In the corporate world, Kathy Baughman, the Swigart Associates Supported Associate Professor of Business & Economics at Juniata, became accustomed to working long hours to meet hard deadlines. When she transitioned to academia, she could’ve expected an easy-going schedule. But, Kathy would be among the first to correct you on this assumption.

After years of working as a certified public accountant with several large firms and an eight-year term as the vice president of finance for Paradise Datacom LLC in State College, Pennsylvania, Kathy recognized that her real passion lies in helping others develop their skills.

“I enjoyed my time at Paradise Datacom, but I thought ‘what do I really like about my job?’ and what I liked was mentoring the people working for me and helping them develop,” Kathy says. “So, my husband said ‘if you really like that, you should look into how you can do it.’”

It wasn’t long after that Kathy spotted an ad in the newspaper for a replacement to teach at Juniata while Dominick Peruso, professor of accounting, business & economics and chair of Accounting, Business & Economics, was on sabbatical. Soon enough, she landed the gig and, much like our students, embarked upon her own journey of self-discovery.

“I showed up in the classroom and never worked so hard in my life as I did that first semester of teaching,” she recalls, laughing. “I had done a couple seminars but hadn’t taught full classes or a full college curriculum. I liked it, but it was a lot of work.”

In fact, Kathy was up late most nights preparing for classes—so much so that her husband asked her if she was sure she wanted to teach.

The transition from the corporate world to academia is a notoriously tough one. And yet, Kathy found her home and discovered her calling at Juniata—and she says she couldn’t have done it without her department.

“I was really fortunate,” she says. “Our whole department was helpful in guiding me through questions I had when I was teaching. You could not ask for a more supportive department for someone coming from the corporate world into academia, and that’s the Juniata way. The ‘let me help you out’ approach showed me the Juniata spirit that our students feel. It’s there for faculty as well. I don’t know if I would have been successful without that support.”

Kathy’s corporate experience is an asset in the classroom.

“I’m able to give my students real world examples of what’s in the textbook,” she explains. “I try to put as much of that into my teaching as I can.”

Kathy continues to find ways to improve her students’ experiences in the classroom. Most of her research focuses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

“I want to learn how to be the best business professor I can and teach students what they need to know in order to be successful,” she said.

“The ‘let me help you out’ approach showed me the Juniata spirit that our students feel. It’s there for faculty as well. I don’t know if I would have been successful without that support.””Kathy Baughman

In 2015, Juniata recognized Kathy for her outstanding teaching ability, scholarship, and notable contributions to the academic program by presenting her with the Gibbel Award for Distinguished Teaching. She counts that among her greatest achievements, but she humbly credits much of her success to the outstanding team she’s part of at Juniata.

“Anytime I’ve asked for assistance at Juniata, I’ve received it,” she says, noting that what she loves most about Juniata is the focus on student success and sense of community among faculty and staff. She says that collaboration and support is key to working cohesively not just as a department but also as a college.

“It aligns you,” she explains. “If you put students first, like we do here, then it’s common sense that other faculty members will help me be a better teacher. They want me to do well so that our students can do well too.”

Kathy has indeed become a great teacher, giving her students hands-on learning opportunities, such as role-playing, experimental exercises, and even a simulated fraud investigation in Forensic Accounting. She also played an instrumental role in developing and launching the Healthcare Administration Program of Emphasis (POE) now available at Juniata. With numerous students transferring from biology and pre-med to business, the program seemed like a natural fit.

“These students like the medical industry, but they’re struggling with their role because they’re not really seeing themselves as doctors anymore,” Kathy explains. “They can still be in that industry but maybe envision themselves in a different way.”

Thanks to Kathy and the rest of the team who brought this new POE to life, these students can find their place.

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention that, much like our students and alumni, Kathy says she’s always having a good time when she’s on campus.

“It’s fun,” she says, smiling. “Can you imagine a place more fun? I can’t think of a single bad day at work.”