach students at the University level and is excited about the opportunity to join the Ohio University community and work with students faculty and businesses who seek to turn their ideas into real businesses.
Robert (Zeke) H. S. Sarikas
Zeke received his PhD in Accountancy and taxation from the University of Illinois in 1992, an MAS from University of Illinois in 1988, an MPA from the University of Texas in 1980, and a BBA from the University of Oklahoma in 1978. He is a Certified Public Accountant with experience as a tax professional working for an international accounting firm (Arthur Andersen & Co), in Houston, Texas. His research interestes include International accounting, taxation, and business with country specializations of China, India, Russia and Vietnam. His industry specializations include electric power, and oil and gas exploration and production.
Dr. Jason Stoner
Dr. Jason Stoner joined the College of Business in fall 2007 coming to Ohio University from Florida State University where he completed his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and human resource management. He earned his MBA and undergraduate degrees from Bradley University. Dr. Stoner's teaching experience includes the areas of leadership, negotiation and conflict management, organizational behavior and general management. While at Florida State University, Jason won the Doctoral Teaching Award for teaching excellence. During his time at Ohio University, Jason has taught organizational behavior in the Integrated MBA, Professional MBA, and undergraduate programs, as well as general management in the Cluster.
Dr. Ikenna (Ike) Uzuegbunam
Dr. Ikenna Uzuegbunam is an Assistant Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and International Business at the College of Business, Ohio University. His research focuses on the resource-based and socio-cultural factors that influence innovation and entrepreneurship, in developed and emerging market countries. Dr. Uzuegbunam's research has been featured in Academy of Management, Strategic Management Society, and Babson conferences. His work has been published or forthcoming in Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Management Decision, Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy, Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy, and Journal of Entrepreneurship & Public Policy. He has received an honorable mention for teaching excellence in the University of Kentucky MBA program; best paper nomination at the Strategic Management Society conference; and the best paper in track award at the Southern Management Association conference. His professional and consulting experience includes work in higher education, energy, medical devices, and the nonprofit sector. He is the founder and strategy director of Luno Ventures, LLC, a strategy and innovation-consulting firm. Dr. Uzuegbunam holds a B.Eng (2.1. Honors) in electronic engineering from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a M.Sc. in technology and innovation management from University of Sussex, and a Ph.D. from Rensselaer's Lally School of Management.