Featured Professor: Gary May

Professor Gary May knows that teamwork is much more than just a word. For Gary and his students at Clayton State University in Georgia, it’s a dynamic process.

“I use a three-part process for both my undergraduate and MBA classes to teach collaborative team skills within the context of the simulation,” May says. The method provides students with a deeper understanding of team-building and the importance of each functional part of a team.

Professor May starts his team selection in an innovative way. “After an introduction to the simulation, students each make a one-minute presentation on ‘why I should be selected by my peers to lead a Foundation / Capstone team,'” says May. A vote follows, and selected CEOs then conduct short, 90- second ‘speed-dating’ interviews with each student to find specific fits on each team.

Eventually, CEOs meet and select their teams based on a random draw and intertwined selection matrix to distribute the sequence of choices fairly. “The process results in balanced teams with good diversity,” May says. “Students are more motivated because they were chosen by their CEO to be on their team.”

Besides his team selection step, Professor May also incorporates a high-performing team model and progressive peer evaluations into his courses. After coaching the students on how to give and receive unbiased constructive feedback, he puts students through a series of four peer evaluations along with a complete rationale for peer evaluations.

Professor May is a Professor of Management in the College of Business at Clayton State University Georgia. He holds the distinction of being the first Chief Learning Officer (CLO) in corporate America during his time at Millbrook Distribution Services.

By using a creative team building model to get the most out of his student’s experience with Capstone, Professor May is helping to prepare his students for the collaborative demand of real-world management.

Congratulations on being Capsim’s December Featured Professor of the Month, Gary!

If you’d like to share your story on how Capsim’s business simulations have helped your class, contact us at welcome@capsim.com.