Management and Information Systems & Operations Management PhD students honored with teaching awards
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ph.D. students Avinash Geda and Benny Cooper were awarded Warrington College of Business Ph.D. Teaching Awards for the spring 2018 and fall 2018 semesters, respectively.
The award is presented by the Teaching & Learning Center at Warrington to recognize outstanding graduate student teaching and instructional innovation. The recipient for each semester is selected by the Warrington Teaching Committee.
Geda is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Warrington’s Department of Information Systems & Operations Management. His research interests include sustainable operations management, advanced technology-enabled e-commerce practices, supply chain management and transportation. He received his master’s degree in transportation engineering from the University of Florida and his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the National Institute Technology in Warangal, India.
“It always feels good to be acknowledged for the effort you put in your job,” Geda said. “This award gives me the much-needed boost to continue putting efforts in making some difference [even if it is only a little] in the students’ lives. Winning this award means that I am on the right track to continue doing what I am doing, help my students learn something better than they already knew and play a little part in their professional journey.”
Geda taught Managerial Operations Analysis II in the spring 2018 semester.
“Students learn about quantitative aspects of Decision Analysis, how to analyze Queues in a business context and introduction to Project Management as part of this course,” he said.
Cooper is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Warrington’s Department of Management. His research focuses on a variety of topics including incivility, cognition and psychological resilience. Most recently, he’s been focused on how organizations can help individuals cope with workplace rudeness. He received his master’s in social-organizational psychology from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Warrington College of Business for the award,” Cooper said. “Throughout my time at the department of management, I’ve considered myself fortunate to receive an incredible amount of support and feedback from my advisor Prof. Amir Erez and fellow Ph.D. students. The open and friendly exchange of ideas in our department has been invaluable in helping me develop my teaching philosophy.”
Cooper taught Human Resource Management in the fall 2018 semester. The course is designed to provide students with an overview of human resource management (HRM).
“If an organization wants good people, it must practice good HRM,” Cooper said. “As part of the course, students were required to combine theories with practices, which culminated in a final group project that asked them to apply their understanding of HRM practices by making recommendations about good HR policies for a job of their choice.”
