Dr. John Gallagher, MC professor of management, to retire after 24 years of service
As he prepares for his final lecture and impending retirement, Dr. John Gallagher, professor of management at Maryville College, can’t help but wax nostalgic about falling in love with the campus he’s called home since 1998.
He’s a self-described “liberal arts patriot,” having obtained a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Boston College before pivoting into a corporate business career. His company transferred him to East Tennessee in 1982, he said, and his daughter began dancing with the Appalachian Ballet Company — now a fixture in downtown Maryville, but at the time operating out of the third floor of MC’s Fayerweather Hall.
“I would bring her over here for ballet lessons or ‘Nutcracker’ rehearsals, and while she was dancing, I would go to a Maryville College football game or wander around the campus,” Gallagher said. “I always liked the sense of the place, so when my corporate career took a different direction, I already had it in the back of my mind that I might want to teach someday.”
Bringing humanity to the numbers
After earning a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, he enrolled in that school’s Ph.D program in 1995. The dean of the UT College of Business at the time, Warren Neel, also happened to serve on the Board of Directors at Maryville College and suggested Gallagher might look into an open faculty position in the MC Division of Social Sciences.
“One thing led to another, and here I am,” Gallagher said. “The one course I’ve always taught is Strategic Management. I was specifically hired for that, but from the beginning, I’ve taught many of the required courses for the major: Principles of Management, Finance, Marketing and International Business among them. In addition, I’ve always taught core courses: First-Year Seminar, Perspectives on the Social Order and Ethics.”
Since 2007, Dr. Gallagher has been involved in researching the business practices of companies that participate in the Economy of Communion, a worldwide movement with goals of using private enterprise to address social problems. In 2014, he and Dr. Jeanne Buckeye from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, published the book “Structures of Grace: Business Practices of the Economy of Communion,” and the principles explored, he said, dovetail with his liberal arts approach to teaching.
“In my mind, what that means is an emphasis on the sociological aspects of business,” he said. “That’s not to ignore the economic aspects, but one of the exercises I have used in class and some other settings is to ask the students to identify their worst experiences as an employee as well as their best. And for the next set of questions, I ask them about the worst and best experiences they’ve ever had as customers.
“When the students tell me, ‘Here’s an experience I’ve had,’ I push them: Why was that so bad? How did that experience make you feel?’ And I do the same with the good experiences, and invariably, in all cases, it comes down, essentially, to either an assault on, or an affirmation of, their fundamental dignity. It always comes down to questions of respect.”
That, he added, illuminates the human dimension of management and business — equally as important as financial principles and basic tenets of economics. And because those experiences of respect and affirmation — or the lack thereof — are universal, they become the building blocks upon which the rest of the coursework can be instructed.
“If we understand that dimension of it, the rest of it stands to follow. Instead of asking, ‘What do we know about organizations?,’ we’re asking, ‘What do we know about human behavior and organizations? What do we know about human behavior in other dimensions?’” he said. “Well, we know there’s such a thing as dysfunctional organizations, and we know what makes them less functional or more functional. Even a core course like the Principles of Finance has a human dimension to it, because an organization’s financial statements tell a story about what’s important to that organization and what that organization values.”
Last Lecture and reception planned
By incorporating sociological elements into academic coursework, liberal arts institutions like Maryville College infuse textbook and lab work with humanity and empathy, Gallagher pointed out — and such a commitment is “fundamentally what separates Maryville College from other institutions,” he added. Such principles will likely be included in his Last Lecture — an emerging tradition for retiring MC faculty — which will take place at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Lambert Recital Hall of the Clayton Center for the Arts, followed by a reception in the Clayton Center’s William Baxter Lee Grand Foyer.
“I’m really looking at it as an opportunity to reflect with friends and colleagues on what this institution is and what it means and what it has meant,” he said. “In a way, it will be less about me and more about the College, because although it will certainly be a bit of a personal reflection, I just happen to be the person on stage.”
The working title, he added, is “Things Not Yet Said” — a bit cryptic, he acknowledged with a grin, but that’s by design. It will, however, be a celebration of Maryville College, he added.
“One of the things I value about the College is the opportunity we all have to sort of say our piece, both in our words and in our actions over the course of the time we’re here. At the same time, the College has given me a lot, so it’s an act of gratitude in some ways.”
He has no firm retirement plans — “I’m not a believer in a compartmentalized life, and I’ve already traveled a bit,” he said — he and his wife, Patricia, have plenty to keep them occupied, with 12 grandchildren and several step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And while he’s stepping away from the classroom, he and Patricia live nearby, and the same campus walks that first attracted him to Maryville College will certainly be a part of his life after retirement.
“I think there is an aura about particular places, geographical places, and this is one of them,” he said. “Exactly what that aura is, I don’t know if I can put that into words … whether it’s the view of the mountains or whether it’s the symmetry of the campus, it’s a very welcoming space, and at the same time, it’s an expansive space.
“And then there’s the fact that it’s a college campus, and that’s always been a special environment to me. I almost always enjoy being on a college campus, knowing what goes on there, and I’m glad to have found a place for myself at Maryville College.”
For those unable to attend Gallagher’s Last Lecture, the talk will be streamed live on the College’s Facebook page. A reception will follow in the William Baxter Lee Grand Foyer of the Clayton Center.
In lieu of congratulatory gifts, Dr. Gallagher has requested that donations be made to support global education. Gifts of any size are welcomed and can be made online at http://maryvillecollege.edu/givetoday. Be sure to add “Dr. John Gallagher’s retirement” in the comment box under “gift preferences.” If you would like to contribute in another way, please contact Eric Bellah at eric.bellah@maryvillecollege.edu or 865-981-8225.