Speaker: Michael Bodman, Finance Professor; Innovator/Leader
Your Name, what brought you to Regis
Michael Bodman: Hello, my name is Michael Bodman, and I am a Finance Professor here at Regis. What brought me here was a desire to both teach and learn myself, uh, from imparting the knowledge I've gained during my career and finance. I wanted to find a way to give back to others. One teacher once told me you'll be fortunate if you spend your career doing three things: learning, earning, and giving back. And this is, I've done a lot of learning and earning and I felt like it was time for me to find a way to give back. And so, uh, about a year ago, I applied to become an instructor here at Regis and I was fortunate enough to, uh, be selected for this opportunity. And uh yeah, Uh so that's, that's about it. I, since I came here, I, I have established a strong sense of connection to the mission of the, uh, of a Jesuit institution like Regis. I, uh, it resonates with me, the idea of a, uh, cura personalis or a whole, uh, personal education. And, the uh, um, Ignatian tradition, Saint Ignatius and the tradition of Jesuit education is something that I've been familiar with for a long time, but, I've, uh, and I've always admired, but I, now I get to be a part of it. So it's, it's a, uh, fantastic, uh, opportunity. So, yeah, anyway, that's a bit about my story, about what brought me to Regis and, uh, and, and why I'm here and, uh, the connection I, I feel with this, uh, institution and this, uh, tradition of Jesuit education. Thanks.
Chose a word to describe yourself. (e.g., innovator, leader, immigrant, etc.) Why did you choose this word?
Michael Bodman: So in terms of a word to describe myself, I would, I would choose, I would choose two words actually, uh, innovator and leader. And in both cases, I'd say I'm probably more of an aspiring innovator and leader than I am an actual one. So these are goals that I aim for, but I don't consider myself to be exemplary in, in either respect. I'm more of an investor. I have, in addition to teaching at Regis, I, uh, run an investment and trading company, where I invest my capital in innovators and leaders in financial technology. So, I may not be the greatest innovator or leader myself, but I can recognize it in others, and I strive to become, uh, those qualities myself. So, I'm doing what I can to, uh, develop myself and improve, and, and, uh, and the qualities that are needed for effective innovation and leadership. I think these are what drive economic growth, which is something that I'm passionate about. And, I think makes a huge difference in, uh, like, in the well being of people in, in a, in a, in a given country. Uh, this country has the largest and strongest economy in the world, and I believe it's because of, because of innovation and, uh, uh leaders within the start up community, who have created new ways of doing things that drive economic growth.
How does that word fit with your experience at Anderson College of Business and Computing?
Michael Bodman: I'd say those words, I chose innovator and leader, or more specifically innovation and leadership, fit quite well with my experience at Regis so far. So, I've participated in, as a faculty member, uh, uh, supporting the, uh, Innovation Challenge, and leadership is a quality I have strived to develop as, as an instructor and as a quality, I have also strived to teach that quality to my students. I believe that, uh, thought leadership is, is the precursor to actual leadership. So, when I teach my courses, I emphasize qualities that contribute to leadership, such as critical thinking, for example. If you're going to be a leader, you need to embrace change, and that is gonna be difficult sometimes. You need to think critically about the future and how things are going to change. You need, you need to lean into that and, uh, be willing to make difficult choices to adapt to, uh, change. And, and these are all, um, I'd say, let's say, uh, lessons that I seek to weave into my teaching and my assignments here at, uh, at Regis.
