Harold Babb, David Dean, John Earl & Bob Schmidt

While each year a new class of students enters and another exits The Richmond MBA, several professors have been familiar faces for decades. The Richmond MBA prides itself on the faculty who teach lessons in the classroom while helping candidates reach their goals outside the classroom, and four professors have been doing this for over 120 years combined: Harold Babb, professor of marketing, David Dean, associate professor of economics, John Earl, associate professor of finance and Bob Schmidt, professor of economics.

Each professor took a different route to landing at Richmond. However, once they arrived, each recognized the attraction of the campus. Schmidt and Dean were working at their alma maters and came to Richmond to further their careers. Schmidt said, “I received an offer for a position at Richmond while I was conducting research and working toward my Ph.D. at Duke University. There are many reasons I have remained at Richmond for 32 years. Richmond is small enough that professors and students talk to everyone, everyone comes to presentations and everyone gets along. The campus is always looking up.”

Dean had been teaching at Rutgers University for five years while working towards his Ph.D., and was looking for a place that would recognize his passion for the profession. He found this at Richmond and has been here for 26 years. “There are very few people who choose to leave and that’s a very good sign to me,” he said.

Babb and Earl thought they would only be at Richmond for a few years before continuing on to another position. “I didn’t intend to return after graduating from Richmond and going on to receive my Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. At the time (1977), I didn’t think I would be here long, and accepted a position because my wife and I were expecting our first child. We thought we would get a start here,” Babb said. “Richmond is a wonderful environment. The opportunities I have received here have been everything I could want. As for the students, the qualities and opportunities keep growing. It is a small university in a large package.”

Earl, who arrived in 1981, agreed, “I thought I would eventually return home to Boston and Richmond might just be a stopping place for a few years. My wife and I began to grow our family and I have been here ever since.”

With each year comes change, and these professors have seen a lot over the years. “The curriculum in The Richmond MBA has dramatically changed—there was no Capstone project, Opening Residency or International Residency programs when I began teaching. The program has definitely become more efficient and effective,” Schmidt said.

Dean and Earl have noticed a shift in the student body of MBA classes. “The caliber of students has greatly increased. Students are coming from more prestigious undergraduate universities and have higher GMAT scores,” Dean said. “The incoming MBA classes have been smaller but with more qualified students,” Earl added. “There is much more diversity in the classes regarding international and female students and that is something really good to see.”  

Over the years each professor has learned the challenges and joys of leading a classroom of MBA candidates. “These students are so focused,” Dean said. Schmidt added, “Each is able to bring in real examples of what we are learning in the classroom from their professional experience. This sharing provides endless opportunities to teach and learn from each other.” “What we talk about in the classroom is immediately applicable the next day,” Babb said.

The Richmond MBA’s schedule is also a source of learning opportunities. “The candidates have many distractions: jobs, families, children, school. They learn through the program how to allocate time to their education while also maintaining a personal life. I think the bond they are able to build with their peers helps immensely throughout the program,” Earl said.

Every year new and cherished memories are formed from the incoming and graduating classes and happenings on campus. Schmidt’s time as interim dean while Queally Hall was being built is one of his most challenging and memorable times on campus. Dean notes his ongoing research with Schmidt on job training programs for people with disabilities as a continuing source of fulfillment and interest. The interaction with students and faculty each year and the relationships he has built are what Babb notes as two of his favorite aspects of his position. Earl has an enviable memory each year which allows him to see his students come full circle. “I teach MBA candidates one of their first classes. They are usually so afraid of finance and it is not their favorite class. However each year I serve as a marshal at graduation and am the last person they see before they walk off stage. To have the opportunity to shake hands with them and see how happy they are and how far they have come is very special to me,” he said.

A number of other professors now teaching in the MBA programs have made significant contributions for more than 25 years, including Tom Cosse (marketing, 1975), Neil Ashworth (management, 1981) and Jerry Stevens (finance, 1987).