Two innovative Binghamton University School of Management faculty make list of nation’s ‘Best Business Professors’

Two innovative researchers from Binghamton University’s School of Management (SOM) have been ranked among the nation’s top business professors.

Debi Mishra, associate professor of marketing, and Chou-Yu (Joey) Tsai, Osterhout assistant professor of entrepreneurship, were both included on the Poets & Quants list of the “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors of 2023.” Poets & Quants chooses honorees based on nominations from students, alumni and colleagues. According the online publication for business education news, more than 650 nominations were submitted for this year’s list, and professors from 39 were selected. Nominees are evaluated on several categories, including research and teaching accolades.

Of the 33 schools represented, SOM was one of just 12 schools to have two faculty members featured on the list. This marks the fourth consecutive year SOM has been included on the ranking.

Since coming to Binghamton in 1995, Mishra has established himself among SOM students and colleagues as an outstanding instructor. Students praise his ability to apply complex course materials to real-world business problems. By making these subjects approachable and interesting, Mishra has cultivated strong relationships with his students.

Mishra also has earned 10 research awards and nine teaching awards spanning three academic institutions throughout his career. At Binghamton, he earned the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2004-05. He also has consulted with several Fortune 500 firms in the U.S. and other reputed international companies in India, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Mishra’s research interests center on various aspects of marketing, and his most recent work has studied how a company’s internal marketing culture influences the degree to which it adopts machine learning and AI practices.

Among his favorite reasons for teaching are sharing his passion for the subjects he teaches and a drive to incorporate the most cutting-edge knowledge into his courses.

Mishra told Poets & Quants of what he enjoys most about teaching business students at Binghamton is “the opportunity to communicate real-life concepts and clarify esoteric, assumption-based theories and concepts that reside in textbooks and academic research papers. Subjects should be interdisciplinary because business problems in the real world do not come neatly packaged with clean labels like marketing, finance, etc., but an amalgamation of ‘all of the above.’”

Since arriving to Binghamton in 2018, Tsai’s skills in data analytics and emerging technologies have established him as a cutting-edge researcher among his colleagues and a favorite among students for his ability to weave his passion for the subject matter into his teaching. Tsai’s research interests center on various aspects of leadership, including entrepreneurship, virtual teams, human capital resources emergence, coaching and robotic technology.

Tsai has also helped grow SOM’s relationship with international universities, such as Waseda University in Japan, where he has worked to establish a leadership framework to enhance entrepreneurship programs and foster innovation within the greater Tokyo ecosystem. Tsai’s deep appreciation for the importance of education has motivated him to view each student as unique, each with distinct strengths and needs.

As a teacher, Tsai enjoys the opportunities for engaging conversations and creative problem-solving through group interactions.

“Respecting everyone is fundamental in fulfilling my role as a professor. I appreciate the distinct needs of my students and all research collaborators, and I consistently learn from each of them,” he said in an interview conducted for the Poets & Quants list. “I am grateful for the chance to collaborate closely, which has instilled in me a strong commitment to prioritizing the well-being of others in my academic career.”

Everyone in SOM is proud to once again have two outstanding faculty members named among the nation’s best business professors, Dean Shelley Dionne said.

“It’s easy to see why Debi and Joey achieved this honor. Whatever innovation is happening in technology and management, by the very next semester, both have integrated these advancements into their courses in some form,” Dionne said. “They are charismatic and engaged instructors, and they empower students to embrace change and excel. Their dedication and innovative approaches inspire and shape the future of countless SOM students.”