2019 New Faculty
Meet the extraordinary new teachers and researchers who joined the Poole College faculty in 2019.
Brad Ashbaugh
Title/Program: Lecturer, Department of Business Management
Education: Ph.D. in industrial engineering, NC State University
Classes Taught: Information Systems Management, Planning and Control Systems, Special Topics in Business Management
Industry Experience: I used to be a consultant and then worked at a cruise line creating IT solutions to improve the operations functions of various travel industry clients. This experience, combined with my industrial engineering background, enables me to understand and discuss real examples of the concepts I teach that improved the companies where I worked. When I can provide examples of real improvements, students become more interested and invested in learning.
Why I Chose Poole College: I gained a huge amount of respect for NC State when I came here to earn my master’s degree in industrial engineering prior to my industry work. All students had access to cutting-edge technology to do their classwork so that performance was measured based on just your work, not how much money you had to buy the best computers and printers. As someone who had to pay his own way through school, I found the environment here very empowering. I love that NC State still attracts students from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. A great idea or an amazing manager can come from anywhere. And I am proud that the students we graduate are ready to help their new organizations from day one.
“When I can provide examples of real improvements, students become more interested and invested in learning.“
Joseph Billingsley
Title/Program: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Education: Ph.D. in psychology, University of Miami
Research Focus: My primary research focus is on understanding the psychological systems that regulate cooperation and altruism using insights from social psychology, cognitive science, evolutionary biology and other fields. Specifically, I investigate the mechanisms that promote the restoration of cooperation in the wake of interpersonal harm, the psychological processes that engender altruism among family members and how cooperation-based social networks deliver benefits to entrepreneurs.
Industry Impact: My research has been published in accredited journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Royal Society Open Science, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and Evolution and Human Behavior.
Why I Chose Poole College: I came to Poole College to work with Professors Jeff Pollack and Jon Carr, who were awarded a two-year grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to study the impact of an entrepreneur’s social network embeddedness and engagement on subsequent venture success and the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Mehmet Caner
Title/Program: Thurman-Raytheon Distinguished Professor of Economics, Department of Economics
Education: Ph.D. in economics, Brown University
Research Focus: My field of specialization is econometrics. My research interests include big data and empirical international finance.
Industry Impact: I have been invited to talk to the managing partners and research unit of Davidson and Kempner, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. My work has also been published in the Chicago Tribune and The Hill. I am the associate editor of the Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Econometric Reviews and Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics.
Why I Chose Poole College: I chose to return to Poole College after being on the faculty here from 2007 to 2015 because of the faculty and student quality in the college.
Turanay Caner
Title/Program: Associate Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Education: Ph.D. in strategic management, University of Pittsburgh
Research Focus: My research focuses on how firms’ alliance network and knowledge portfolio characteristics, new product performance goals and strategic leadership influence their problem solving as indicated in invention and innovation and financial performance outcomes. Complementing my work in problem solving at the firm level, I also study how individuals involved in interdisciplinary research solve problems in the context of hybrid organizations and entrepreneurial ventures.
Industry Impact: A study I did on drug discovery shows that while firms with very low or high knowledge variety tend to produce weaker solutions than firms in the moderate range, their inventive performance improves when alliance partners afford them access to additional knowledge in familiar domains.
Why I Chose Poole College: I appreciate the research focus of the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the collegiality of the Poole College faculty.
Donavon Favre
Title/Program: Lecturer, Department of Business Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management
Education: Master’s degree in operations management, The Ohio State University
Classes Taught: Operations Management, Purchasing Supply Management, Supply Chain Management Practice
Industry Experience: I worked in supply chain roles for 20 years in industry and consulting prior to coming to Poole. My experiences ranged across a wide variety of industries, including construction equipment and consumer products and banking, and a wide variety of supply chain functions, such as procurement, inventory management and logistics strategy.
Why I Chose Poole College: Poole College is very much focused on preparing students by developing relevant skills to prepare them for the work world. After spending the first half of my career in industry and consulting, I am glad to have the opportunity to share that knowledge with students.
Patrick Flynn
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Education: Ph.D. in organizational behavior and human resources, University of South Carolina
Research Focus: My research is focused on theory, design and analysis of dynamic individual and group-level processes. My research portfolio has broadly focused on exploring dynamic theoretical frameworks in two main areas: the process of adaptation and emergence in teams.
Industry Impact: My research has been featured in the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.
Why I Chose Poole College: I chose to come to Poole College because the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship was a really good fit for me. This position is focused on human resources and analytics, which is a great opportunity to bring my research into the classroom. There are a number of senior scholars whom I respect in the department, and I was excited about the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with them.
Nathan Goldman
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting
Education: Ph.D. in accounting, University of Arizona
Research Focus: My research primarily relates to corporate taxation and three unique subfields. First, I examine the interactions between corporate taxation and the auditing of income taxes. Second, I examine the capital market effects of corporate taxation. Third, I examine the effects of regulating corporate taxation. I have published numerous research papers addressing each of these three areas.
Industry Impact: Corporate taxation is a constantly evolving topic that is typically at the center of many companies’ minds and many political debates. My research provides insights into how companies structure their operations in a tax-efficient manner, as well as how the political and regulatory process influences companies’ tax decisions.
Why I Chose Poole College: My family is from the Raleigh area, and I’ve long wanted to return. NC State represented a great opportunity to do so, given its strong focus on academics, research and community. I am thrilled to be part of a university and business school with such outstanding students who are eager to learn and have bright futures ahead.
Imran Khan
Title/Program: Teaching Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Marketing
Education: D.B.A. in marketing, Kennesaw State University
Classes Taught: Marketing Methods, Marketing Management and Strategy
Industry Experience: I have worked as a consultant and analyst for almost two decades, covering a variety of emerging information and communication technologies. I have experience with both enterprise and consumer markets. Having those experiences helps me bring real-world examples and problems to the classroom.
Why I Chose Poole College: I joined the college because of NC State’s and the college’s strong reputation and because of the college’s emphasis on industry engagement, which benefits both students and faculty.
“I have worked as a consultant and analyst for almost two decades, covering a variety of emerging information and communication technologies.”
Daisoon Kim
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
Education: Ph.D. in economics, University of Washington
Research Focus: I focus my research on the international macroeconomics, international trade and macroeconomics fields.
Why I Chose Poole College: I appreciate the great workplace environment in the college.
Tim Kraft
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management
Education: Ph.D. in management science and engineering, Stanford University
Research Focus: My research examines environmental and social responsibility issues in supply chains. Topics I have studied include when and how increased supply chain transparency affects consumers’ and companies’ decisions in social responsibility contexts, how companies and nongovernmental organizations can improve suppliers’ sustainability practices, and ways competitors and supply chain partners collaborate to improve the environmental performance of products.
Industry Impact: My research on supply chain transparency addresses what is becoming a big issue for industry. Many companies are trying to figure out whether and how to make their supply chains more transparent, and my research proves that this can offer a potential revenue benefit for companies. I’ve also formed new research collaborations with Fair Trade USA and Goodio Chocolate (a craft chocolatier in Finland) on two projects that are testing the market value of transparency with retail field experiments. My work has been referenced and discussed in Harvard Business Review, Environmental Leader and NextBillion.
Why I Chose Poole College: The opportunity to collaborate with colleagues within Poole College and with other departments across campus was a big reason I decided to come to NC State. The college is in a great position to grow both within the university and externally. I look forward to seeing how the school evolves over the next few years and how we are able to integrate ourselves further with other departments across campus.
Elena Kulchina
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Education: Ph.D. in strategic management, University of Toronto
Research Focus: My research interests are at the intersection of strategic management, entrepreneurship and international business. My areas of research are foreign and domestic entrepreneurs, management of entrepreneurial and multinational ventures, founders’ role in startups, the impact of international migration on organizations, and strategy and geography.
Industry Impact: My research has been published or is forthcoming in the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science and Management Science. My work has been funded by the Kauffman Foundation, University of Virginia (Darden) Batten Institute and Duke University.
Allison Lowe-Reed
Title/Program: Lecturer, Department of Economics
Education: Master’s degree in economics, NC State University
Classes Taught: Principles of Microeconomics, Essential Economics for Managers
Industry Experience: I have industry experience in business, but my value as an economist and lecturer at Poole College comes from my academic experience and education. I have a master’s degree in economics and am currently working on my Ph.D. in public policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, where I am focusing on policies that support or hinder innovation in science and technology fields. My field of study is at the intersection of economic theory, public policy and business strategy.
Why I Chose Poole College: I love working at Poole College. The buzz on campus and the amount of talent that can be found in the faculty motivates me to increase my knowledge and contribute to the community. In addition, I enjoy working with the wide range of students I teach.
“I love working at Poole College. The buzz on campus and the amount of talent that can be found in the faculty motivates me to increase my knowledge and contribute to the community.”
Erin Powell
Title/Program: Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Education: Ph.D. in technology management, NC State University
Research Focus: Through my research, I have discovered and demonstrated that it is difficult to overstate the degree to which identity dynamics shape new organizations. I use an identity lens to address questions about founders’ motivations for starting new ventures, decisions in the face of adversity, pursuit of growth and other issues. I also focus on differences in founders’ resourcefulness and on how and why these differences affect the ventures they create.
Industry Impact: Most of my research is qualitative, so I engage directly with entrepreneurs on a regular basis. Identity dynamics and resource constraints shape and pervade organizations, both large and small, so my research has significant potential to help entrepreneurs manage challenges and realize the change they envision bringing to the world through forming an organization. I also train aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t have access to traditional means of learning about entrepreneurship. Clemson University and the Academy of Management have highlighted my research for its practical impact.
Why I Chose Poole College: NC State has always been home for me. My father was on the horticulture faculty for 30+ years, and my brother and I grew up with the Wolfpack and became alums. Importantly, entrepreneurship at NC State has worked through many startup challenges over the years. To rejoin the university as faculty and complement these efforts and contribute meaningfully toward the next phase of growth in research, teaching and service was an opportunity I could not pass up. My colleagues across campus and the students choosing to join us make this an exciting time to be an entrepreneurship scholar at NC State.
