Faculty use their research and professional projects to inform innovative teaching materials and co-curricular programming which further student learning. Remaining active with industry organizations and employers also gives them insight into the skills currently needed in the job market. Read about some outstanding teachers:
Robert 'Bob' Richardson
Robert ‘Bob’ Richardson, associate professor of Accounting and Calibre Faculty Scholar has been named as the 2025 winner of the Dr. Otto C. Brenner Award for Outstanding Teaching.
The award, which is conferred annually by vote of the junior and senior students in the College of Business, honors the life and legacy of the late Otto C. Brenner, who during his long career at JMU was named "Outstanding Undergraduate Professor" more often than any other member of the CoB faculty.
Bob also won in 2004, 2006, 2012 and 2014!
Luis Novoa
Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics, Luis Novoa, is one of just three faculty members campus-wide to be selected for the 2025 Madison Vision Teaching Award.
In recognition of this high honor, conferred through an entirely student-led process, Luis will be presented with a one-time $1,000 educational grant at the Academic Affairs Award Recognition Luncheon in the Festival Ballroom on May 1.
Abigail Herbert, Student Body Vice President, singled out Luis for special praise, telling him that the award "recognizes your passion for teaching and your exceptional ability to create a warm, welcoming environment in the classroom."
Center for Economic Education
John Kruggel and his colleagues in the Center for Economic Education are the recipients of the prestigious Albert Beekhuis Award, presented by the Council for Economic Education.
The annual award recognizes the center's outstanding programs for teachers and students and the excellence of its community-outreach efforts.
Kruggel and other representatives of the center accepted the award on September 26 at the 63rd Financial Literacy and Economic Education Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Read more here about the center's stellar performance.
Ron Rubin
Ron Rubin, senior lecturer in the Department of Finance and Business Law, and advisor to JMU’s Financial Management Association chapter helped lead JMU’s chapter to earn the Superior Chapter Award for the 2023 – 2024 academic year.
Awarded to less than ten percent of FMA chapters, achieving this honor requires a high level of effort and commitment from our students and faculty like Ron.
JMU’s FMA chapter is recognized worldwide for this honor on FMA International’s website and in FMA International’s publications.
Carl Larsson
Blue Ridge Bank Faculty Fellow and associate professor of Finance Carl Larsson has been named this year's winner of the Dr. Otto C. Brenner Award for Outstanding Teaching.
He serves as the faculty advisor to the "JMU Banking Dukes," a student team which participates in such prestigious national competitions as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Academic Challenge and the Community Bank Case Study Competition sponsored by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. The team was crowned champion of both contests in 2022.
John Kruggel and Lynne Stover
John Kruggel and Lynne Stover, of the Center for Economic Education, each brought home an award for outstanding achievement in curriculum development from a recent conference sponsored by the National Association of Economic Educators.
Ethics, Economics, and Social Issues, a curriculum co-authored by Kruggel, the center’s director, won “Silver” recognition in the curriculum-design category.
Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal: Using Children’s Literature to Teach Human Capital, Public Goods & Services, and Costs & Benefits, a lesson co-authored by Stover, was awarded “Platinum” recognition in the lesson-plan category.