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Karlene C. Cousins
Assistant Professor, Decision Sciences and Information Systems
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In her own words... |
Contrast industry and academia.
"In industry, the younger you are, the fresher you are, the more energy you have—this is what they look for. Academia is a profession where you can grow older gracefully; knowledge and experience are revered. There's focus and direction, so you become more respected as you move through the ranks."
How did you maintain balance between being a single, young woman and earning your doctorate in such a short time?
"I learned to get by on three hours of sleep, and I'd work on my dissertation all the time, anywhere. I was at a music festival with friends, working on my dissertation in a bar."
What do you do for fun?
"I'm a beach bum and a music buff. Give me some reggae, blues, some smooth jazz, a bikini, and a piña colada."
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The ink was barely dry on her diploma when Karlene Cousins traded her apartment at Georgia State University for an office in the Decision Sciences and Information Systems department less than a week later.
It's a breakneck pace Cousins has maintained since committing her life's work to academia. The decade she had served industry prior, although successful, had left her longing for purpose, value, and longevity. It fueled her desire to obtain her doctorate, completing the program in four years compared to the national average of seven.
"I was searching for something that would leave me fulfilled," Cousins said. "I wanted to create something that would last beyond the three-year impact of my most recent project. Maybe it's egotistical, but I needed to know that my name would live on and that the implications of what I did were not fleeting."
After receiving her Master's in Information Systems from the University of the West Indies in her native Kingston, Jamaica, Cousins launched into a career as a senior management consultant at Deloitte & Touche. That led to a stint as the MIS manager for the Airport Authority of Jamaica. But neither position satisfied her affinity for research and all things computer-driven.
Her focus now is on ubiquitous computing environments—artificially-intelligent devices, embedded in every-day furnishing, that learn human patterns and preferences. It might be an ordinary-looking medicine cabinet that registers prescriptions, dosages, frequency, and refill data, or a sound system that remembers the when-what-how of music selections.
Despite her fascination with technology, Cousin's said the real test of a job well done will lie with her students.
"I want them to say that they gained not only knowledge but also the tools to think and create knowledge on their own—to think outside the box," she said. |
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Professor Paul D. Reynolds, Director of the Entrepreneurship Research Institute
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In his own words... |
How did your parents decide on your name?
"I was named after an uncle who was a professor at UC Berkley for 50 years. We are the only two professors in the family, but other than that, we really didn't have anything in common. It was just so unusual that he stayed at one institution so long. He became a very well known campus figure."
What was your proudest moment?
"When I saw my daughter graduate from veterinary school. For a young, white, upper-middle class woman to achieve that...it was really such an accomplishment. And then my son, he's a bone marrow transplant specialist at the University of Michigan."
Describe an interesting aspect of your teaching career?
"When I was at the London Business School (LBS), it was policy to retire faculty at age 65, but I wanted to continue my work. I had no intention of retiring. They'd never heard of such a thing. I ended up being the first person in the history of LBS to have an employment contract after age 65." |
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He had an engineering career in oil exploration all mapped out until an industry glut in 1960 changed everything. Today, Paul A. Reynolds stands as one of the world's preeminent authorities on the birth and nurturing of businesses.
This year's recipient of Sweden's FSF-NUTEK Award, Reynolds joins league with scholars short-listed for Nobel Prizes in Economics, including the father of entrepreneurial studies, Reynolds' inspiration, David Birch.
"His research had more impact on policy-makers and social scientists than any other human being's," Reynolds said. "It was mind-blowing, all the implications that came out of it. After I was introduced to it, it became critical to me to do something that had some potential significance."
Reynolds segued a 20-year career in the sociological study of organizations into five projects that springboarded from Birch's findings. His resulting text, The Entrepreneurial Process: Economic Growth, Women, and Minorities, represents a milestone in the field.
"There are few thought-leaders who have pioneered the field," said Alan Carsrud, executive director of the Global Entrepreneurship Center. "Among those, Paul would be one of the most significant."
Reynolds left posts at Babson College and the London Business School this spring, bringing his knowledge to the College's classrooms this week with an introductory MBA course on entrepreneurship. His focus, however, will remain on research.
"Coming here is a chance for me to continue my research career in a very attractive context," Reynolds said.
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