Working Class

Experiential learning doesn’t get better than this.

“The students in my Business Consulting class function like actual consultants with their ‘clients,’” explains D’Angelo, MBA ‘93, a clinical professor who has been bringing real-life industry experience to LeBow since she joined the faculty in 1993. “Students develop roles within their mock organizations, based on their strengths, and work to solve the companies’ problems. My role is to serve as the students’ consultant and to be a facilitator of learning. I facilitate the knowledge by creating experiences and opportunities for them to learn in different ways.“

Many of these consulting experiences have been orchestrated by D’Angelo through EdVenture Partners (EVP), a company that works with academic institutions by facilitating marketing and learning experiences for students. EVP brings together students and companies that are looking for solutions to specific business problems.

“The students in my Business Consulting class function like actual consultants with their clients.”

Currently, D’Angelo’s class is consulting with Chevrolet, helping the car manufacturer create a marketing plan for three of its poorer-performing brands that are being targeted to college-aged students.

Earlier this fall, Chevrolet executives arrived on campus to explain the company’s challenges to the class. The executives brought with them the cars the students will promote, giving the students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, the opportunity to explore the sound systems and ask questions about the cars’ designs and features. The only downside was they didn’t get to take the cars for a test spin.

As part of the learning process, the client gives the students several thousands of dollars toward the project for research and development that the students must manage and spend wisely. While the class is first and foremost a learning experience, there is also a competitive aspect to the program. LeBow students are, in fact, competing with eight other schools across the nation, which are also participating in the same program. The school with the winning idea — meaning, Chevrolet implements the marketing plan — wins the honor, plus valuable prizes, such as computers and other electronics. Because of the competitive nature of the class, D’Angelo handpicks the students according to their academic ability and their work ethic. She also ensures that the students have a diverse array of academic strengths to address all of the issues that may arise during the project.

It’s this attention to detail and her dedication to her profession that have garnered D’Angelo the respect and love of both her students and her colleagues.

“It’s beyond teaching them about finance and accounting, assets and liabilities, although I love talking about that, too.”

“Dana brings strong real-world experience to academia,” says Chris Lindbergh ‘97, who was D’Angelo’s first student at LeBow and now a frequent guest speaker during her lectures. “She is also young at heart, which enables her to connect with her students and understand their personal challenges.”

In fact, it’s not uncommon for students to come to her with their personal issues because of the warmth and kindness she exudes in the classroom.

“Upon returning to Drexel from my second co-op at home in Las Vegas, I felt uneasy about my plan of study,” says Michael Capovilla ‘10, who was D’Angelo’s student for several quarters and served as her teaching assistant for University 101. “I was homesick and stressed out, and I was on the verge of an emotional collapse. I went to Dana for advice and guidance, and she took the time to meet with me. She provided the support and mentoring I needed to work through the stress and find the right academic path for me to follow.

“The best way I can describe her is to say she has the very best qualities of a teacher and mother,” Capovilla continues. “She is patient, kind and very perceptive. She challenges her students to think critically and opens up discussion as a major teaching tool. Her style is practical and helps to expose students to real-world challenges by assigning work that one could reasonably find in the board rooms of today’s modern business environment.”

Maria Papadakis ‘08, MBA ‘10 agrees. The daughter of the late Drexel president, Taki Papadakis, Maria was a student in several of D’Angelo’s classes as an undergraduate.

“Dana thinks outside the box with teaching,” she says. “She gives students not only incredible hands-on learning experience — which is what Drexel is all about — but she has taught me things that have helped in both my academic and occupational career that I wouldn’t have learned without her. That creativity and personal touch that she brings to teaching is what makes her stand out so much.”

Papadakis can also relate to the students currently enrolled in D’Angelo’s class. She participated in D’Angelo’s Business Consulting Class with Subaru as her client. While her class fell short of the win, capturing second place, Papadakis says it was one of her fondest memories at LeBow.

“I remember Dana having us over at 11 p.m. to her home the day before our big presentation to the CEO and CMO of Subaru, as well as over 75 Subaru employees,” Papadakis says. “She made us dinner, and worked through the night with us while her family was even there to lend a helping hand. She is one of those people for whom work doesn’t stop after class ends; it could be any hour, often midnight. Although we came in second, you can still see our concept in Subaru advertisements the past couple years, the ‘Fall in Love’ campaign. I wouldn’t have had such an incredible experience helping create a car ad campaign had it not been for Dana.”

“I feel that it’s my responsibility to really prepare my students for the business world,” D’Angelo says. “It’s beyond teaching them about finance and accounting, assets and liabilities, although I love talking about that, too. A lot of business is done on the golf course, and people need to be able to speak the language of business. I think of my classes as business meetings and my students as my colleagues.”

D’Angelo employs several role- playing techniques in her classes and uses techniques, such as Teaching Around the Wheel, to ensure that her lessons are understood by everyone.

“There are so many different learning styles and every class has a group of students that learns and works differently,” she says. “I design my class to ensure that everyone benefits from the course by incorporating different learning techniques such as independent work, group work, lectures, presentations and online projects.”

Her commitment and excellence in teaching have not only been recognized throughout the years by her students but also by her peers. Throughout her career she has garnered many teaching awards, and just this past year, she was recognized with the University’s coveted Barbara G. Hornum Award for Teaching Excellence. (A LeBow professor has won this University teaching award the past three years.) She has also been recognized by the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence and has won the Provost’s Award for Innovation, among other accolades. Needless to say, D’Angelo takes her teaching responsibility very seriously.

She was one of the first fellows asked to join the Center for Teaching Excellence in 2008, where she works on a variety of programs and research to improve classroom experiences for students. Recently, she was in a group that spearheaded a program to work with faculty to improve their teaching. The group implemented a volunteer peer review program in which interested faculty work together on areas they want to improve.

And while D’Angelo is now working with other teachers to improve their skills, interestingly, teaching was never on D’Angelo’s radar.

“I was finishing my MBA, and [Vice Dean] Tom Hindelang asked me if I wanted to teach a class since there was an unexpected opening. I jumped at the chance. Timing is a part of life.”

And teaching has been a part of her life ever since.

“She has an incredible gift at showing students how they can work together most effectively as a team, and I think that’s one of the most important concepts one can learn for business,” Lindbergh adds. “It is often forgotten as something that needs to be taught, and Dana does that so well. One of the most wonderful traits about Dana is she believes in her students and shows them how they can be their best.”