Bryan School’s first Cole Professional Track Distinguished Faculty

Not only are UNC Greensboro’s professors exceptional, but a new approach to support professional track faculty is, as well. 

A gift from alumna Sue W. Cole ’72, ’77 MBA now endows a faculty excellence support fund that is the first of its kind at the University. In fact, Bryan School Dean McRae Banks notes that only one other university in the nation has such a fund. 

The new Sue Cole Professional Track Distinguished Faculty Endowed Fund is innovative in that it offers special opportunities exclusively to professional track faculty. It will support at least two professional track faculty members, each for two-year terms, annually in the Bryan School.

The inaugural Sue W. Cole Professional Track Distinguished Faculty members will be Dr. Eloise McCain Hassell, Dr. Jeffrey Sarbaum, and Sara MacSween.

“These three people are at the top of their games every single day,” Banks said. “They care about the students, and that shows in their teaching and, consequently, in their evaluations by students and their faculty colleagues. They care about their colleagues, their departments, the School, and the University, which is why they are so deeply involved in service, which is also performed at the highest levels of quality and impact. 

Banks explained that full-time, professional track faculty do a lot of “heavy lifting” as far as teaching is concerned. With four classes per semester, they impact many students. This new endowment will fund salary stipends, professional development, and travel opportunities that will enhance the level of instruction in their classrooms. 

“Sue’s gift offers long-overdue recognition to this sector of our faculty,” he said. “Her endowment elevates the Bryan School, its departments, and the University overall. This is a game-changing gift.”

Sue Cole, a great friend to UNCG, has been a mainstay in public service, serving on many boards and committees in the Triad and North Carolina. Currently serving on UNCG’s Light the Way Campaign Cabinet, she served on the Investment Committee of UNCG and as a member of the North Carolina Economic Development Board. She is board chair of the National Association of Corporate Directors, a past chair of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, director and past board chair of the Greensboro Science Center, and former chair of the board of directors of United Way of Greensboro. Also, she was the first woman to chair the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, which presented her the Thomas Z. Osborne award.

For the last decade, she has been Managing Partner at SAGE Leadership & Strategy.She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA in Finance at UNCG.

“In each of my courses, the faculty were outstanding,” Sue Cole said. “What I learned as an economics and business administration major at the Bryan School – and later during my MBA program there – elevated me professionally and personally. In turn, I want to elevate high-achieving professional track faculty members at the Bryan School as they teach future generations of students, making an impact on our Triad region and beyond.” 

The three inaugural Sue W. Cole Professional Track Distinguished Faculty members received the highest possible rating for teaching and service in the Bryan School in each of the past five years. 

• Eloise McCain Hassell, JD (Department of Management) joined the Bryan School in Fall 1989. She has received seven different teaching awards (some more than once), including the UNCG Anna Maria Gove Award for Teaching Excellence, the UNCG Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, the Excellence in Teaching Disciplinary Honors Award, and the UNCG Bryan School Teaching Excellence Award. As a tribute to her teaching excellence, an alumnus established the Eloise McCain Hassell UNCG Teaching Excellence Award to support outstanding teaching of required courses in the business core. Dr. Hassell has also been recognized for exemplary service. Her awards include the UNCG Gladys Strawn Bullard Award for Faculty Service, the Lloyd International Honors College Honors Champion Extraordinaire, the UNCG Division of Enrollment Faculty Champion of Student Success, and her induction into the Greensboro Bar Association Herb Falk Society and the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society.
  
• Jeffrey K. Sarbaum, PhD (Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics) has been a full-time faculty member in the Bryan School for 23 years. Delivering more student credit hours each year than any other UNCG faculty member, he is highly regarded by his students and colleagues. He is the recipient of both the UNCG Bryan School Teaching Excellence Award and the UNCG Excellence Award for Student Learning Enhancement. An educational innovator, Dr. Sarbaum developed one of the first online courses at UNCG, as well as a computer game that engaged students with the course material, earning him recognition as a Campus Technology Innovator by Campus Technology Magazine. He is the course coordinator for two required courses in the business core and manages their content, design, and assessment regardless of the instructor of record. In addition to serving on various committees related to curriculum, programs, and research, he serves as advisor to the UNCG Student Chapter of National Association of Business Economists and has led summer study abroad programs to Dublin.
  
• Sara MacSween, ABD (Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality & Tourism) has been a full-time lecturer in the Bryan School since 2014. She integrates experiential learning into all her classes to help students see the tangible impact of their classroom learning in real practice. For her innovation and high-quality outcomes, Ms. MacSween received the UNCG Bryan School’s Teaching Excellence Award, the inaugural Eloise McCain Hassell Teaching Excellence Award, and the UNCG Anna Marie Gove Teaching Excellence Award. Additionally, Ms. MacSween is an active service contributor. She is faculty advisor to the UNCG chapter of the American Marketing Association and the North Carolina Sales Institute Student Business Group. She also chairs the UNCG Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, is a member of two other University committees, and is involved in both department and school service. 
  

Sue Cole’s gift is part of UNCG’s Light the Way: The Campaign for Earned Achievement. Contact us to learn how you can help create a similar program for another school at UNCG. To learn more about the campaign, visit lighttheway.uncg.edu.