Graduate Business Programs marketing assistant and MBA candidate Nathaniel Goldberg recently held a Zoom interview—technological glitches and all—with School of Business Marketing and Leadership instructor Brian McCarthy to discuss the opportunities and challenges of learning and teaching remotely.
As a leader in industry and on campus, McCarthy offered some messages that are important for everyone teaching at this time:
- McCarthy believes PSU is uniquely situated to adopt remote teaching and learning. “We’ve always taken seriously our obligation to let knowledge serve the city and to be very inclusive,” McCarthy said.
- McCarthy also offered advice on how faculty can build positive relationships with students in a remote setting. “It begins with empathy,” he explained. “Just caring about each other, trying to remember what people might be going through, and putting ourselves in their place.”
- Despite these challenging times, McCarthy argued that PSU must still “honor the degree.” He insisted that “We maintain the academic rigor, and we make sure that the work is hard and relevant. Most of all, he said, “We keep in mind that students want to learn.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed businesses and institutions everywhere to develop new ways to communicate. Our interview with Brian McCarthy marked our first vlog post. If you enjoyed it and would like to see more of these types of posts in the future, please share on social media!
Portland State University Graduate Business Blog 