What happens in the lives of our students is what I will measure my success by,” says School of Business dean and professor Susan Van Weelden.
Van Weelden and her colleague, associate professor of business Laurie Busuttil, have been asked to consider their legacies as they both prepare to retire at the end of December.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than playing an influential role in the development of young people at such an important phase of their lives,” Van Weelden says. “I consider it almost sacred trust to be given the chance to mold, shape, guide and mentor.”
Susan J. Van Weelden, professor of business and dean of business
With more than 35 years of service at Redeemer, Van Weelden has taught over 20 different courses and served in a variety of leadership roles.
Van Weelden has been a faculty member at Redeemer University for more than 35 years. She has been instrumental in building a business program that balances teaching basic business concepts in lecture format with the use of the case method to incorporate real world experience, problems and opportunities.
Together, Van Weelden and Busuttil have published 12 case studies with Ivey Publishing, the foremost publisher of case studies in Canada. Their publishing success began when Van Weelden shared her Student Guide to the Case Method at a workshop in 2018. Ivey Publishing reached out to her after the workshop to see if she was interested in having the guide published. Since then, over 50,000 copies—18,000 full copies and 37,000 individual chapters—have been sold in 12 different countries around the world, including some significant adopters like California State University – Fullerton, Wilfrid Laurier University and McMaster University. Several chapters have even been translated into Chinese. “That’s gratifying for us because it validates that what we’re doing at Redeemer is good quality work,” says Van Weelden.
Developing Solutions to Real Problems
The case method, pioneered by Harvard Business School, is used in business programs around the world and typically looks at a real-world problem or a decision that needs to be made by a business or organization. Students identify the issue, complete analysis, generate and evaluate a variety of alternatives, then present their decision. It gives them the opportunity to look at real-world situations for real-world organizations, work with a team to think through possible directions and persuasively communicate a proposed solution, showing how and why it can work. The issues and opportunities may be confined to a specific discipline in business, such as accounting, marketing, human resources or strategic management. However, the challenges often involve several disciplines, reflecting the multifaceted nature of business in practice.
The skills gained through the case method are a big part of what effectively prepares Redeemer’s business graduates for success in the workplace and in professional programs.
Anecdotally, in hearing from employers who’ve hired our graduates, they all talk about how well prepared they are … how good their soft skills are, how comfortable they are presenting their ideas …
Van Weelden says they’ve often been able to invite the representative from the organization that they worked with on the case to a class discussion to hear what students have to say, interact with them and talk about what really happened at the organization.
Laurie Busuttil, associate professor of business
A faculty member at Redeemer for over a decade, Busuttil is passionate about working with not-for-profit organizations.
Busuttil says many of the cases that they have published have come about because they’ve met a pedagogical need in the classroom. They’ve also been able to involve Redeemer students in publishing some cases, which is normally an opportunity reserved for graduate studies.
Five of their 12 published cases have involved not-for-profit organizations. Faith-based not-for-profit case studies have included organizations like Eagles Nest Association of Waterdown, International Needs Canada and Options Pregnancy Centre. “We’re excited that some of the cases we’re contributing to Ivey’s collection–and that are being accepted because they’re good cases–feature faith-based organizations. As faculty at Redeemer, that’s a unique way that we can contribute,” says Van Weelden.
Preparing Students for the Marketplace
The most common piece of feedback they get from business alumni is that the use of the case method really prepared them for their role in the workforce. Busuttil says employers agree. “Anecdotally, in hearing from employers who’ve hired our graduates, they all talk about how well prepared they are, what good communicators they are, how good their soft skills are, how comfortable they are presenting their ideas, and that comes out of the work that we do with the case method.
Knowing they’ve contributed to many successful careers for Redeemer graduates over the years has been rewarding. They both agree that building lasting relationships with students over the years has contributed to their effectiveness in the classroom. Despite significant growth in the program over the last few years, they continue to keep a tradition of hosting a special dinner for the graduating class. Busuttil shares the story of one cohort of co-op students staying behind after dinner to lay hands on them and pray for them. “That was a really moving experience.”
“Holding on to Jesus allows you to do business in a way that is different, that others will notice something different about you,” says Busuttil. “And my prayer is that our graduates will be ready, so that when a colleague, customer or employee says, ‘There’s something different about you. What is it?’ the student is prepared to give an answer for the hope that lies within them.”