Leonard Sholtis never had any intentions of teaching.
But, after being convinced by one of his professors to
pinch-hit in the classroom while he was a graduate student
at Eastern Michigan University, Sholtis is still teaching
27 years later. And he loves it.
That inherent knack to relate business management principles
and real-world experience to students has been honed over
the years. So much so that Sholtis, a full-time lecturer
in the department of management within the College of Business,
is the recipient of this year's Full-Time Lecturers Outstanding
Teaching Award. The award, bestowed by Academic Affairs,
requires documentation showing a lecturer's commitment
to the education of students and their ability to facilitate
student learning from effective teaching.
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TEACHING INTRODUCTION: Leonard Sholtis, a
full-
time lecturer in the department of management,
began teaching as an EMU graduate student in the
late
1970s. One of his professors, Bob Crowner,
encouraged
him to give teaching a shot after a
position came open
because another professor
fell ill.
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"It's a great honor to be recognized," said Sholtis, who
began teaching at EMU as an adjunct professor in the late
1970s. "I'm
kind of being recognized for caring about the students.
It tells me my peers have recognized my efforts in trying
to teach students."
Sholtis will be honored at an informal ceremony Wednesday,
March 14, from 4-6 p.m., in the New Student Center. Hors
d'oeuvres will be served. He will receive a $1,000 honorarium
and a plaque.
This is the fifth year of the award. For the past three
years, two EMU lecturers (the award was originally intended
for one) were honored. Rick Rogers, a history and philosophy
lecturer, earned the honor during its inaugural year.
But, as Sholtis will say, such an honor developed in a
roundabout way.
While pursuing his MBA at Eastern Michigan University
in the late 1970s, Sholtis was asked by his professor,
Bob Crowner, if he would like to teach an undergraduate
business course.
"Literally, there was an (teaching) opening that occurred.
Someone had taken ill," Sholte recalled. "At the last minute,
Professor Crowner said, 'I liked what you did in the graduate
class. Would you teach an undergraduate class?'
"Teaching would never have been on my radar. I asked, 'What
do I do?' He said, 'Come watch me teach Monday night and
you do the same thing Tuesday.'"
Since that time, Sholtis said he has continually worked
to improve his teaching skills, crediting many of his
colleagues with answering his questions or providing suggestions
over the years. He added that Fraya Wagner-Marsh, head
of the management department, and who nominated him for
the award, has created a team environment in which collaboration
is common.
Sholtis said his teaching philosophy was actually nurtured
back in his undergraduate days at the University of Michigan's
School of Engineering and then, as a graduate student at
EMU, beginning in 1974. While at the University of Michigan,
he said the academic approach, with a focus on core principles,
was instilled as the basis for everything. Sholtis said
he then had an epiphany that there was a real-life business
world where such core principles could be applied.
"Eastern Michigan University was the vehicle that proved
out that epiphany," Sholtis recalled. "The classes I took
getting my MBA not only provided the basis and the core,
but also made everything real when the professors and lecturers
brought real-life examples into the classroom to reinforce
the academia they were teaching."
Sholtis credited his student experience with shaping his
teaching approach. At EMU, he lectures business policy/strategy,
entrepreneurship and introduction to business courses.
"Simply stated, it is to provide the student with the
basic principles, so that we can communicate and reinforce
these principles with real-time examples," he said. "I
want them to be prepared for the real business world as
best we can in the classroom. I also stress to the student
that their job is to be a student and they should do everything
in their power to excel at doing their job. I encourage
them to get internships and to join student organizations
or clubs so they can experience the real world."
Sholtis has more than 36 years of practical business experience,
which he has drawn on to illustrate his points. He has
been co-owner of Howard's Beauty Supply in Farmington Hills
since 1993. Prior to that, he was plant manager for Colorbok
Paper Products in Dexter from 1991-1993. He also owned
and operated Sholtis Enterprises in Saline from 1990-1991;
was a plant manufacturing manager at Hines Industries in
Ann Arbor from 1988-1990; director of engineering services
at La-Z-Boy Chair Company in Monroe from 1986-1988; and
was in a number of positions at NSK Corporation-Bearing
Division, in Ann Arbor, from 1972-1986.
In addition, Sholtis said he teaches because he cares
and wants his students to succeed.
"What can I do to make the student a better student, person
and eventual employees or, even business owners themselves?" he
said. "I find myself being a motivator. I motivate through
enthusiasm, showing a job can be fun. I motivate by trying
to show how everything we do in the classroom fits into
the overall picture in the real world."
Sholtis was a member of a committee responsible for developing
the "Introduction to Business" curriculum; has been faculty
adviser for the Entrepreneur Club for the past three years;
and has twice received the "Outstanding Service in Higher
Education" award from the athletics department for his
support and encouragement of student-athletes at EMU.
"I
think that the entire college is geared to preparing the
student for the real world," Sholtis said.
