SUNY Potsdam Professor Honored for Business Course that Confronts Pandemic Realities and Looks to Future

SUNY Potsdam Faculty Member Dr. Seon Levius Honored for Teaching Students to Solve Business Problems in a Changing World

by Bret Yager

Potsdam, NY (11/06/2020) — Dr. Seon Levius is rising to the challenge of helping students think in new ways.

Levius, an assistant professor of technology in the SUNY Potsdam Department of Business Administration, has been awarded the Thomas L. and Jane D. Russell Distance Education Faculty Excellence Award for his pedagogy using inquiry-based learning. His methods challenge students in his business process analysis class to identify problems and inefficiencies in real-world business processes, then create workarounds and solutions that push the envelope through their use of information systems and technology solutions.

"The goal of education should be to create a generation of problem-solvers," Levius said. "This can only be done if the schools are teaching our students how to use their imaginations."

SUNY Potsdam faculty have made it one of the College's pillars to find innovative ways to stimulate learning through direct experience. This is particularly challenging and also important during a pandemic that is catalyzing rapid change and testing the human ability to adapt and thrive. Levius' pedagogy, where students brainstorm in collaborative online communities, prompts independent and nimble thinking and the development of passion and initiative.

"The ability to use management information systems/IT in this COVID-19 pandemic requires a paradigm shift," Levius said. "I like to say rather than think outside the box, we have to imagine no box exists."

Roadmaps to an organization's or business's success must now consider the effects of COVID-19, which could be an overdue accelerant for unlocking the potential of digital transformation, Levius said.

"A key ingredient is the re-engineering of business processes," he said. "Ultimately, to improve any firm, business or organization, you have to improve your business processes to make it more efficient and effective."

Levius teaches in the Master of Science in management program -- the first fully online degree program at SUNY Potsdam. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Walden University in Minneapolis and a Master of Science degree in information systems management from the University of Liverpool. Levius also completed Harvard Business School Executive Education programs in business analytics and big data, and attended the University of Guyana, where he studied public management.

Before joining SUNY Potsdam, Levius led the information and communication technology portfolios for two Caribbean intergovernmental and multilateral agencies based in Barbados. His teaching draws from sharing this eclectic knowledge and life experiences to inspire lifelong curiosity.

The Thomas L. and Jane D. Russell Distance Education Faculty Excellence Award recognizes SUNY Potsdam faculty who are conducting their courses in an exemplary manner, providing them with a financial incentive to improve their distance education courses and rewarding those who make their courses available as widely as possible by removing all unnecessary barriers. The Russells endowed the award to encourage high impact practices in SUNY Potsdam's distance education program.

SUNY Potsdam's Department of Business Administration program provides students with an understanding of how for-profit and not-for-profit organizations function effectively and efficiently. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of accounting, finance, human resources, law, management, marketing, information technology and operations. For more information, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/SOEPS/BusinessAdmin.

###

Media Attachments