Emmons Heads Christensen Center
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| Photo by Neal Hamerg |
Willis Emmons (MBA ’85, PHDBE ’89) has rejoined HBS as the first director of the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning. Emmons, who began his new position in October, taught at HBS from 1989 to 1999 as a member of the BGIE unit. He has spent the past five years teaching MBA, executive education, and undergraduate business courses at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he received the Graduate Teaching Award in 2003.
“The overarching vision for the center is to become the acknowledged leader in case-method teaching and participant-centered learning,” says Emmons. In addition, the center will conduct and disseminate research on best practices and innovations in case-method pedagogy, and serve as a convener for symposia on teaching and learning.Ê
Funding for the center has been an important goal of the School’s ongoing capital campaign, and a number of key gifts made it possible to move ahead with its creation. While the center’s permanent home on campus has not yet been determined, Emmons expects to begin hiring staff in the near future.
Over the coming months, Emmons will work closely with the center’s advisory committee — Valerie Porciello (PMD 77, 2002), executive director of the Division of Research and Faculty Development, and Professors Dwight Crane, Tom DeLong, David Garvin (chair), and Janice Hammond — to define programs and services.
Although the initial focus of the center will be on the HBS community, Emmons envisions that the scope and impact of the center’s activities will extend over time to professional education more broadly within and outside Harvard University. Says Emmons: “I could not be more excited about this opportunity to build on the legacy of Chris Christensen for future generations of teachers and students.”
