Entrepreneurship and Applied Business Technology Faculty & Staff
Department Chair
Faculty
Dr. Jason Davidson is an Assistant Professor in the Lacy School of Business, where he teaches Data Analysis and Business Modeling, Business Intelligence, Data Network Engineering, and introductory management information system courses. With a background in media development, prior to joining the faculty at Butler, he worked in the technical publishing industry. Along with teaching, he currently serves as an IT consultant for regional businesses in the Indianapolis area and is currently serving as the Vice President of the Association of Technology Management and Applied Engineering EECT division. He holds a B.A. in telecommunication arts from Butler University, an M.B.A. from Morehead State University, and Ph.D. in technology management and engineering from Indiana State University. He was the recipient of the 2018 Lacy school of business Dean’s Teaching award, 2023 Experiential teaching award, and was the 22-23 outstanding professor of the year. He lives in Indianapolis, IN. with his wife Sarah and Son Miles.
I was raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey, a bed-room community in the suburbs of New York City. I commuted to New Jersey Institute of Technology where I earned a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science. My Masters thesis was a business tool that queried a project plan such that the consequences of delayed tasks on an overall project schedule could be analyzed. After college, I moved to Virginia to pursue my career and then onto Indianapolis, Indiana.
As of 2021, I completed my first book. It’s an account of my Great Grandfathers role in the first World War. Researching the specifics of how he enlisted, his travels from Chicago to the front lines in France, and his subsequent service was one of the more interesting things I have accomplished.
Dr. Stephanie Fernhaber teaches a variety of courses within the Entrepreneurship & Innovation program at the undergraduate and graduate levels including The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Business Practicum, First-Year Business Experience, and Social Entrepreneurship.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Fernhaber conducts research in the areas of international entrepreneurship, grassroots innovation, and new venture strategy. Her research has been published in various academic journals including the Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice. Dr. Fernhaber has also co-created four books. She serves as the Field Editor for International Entrepreneurship at the Journal of Business Venturing.
At the community level, Dr. Fernhaber has a passion for spurring innovation with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship.
I have been fortunate to have a diverse working experience. I have owned several businesses and spent a good portion of my career working in management within the corporate retail industry. I specialize in building value within teams and organizations and love my opportunities at Butler. The students are amazing and I am inspired by their excitement and hard work as they dive into our time together. The faculty and staff at Butler are supportive and the collaboration enables a strong and productive work environment.
Chad has been in IT since he was 13, teaching his first class to eight- and nine-year-old’s BASIC on Timex Sinclair Z80 computers. All the way through his undergraduate Integrated Science (ISP) and Mathematics double major at Northwestern, he worked with and around computers, landing a Systems Analyst role at Eli Lilly and Company right out of school. After six years at Lilly, he and his family took a brief side trip to Evansville, Indiana at the corporate offices of Shoe Carnival to help them out of a technical mess before returning to Indianapolis as a Systems Consultant with C/Soft (Haverstick) for a few years.
Teaching himself networking online and acquiring multiple Cisco networking certifications, Chad then jumped to a Network Engineer and Data and Networking Department Manager at Communications Products where he enjoyed projects in telecommunications and security for almost seven years. His first stint at Butler was coming on to join the IT team as a network engineer in 2006. After a few team lead roles in IT, he became the Director of Systems and Infrastructure in 2012 and then moved to Senior Director of Technology Development in 2014. In 2017, after working on a joint project, Chad left Butler to join Butler Business Consulting Group client MJ Insurance as their first Chief Information Officer.
After guiding a complete technology restoration, and adapting MJ to remote work during the pandemic of 2020, he left after four years for a career change, starting a Masters’ degree in Educational Psychology and becoming an adjunct professor. He was hired full-time as a Lecturer in the Lacy School of Business at Butler in 2023.
I spent the first half of my career working for global corporations and was fortunate to have gained a world of immensely valuable experience and knowledge. I then made the leap from the corporate world to full time entrepreneur. Having the educational and corporate background was a great foundation! Now I own several businesses, one non profit, and teach entrepreneurship and human resources classes at Butler University. I absolutely love teaching at Butler, the students amaze and impress me everyday!
Educational Background
B.S. Corporate Finance – Ball State University
B.S. Management, Entrepreneurship – Ball State University
M.B.A – Ball State University
Corporate Background
Thompson Consumer Electronics
General Motors, Delco Remy
Roche Diagnostics
Current Company Ownership
KLM Business Consulting
NaShara Mitchell is a SUCCESS advocate reframing gaps to opportunities in education and community. As a Clinical Professor in the Lacy School of Business and Innovation Lab Director at Butler University her work focuses on interdisciplinary learning and social innovation through people-centered approaches. She teaches a variety of courses across the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in entrepreneurship, law, and the global environment in both in-person and online formats. In 2018, she was named Professor of the Year by the MBA program. She translates research into practice with student ideas and alumni startups in the Innovation Lab where they can Think It, Build It, Test It, Scale It.
Beyond academia, NaShara founded several small businesses and serves as an advisor to for-profit and nonprofit organizations. NaShara earned her BA from DePauw University along with a Masters in Higher Education and Student Affairs and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University.
Scott Molander is a co-founder of Hat World, Inc. and the former Chief Operating Officer of Lids Sports Group. Hat World opened its first store in November of 1995 and grew to more than 150 stores in less than five years. In April of 2001, Hat World acquired its largest competitor, the Lids Corporation, and added 300 stores to the company. Hat World, Inc. was acquired by Genesco, Inc. in April of 2004. By the time Scott retired from Lids in 2016, the company had revenues in excess of $950m. He has earned several awards for his entrepreneurial successes and was admitted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame in 2015. He has been a guest speaker and served on various boards and committees in both Indiana and North Dakota.Scott was born in Crosby, North Dakota to Gary and Donna Molander and is the oldest of 4 children. He graduated from Divide County High School in 1983. He earned his associate of Arts degree from University of North Dakota Williston, now Williston State College, in 1985 and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Dickson State University in 1988. He earned his MBA from Indiana State University in 2016.Scott has been married for 23 years to Carolyn and they have two daughters, Mary and Sarah.
Murdock is a purpose-driven, action-oriented, servant-leader and proud product of Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Butler University in 2017 with degrees in Political Science and Religion. After graduating from Butler, he pursued his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, graduating in May of 2022. In addition to lecturing at Butler, Murdock coaches Black entrepreneurs on how to leverage the power in their stories to grow their businesses, brands and communities. He also serves on the Advisory Board for Butler University’s Hub for Black Affairs & Community Engagement.
Jim is the CEO of Scrivner Solutions Inc. which provides consultation in healthcare operations, financial management, and data analytics/visualization. In addition, Jim is a Lecturer at the Lacy School of Business at Butler University. Jim is also the interim Radiology Program Director at Columbus Regional Hospital. Prior to this position, Jim worked in the healthcare field for 42-plus years. He held the position of hospital Imaging Director and was part of a six-hospital system that utilizes nascent imaging and medical technologies that help improve patient outcomes. Jim is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Strategic Management at Sullivan University. Jim’s interest is centered on the impact of technological innovation on organizational behavior in the healthcare arena.
In addition, Jim is an adjunct faculty member at Sullivan University and teaches courses in Radiography at Sullivan University. Jim also teaches courses in research, methodology, and data analysis using R studio programming, SPSS, and Atlas ti8 as a corporate faculty member at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Jim’s goal is to add value to the student’s academic journey and to provide the community with opportunities for growth and better outcomes through education.
Dr. Hongjiang Xu is a Full Professor in Management Information Systems with Lacy School of Business (LSB) at Butler University. She is the Department Chair for Applied Business Technology department as LSB.
Prior to join Butler, Dr. Xu was an Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University. Her Ph.D. dissertation titled Critical Success Factors for Accounting Information Systems Data Quality was completed at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. She has a master of commerce in information systems degree from the University of Queensland in Australia.
Dr. Xu has taught many different undergraduate and graduate classes. Such as, Excel Business Applications, Information Technology, Web Design and E-commerce, Database Management, Systems Analysis and Design, Enterprise Systems, Information Security, Accounting Information Systems, IT Auditing and Forensic Accounting, Internship, Introduction to Management Information Systems, Intro to Business, and Web Applications. Dr. Xu has also supervised undergraduate and graduate students research projects.
Dr. Xu’s research interests are in the areas of data and information quality, cybersecurity, cloud computing, accounting information systems, ERP systems, electronic commerce, social media, online teaching and higher education. Dr. Xu’s research has broader impacts in the related academic and practical fields. She has published papers in leading academic journals, including Journal of Computing Information Systems, Journal of Database Management, Industrial Management & Data Systems, ACM Journal of Data and Information Quality, Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, Information & Computer Security and Journal of Information Systems Education, among others.
For more information about Dr. Xu’s research, please visit ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hongjiang_Xu and
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=A_lwwtgAAAAJ.