Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — The week of April 21-25 will see 24 industry professionals taking on the role of College of Business Administration professor as part of the second Executive Professor-for-a-Day program.

The executives have been paired up with 37 different class sections over the week, ranging from the undergraduate business foundations class to graduate level courses.

"It really adds an element of realism and authenticity by having these practitioners come in and share their expertise with our students," said Kevin Gwinner, professor and head of the marketing department. "The program also can help students think about different career paths, and allows them to make contacts in the industries they will soon be working in."

Executives have worked closely with the college's faculty members to create specialized lesson plans for the event. Each of the faculty-executives will have a different class format; some will conduct a standard lecture, others will review case studies and best practices, while some will be using the class time for an in-depth Q-and-A session.

"I enjoy participating in the Executive Professor-for-a-Day program because it allows me to bring day-to-day business issues into the classroom, and allows me to be a part of the students' education," said Kent Townsend, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Capitol Federal Savings. "The best education, in the classroom or in work, happens through dialogue that makes sure everyone involved understands the issues in the same way. I have found that dialogue to be robust with the students at Kansas State."

Classes where executives will be lecturing include Advanced Managerial Accounting, International Management, Corporate Finance, Introduction to Operations Management, Human Resource Management, Legal and Ethical Issues, Financial Institutes and Markets, Business, Government, & Society, Marketing Concepts and Research, and Business Intelligence for Strategic Decision Making.

Along with Townsend, participating executives include:

Alex Ball, marketing communications manager, Perceptive Software; Aaron Becker, engineering liaison manager, LSS, B/E Aerospace Inc.; Mike Bernard, assistant general auditor, Union Pacific Corp.; Holly Brisimitzakis, senior analyst for global sales-DeviceWorks, Cerner; Mario Cabrera, director, retail marketing U.S., Colgate-Palmolive; Rick Calhoun, president, Cargill Carriers Inc.; Matt Crocker, president and chief operating officer, Steel & Pipe Supply Inc.; Brent Depperschmidt, director, strategy and marketing research, Sanwa Holdings Co.; John Fink, senior human resources adviser, Alliance Data Systems; Kevin Grieves, senior manager, BNSF Railway Co.; Jaime Johnston, quality assurance manager, SAIC; Amber Luedke, chief accounting officer, ARMOUR Residential Management LLC; Darci Moore, vice president of human resources, GTM Sportswear; Charlie Morrison, president and CEO, Wingstop Inc.; Dennis Mullin, chairman and CEO, Steel & Pipe Supply Inc.; Tom Oldham, business systems consultant and manager of financial systems, Mueller Industries Inc.; Aaron Otto, city administrator, city of Roeland Park; Tony Pino, senior vice president, managed care, Ameritox; David Stone, director, corporate performance measures, BNSF Railway Co.; Todd Vincent, vice president of sales, SKC; Kraig Vondran, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, Farrar Corp.; Ryan Weber, president, KCnext: The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City; and Bill Zawrotny, partner, Jones Day.