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Department of Business Administration
No matter where in business you plan to go, one of our six undergraduate degrees or three master’s level degrees can help you get there. The Department of Business Administration provides you with a foundation of a broad liberal education before beginning a more intensive study of specific areas of business.
Degrees and Minors
Faculty and Staff
Christine Harrington
Associate Dean, Associate Professor
Christine Harrington
Associate Dean, Associate Professor | College of Business
Foster Roberts
Department Chair, Associate Professor | College of Business
Dr. Foster Roberts is the Chairperson and Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration at the College of Business, Auburn University Montgomery. Before joining Auburn University Montgomery, he served as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Southeast Missouri State University. Dr. Roberts holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Mississippi, along with an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery.
With extensive experience in teaching, Dr. Roberts specializes in strategic analysis, business strategy, business ethics, small business management, and entrepreneurship. His research interests focus on social innovation, social entrepreneurship, leadership, team dynamics, and management history. His work has been published in esteemed academic journals, including the International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, Management Decision, Business Horizons, and Journal of Management Education. He has also presented his research at prestigious conferences such as the Academy of Management, Southern Management Association, and North American Management Society.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Roberts is deeply involved in the professional community. He currently serves as the President of the North American Management Society, a division of MBAA International. He previously held a position on the Executive Committee of the Academy of Management’s Management History Division from 2013 to 2020, representing Student and Junior Faculty interests. Dr. Roberts is also a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Management History and the Journal of the North American Management Society.
Dorcia Bolton
Assistant Professor | College of Business
Dorcia E. Bolton is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Auburn University at Montgomery. Her research centers on theory development for marketing strategy and empirical testing at the intersection of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. Her research portfolio encompasses a variety of projects aimed at tackling pressing marketing challenges, particularly within the dynamic landscape of evolving technology and firms’ ongoing pursuit of competitive advantage. Her research has appeared in leading marketing journals and conferences such as the Journal of Marketing Theory of Practice, the Journal of Consumer Marketing, the Academy of Marketing Science, the American Marketing Association, the Society for Marketing Advances, and the Association for Consumer Research.
Courses Taught: Marketing Strategy, Marketing Research and Data Analysis, Buyer Behavior, Principles of Marketing, Services Marketing, Professional Selling.
Tewhan Hahn
Professor; Distinguished Chair | College of Business
Dr. Hahn is the distinguished teaching professor in finance at Auburn University at Montgomery. He joined AUM in 2006 after serving at University of Idaho from 2001 to 2006 and at University of Alabama in 2021. At AUM, he has taught primarily intermediate financial management (FINA3620) and entrepreneurial finance (FINA 3500) for undergraduate and financial valuation (FINA6630) for graduate. As the faculty advisor to investment club, he coached student teams to participate in competitions such as CFA Institute Research Challenge and Private Business Valuation Challenge and took students to investment forums like Global Asset Management Education (G.A.M.E.). Dr. Hahn obtained his M.B.A. degree from University of Missouri at Columbia in 1995 and his Ph. D. in finance from University of Alabama in 2000. He has published more than 30 academic research articles in the referred academic journals such as Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and Journal of Financial Research, and Review of Financial Economics. He has been awarded numerous research grants and recognitions. He is currently the editor of Southern Business and Economic Journal published by the college of business at AUM.
Rhea Ingram
Professor | College of Business
Rhea Ingram, Ph. D., is an award-winning marketing professor at AUM. She is passionate about innovative thought and leading change. Her students engage in service-learning projects involving hands-on experiential learning, specifically with non-profit organizations.
She is a native of Troy, AL. She attended Troy University, earning her BS in Marketing and MBA. Later, she attended the University of Kentucky, where she earned her Ph. D. in Marketing. She resides in Pike Road with her spouse and has a large immediate and extended family.
Rhea is very active in serving her university, profession, and community. She was the former dean of the College of Business at AUM for eight years and currently serves on the boards of Leadership Montgomery, Family Sunshine Center, and Alabama Technology Foundation. She recently was honored as the Best of Board Volunteer of the Year by Hands On River Region (April, 2024). Rhea’s corporate experience was in sales and marketing for a manufacturing firm and an economic development organization.
Her research has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Electronic Markets, and other journals and conference proceedings.
Tiffany Jackman
Assistant Professor | College of Business
Scott Kiker
Associate Professor | College of Business
Dr. Scott Kiker is an Associate Professor of Management in the department of Business Administration at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). He completed his BSBA in accounting from the University of South Carolina and later graduated with a PhD in Management from the University of Florida in 1997. His research interests include the effects of servant leadership on organizationally valued outcomes, effective ethical management practices, predictors of job choice, and the impact of artificial intelligence technologies on the classroom experience. Dr. Kiker has been employed at AUM since 2002, and has taught a variety of classes at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and across multiple delivery methods and platforms
Michael McEachern
Executive in Residence
Michael McEachern
Executive in Residence | College of Business
Dr. Michael L. McEachern is a distinguished healthcare leader with over 35 years of executive experience and a strong academic background. Dr. McEachern has held numerous high-level leadership positions, including Chief Executive Officer roles at several hospitals across Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, and Ohio. He brings a wealth of experience in healthcare administration, operational leadership, and transformative healthcare practices.
Dr. McEachern earned his EdD in Transformative Leadership from Concordia University in 2019, with a dissertation focusing on the role of Leadership in the Adoption of Innovation by Critical Care Nurses. He also holds an MS in Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and a BBA in Human Resources from Lamar University.
In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. McEachern is an accomplished educator. At Auburn University at Montgomery, he teaches courses in Leadership and Innovation in Healthcare, Healthcare Policy, and Quality Improvement. He is actively involved in academic service, chairing the Graduate Curriculum Committee, and contributing to the Dean’s Leadership Committee, CAHME Accreditation, and Assessment of Learning for AACSB.
As a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and a Life Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (LFACHE), Dr. McEachern is deeply committed to advancing healthcare leadership. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and actively participates in national healthcare discussions.
Dr. McEachern’s professional memberships include the National Association of Health Services Executives, and his career is marked by his dedication to improving healthcare quality, innovative leadership, and mentoring future healthcare leaders
Dawn McKell
Visiting Professor | College of Business
Visiting Professor of Marketing and Sales in the College of Business at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). I came to AUM in 2018 to launch the Masters in Healthcare Administration Program. I teach Healthcare Planning and Marketing and Marketing at the Graduate level, Social and Ethical Responsibility in the Auburn University at Montgomery Undergraduate to Graduate Bridge Program, and Professional Sales, Competitive Strategy and Innovation, and Business Communications, at the Undergraduate level.
From an education standpoint, I hold a Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree in Medical Technology, a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Administration, an Education Specialist degree, and a Doctorate in Business Administration. As to my business experience, I spent six years in clinical diagnostic laboratories rising to the level of department management after which, for 19 years, I was in the corporate world in a Professional Sales environment related to healthcare and clinical diagnostics as I advanced in my career.
I continue to learn through my research which currently has a broad spectrum from pedagogy to issues related to healthcare
Venessa Melton
Professor | College of Business
Dr. Melton has a marketing Ph.D. from the University of Alabama and a passion for angry consumers. In fact, the books entitled, Shoppers Scorned, The Dark Side of CRM, and Consumer Anger: At Its Source are a few of her contributions on the subject. She uses her expertise to help firms better communicate with dissatisfied consumers. She is the author or contributor of dozens of research papers in this area and three books. She works to help individuals and firms grow, develop, and transform in the areas of communications, customer service, social media crisis planning, and strategic marketing. Venessa is also a professor, entrepreneur, author, and mother.
Michael White
Senior Lecturer | College of Business
Dr. White is a life-long resident of Alabama. He graduated from Cumberland School of Law and the Brock School of Business at Samford University with jointly earned degrees, Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) in 1981. He began teaching various business law courses at AUM in 1983 as an adjunct instructor. In 2015 he joined the faculty full time as a Visiting Professor and in 2016 as a Senior Lecturer of Business Law. In October 2022, he accepted the Interim Graduate Programs Director position within the Dean’s office, and worked in that role until August 2024 when he returned to his faculty role. He is a champion of A.I. for the benefit of students. He was instrumental in preparing the documentation for the MSAI program in the College of Business. He was inducted into the honor society Phi Kappa Phi in May 2022, and recognized as a Distinguished Lecturer by the University in October 2022. He is currently researching the law of artificial intelligence and the ethical implications of its use in business decisions.
He is a licensed Alabama attorney since 1981, having served in various roles such as a Deputy Attorney General and General Counsel for the Alabama Department of Education, and as an Administrative Law Judge. As an ALJ, he wrote opinions on wide variety of cases with issues ranging from special education services to the levy of franchise taxes on businesses. In private practice he represented many business interests in different fields. He has litigated many civil and criminal cases in both state and federal courts, and is admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.
His much better half, Patricia, is retired as an official court reporter, and then a successful photographer in Montgomery. After more than 40 years together, she keeps him out of trouble.
