MBA Faculty

Below is a comprehensive list of faculty that teach across all of Virginia Tech's MBA program formats. Click the faculty name to be directed to their biography.

ADJUNCT FACULTY

Ruth Caul
Ruth Caul teaches strategic human resource management. She has more than 25 years of experience in finance and human resources in the paper and packaging manufacturing industry, most recently serving as Senior HR Manager with WestRock. She is also member of Virginia Tech's  MBA Alumni Advisory Board and holds a SHRM-SCP Certification.
MBA Virginia Tech | B.A. Asbury University

Chris Durham
Chris Durham specializes in IT consulting with an emphasis on delivering custom enterprise software solutions and the adoption of emerging technologies such as robotic process automation and artificial intelligence (AI). A major part of his career has been dedicated to leading research and development efforts in advanced automation techniques, particularly in the fields of natural language processing and large language models. Most recently, his work is concentrating on the secure implementation and use of generative AI within organizations.
MIT Virginia Tech | B.S. Virginia Tech

Dawn Leijon
Dawn Leijon teaches marketing courses, including Marketing Policy and Strategy. She is an experienced senior marketing strategist and has had an extensive career in marketing, most recently serving as the Senior Director of Product Marketing for CoStar Group.
MBA University of Chicago | B.S. University of Pennsylvania

Aaron Hall
Mr. Hall is a certified Project Management Professional and teaches Project Management.  He is the Head of Portfolio and Project Management at Carfax and previously held several roles in project and program management.
M.S. George Washington University | Master’s Certificate in Project Management, George Washington University |  B.S. Virginia Tech

Ron Hodge
Ron Hodge has more than 30 years of professional leadership and management experience, most recently as a Partner/Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University, with a concentration and Behavioral Economics in Science and Technology.
MBA George Washington University | B.S. Virginia Tech

Olga Livingston
Dr. Olga Livingston is a Senior Economist leading the cyber economics portfolio for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Her background is in Econometrics with extensive experiences in modeling and risk analysis. Her current work supports analysis of the benefits of the cybersecurity investment, cost of cyber incidents, effectiveness and justifiability of potential mitigations, as well as barriers and catalysts for technology adoption.

Ph.D. Oregon State University | Master of International Management, Whitworth University | Master of Management and Economics and Bachelor of Management and Economics, Chernigov State University

Greg Justice
Greg Justice began teaching at Virginia Tech in 1983, teaching all levels of acting and movement courses. He now serves as Undergraduate Coordinator for Theatre and Cinema. He has acted in over 100 shows, directed over 40 productions, and offers workshops and executive coaching on "The Art of Business: Using Acting Techniques in Presentations, Sales and Corporate Communication" for businesses and business organizations.
M.F.A The Pennsylvania State University | B.F.A University of Utah 

Janine Finnell
Janine Finnell is the Founder and Executive Director of Leaders in Energy (LE), a global action network of energy and sustainability professionals and other changemakers seeking to bring about and accelerate solutions for a societal green transformation.  Its focus includes green economy and jobs, green practices, products, and services, including the circular economy, and to share best practices and success stories from those working on projects and innovations in these areas. 

In founding LE, Janine draws upon an extensive domestic and international career in policy and research, program management, communications, outreach, and management consulting in the energy and sustainability fields.  Her experience includes working at a state energy office, serving as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and employment at IBM, DynCorp International, the Institute of Energy Analysis, and consulting to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as non-governmental organizations, DOE national laboratories, and the electric utility industry.

Janine serves on the Board of the Alliance for Regional Cooperation, a nonprofit which works with local businesses, consumers, and social enterprises to foster regional economic activity in the interests of economic justice, sustainability, and cultural vitality.  She served on the Association of Energy Engineers Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL) National Board as its Chair for the Career Advancement Committee.  In addition, she is a member of the National Capital Area Chapter of the United States Association for Energy Economics (NCAC-USAEE).

She holds a Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Agricultural and Applied Economics (with a focus on international development and energy resource economics) and pursued postgraduate work at George Washington University in energy and environmental management and resource policy.   M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison | B.A. University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh 

Andy Schaudt
Andy Schaudt holds a dual appointment as an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Management in the Pamplin College of Business, and as the Chief of Staff of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). For Pamplin, Professor Schaudt teaches coursework on Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship, and for VTTI he oversees strategic planning, intellectual property and commercialization, human resources, research safety and compliance, and operations. A devoted human experience enthusiast, he has spent his career learning about the intricacies of human behavior and how best to apply these findings to improve the design of products, services, and strategic business decisions. He focuses his efforts on the innovative design of products and services that are personalized to the end user. He has two decades of experience in human factors, usability, systems design, business strategy and marketing having managed contracts for both federal and private sector organizations across numerous industries, most notably transportation and healthcare.

Prior to his role at Virginia Tech, Professor Schaudt was an active entrepreneur co-founding various new ventures, including being the President and CXO of the web presence marketing firm Post Launch in Las Vegas, NV, helping clients ranging from small businesses to large enterprises to build their visibility online. Before that, Professor Schaudt was the Director of Usability Services at the MedStar Institute for Innovation in Washington D.C.

Schaudt earned his M.B.A. from Virginia Tech, and his M.S. in Human Factors Psychology from the University of Idaho. Schaudt has over 100 scientific publications, technical reports, and professional presentations/lectures, and his work has been featured in TV and digital media outlets including Wired, Business Insider, USA Today, Washington Post, CNN, Modern Healthcare, and various others. Professor Schaudt was also featured in the documentary film “Autonomy” from executive producer Malcolm Gladwell on the current state of self-driving vehicles in our society. Most recently Schaudt was part of an interdisciplinary design team that was awarded the Innovation Award from Virginia Tech’s ICAT Creativity and Innovation Day for their work with self-driving car research.

M.B.A., Virginia Tech | M.S. Human Factors Psychology, University of Idaho |B.S. Psychology, University of Idaho