Biography
Daniel Leland studied Business Administration at St Joseph’s College of Maine, where he played baseball and was captain of the 1984 team. He obtained his MBA at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine and his Doctorate in Economics and Social Impact Management from Walden University in Minnesota. He has also obtained a Certificate in Certified Financial Planning from Boston University and Business Analytics from the Wharton School.
Dan is an Associate Professor of Business at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine. He is a former Associate Professor head Woman’s Basketball Coach at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, as well as Head Men’s and Woman’s Basketball and Cross-Country Coach at the University of Maine Machias.
His published works include a qualitative case study analysis “Exploring Craft Brewery Owners’ Success Though Stakeholder Involvement.” Daniel Leland has served as the State of Maine representative to the Open Educational Resource Committee for the New England Board of Higher Education.
In addition to his teaching and faculty role, Daniel Leland has also coached baseball and basketball for over 20 years at the high school, and college USCAA and NCAA Division III levels. He holds the record for the most wins in a single season at the University of Maine at Machias, where he led the basketball team to the USCAA National Final Four in 2012.
Prior to his work in the educational field, Dan owned and operated a chain of retail bakeries in Maine under the names Foley’s and Adams’ Bakery. His bakeries were voted Maine’s Best Bakeries in 2004, 2005, and 2006 by the readers of the Maine Sunday Telegram and the Portland Press Herald.
When he is not teaching Daniel Leland is a competitive bike racer. Dan races nationally and internationally for Enve Racing and in New England for locally for AMP Racing. In 2019, Dan placed third in a three-day stage race that included a final time trial up the infamous Alpe d’Huez in France.
In addition, Dan also loves to ski, hike, and travel with his wife Briana. They reside in Falmouth, Maine.
Teaching Philosophy
I began my teaching journey as a high school coach and an adult education instructor in small business and bookkeeping. Now, after several years, finding myself teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level in a School of Business program. In my fifteen or so years of teaching, I have experienced several shifts in our world which has resulted in changes in course delivery and engaging student interaction. Through these changes my teaching philosophy has developed into four principles. Colligate teachers must create authentic assignments, develop practical assessments, provide individual and thoughtful feedback, and build a positive and trustful relationship with their students.
Authentic Assignments
I am committed to providing unique and current tasks to my students as learning tools in the classroom. I believe it is important to develop the skills they will use in their future business roles. For example, in a class recently we were discussing the topic of interpersonal skills as a manager. I used the business the actual email correspondence that Mark Zuckerburg used when the CEO of Meta had to communicate the massive layoff news to their employees. The correspondence was available on their Meta corporate website. It provided a road map for active discussion on what tools can and should be used under a variety of different messages management must make. The case of an actual business example provided something a textbook could never do. This makes for an important component in today’s inclusive learning environments and develops creative thinking skills. I find practical assignments motivate students to learn.
Practical Assessments
I believe it is important to provide grading assessments that provide a true measure of mastering skills. Not all students perform well on multiple choice exams. Therefore, I provide a variety of assignments where some are written, while others may be presentations, group, or project based. When teaching the topic of a minimum viable product in my entrepreneurship class, I require the student to make an actual working prototype. Group assignments, enhance and develop skills necessary to work collaboratively. This is an important skill to learn, but a tough one to assess. In these group assignments, I give the students the opportunity to grade others in their group (as well as themselves) which I take into consideration when providing the overall grade for the assignment.
Feedback
Formative feedback is a critical component of student leading. With honest feedback, the student can better understand the concept, and improve their work to master the skill. I provide detailed instructions, especially large projects which enables me to provide extensive opportunities for feedback and engagement. For example, in my Microeconomics class, I have a persuasive essay assignment. I include a detailed grading rubric and template for the assignment. In addition, we spend an entire class breaking down what a good persuasive essay is including proper thesis statement development and paragraph structure. In my Macroeconomic class we gave a semester long policy paper which I have them submit in four sections. This way they get feedback on the first section and can improve as the semester progresses and the additional sections are due. I have found that timely feedback is very important to the student’s growth in these situations. With oral presentations, I openly ask the students to provide peer feedback, so they get an opinion outside their own.
Trust
I make a point of learning my students’ names as early as I can in the semester. I also arrive early and stay a few minutes after, so I am available for students to talk to me and develop some rapport. I have an open-door policy and office hours. I inform my students, if my door is open, that means you can come in. We can talk about anything you want, class assignments or last night’s game.
Degrees
- D.B.A., Social Impact and Economics, Walden University
- M.B.A., Thomas College
- B.S.B.A., Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Licenses & Certifications
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Business Analytics – Wharton School of Business
- CFP Certificate – Boston University
Professional Affiliations
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Society for the Advancement of Management
Presentations / Conferences
- Journal of Economic Teaching, 2021, 2024
Committee Involvement
- Former Faculty Senate President 2017-2022
Campus Involvement
- Faculty representative for the SAM team and Investment Society
Community Involvement
- Former Head Woman’s Basketball Coach
- Maine Wheelers Association
Athletic Involvement
- Former Head Women’s Basketball Coach
