Each year, the College of Business welcomes new faculty to its ranks. This is the result of normal attrition through retirements and departures, and once again, the COB is fortunate to be able to throw open its doors to a new cohort of scholars. Collectively, they bring diverse worldviews, a wide variety of academic training, and new energy.
Joining the Department of Management, Marketing, and General Business is Andrea Blakely, Assistant Professor of Management. Blakely earned her PhD from the University of Mississippi, along with a Master of Science in Information Systems and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts, both from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
She currently teaches Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior, and is a faculty sponsor of the Women In Business student organization. Her research interests leader-member exchange, servant leadership, compensation management, and idiosyncratic deals. The Alabama native enjoys watching sports, as well as outdoor time with her goldendoodle, Romeo.
Also joining MMGB is Dr. Nate Xu, Assistant Professor of Management, who received a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Xu teaches Management Strategy and Policy at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His current research interests include resource dependence theory, resource redeployment theory, and institutional theory. In his spare time, Nate loves playing basketball.
Mary Liz Brooks is an Associate Professor of Digital Business and Communication and Barbara Petty Professor of Business Communication within the Department of Computer Information and Decision Management. She holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from West Texas A&M University, a M.A. in Communication Systems Management from Angelo State University and a Ph.D. in Media and Communication from Texas Tech University.
Brooks’ research interests are in the representation of marginalized groups in advertising, podcasting and advertising, social issues in global ads, pedagogy, artificial intelligence, digital communications and agriculture communications. Outside of academia, she enjoys traveling, trying new foods (mostly desserts), and checking out the latest popular shows on all the streaming networks.
Dr. Abraham Sen, Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems, also joined the CIDM Department this fall. Dr. Sen earned his PhD in Information Systems at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to that he earned an MS at Virginia Commonwealth, and MBA from Christ University in India, and a BE in Computer Science Engineering at Karunya University, India.
Currently, Dr. Sen’s teaching focus is in Database Management, Machine Learning, Data Science and Data Analytics. His primary research is in Design Science focusing on Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare sector. Outside of university life, he enjoys music, cooking and powerlifting.
Joining the Amarillo National Bank School of Accounting, Finance, and Economics is Dr. Goutham Abotula, Assistant Professor of Finance, who earned his PhD in Finance from Washington State University. Previously, he earned his BA from the University of South Wales, and his MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
His teaching areas include corporate finance, investments, and financial markets, while his research interests include empirical corporate finance, with a specific focus on capital structure decisions. Dr. Abotula is a native of Kenya, East Africa, and enjoys traveling, watching sports, and exploring new foods.
Dan Shaw, Assistant Professor of Accounting, also joined the ANB School of AEF. He received a B.B.A and M.S. in Accounting from Sam Houston State University in 2008 and 2009, respectively. In 2011 he obtained his Certified Public Accountant license, and then earned a PhD in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 2018.
Dr. Shaw presently teaches Intermediate Accounting and Accounting Information Systems at the undergraduate level.
The College of Business welcomes these six professors to the faculty, and wishes them much professional success.