Two SLU Faculty Earn Emerson 2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards

St. Louis, MO — Two Saint Louis University faculty earned Emerson 2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards. The program, now in its 33rd year, is one of the St. Louis region’s most renowned teacher recognition programs.

Justin Goodson, Ph.D., Father Joseph Davis professor of operations and IT management in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business and director of the supply chain management graduate program, and Michael Ross, Ph.D., professor of psychology, are among more than 80 teachers from across the St. Louis metropolitan area who are being recognized this year as examples of educational excellence.

SLU's 2022 Emerson Honorees

Justin Goodson, Ph.D.

A professor who teaches business students to make decisions in the face of uncertainty, Justin Goodson, Ph.D., is described by students as sharing a contagious enthusiasm for the field.

Goodson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He obtained a doctorate in business analytics from the University of Iowa.

His research interests center on sequential decision problems with uncertain information, focusing largely on problems arising in transportation and logistics.

Goodson teaches courses in supply chain, logistics, and operations management. Each of these areas focuses on the design, performance, and improvement of operations in manufacturing and service settings. Via an experiential learning environment, Goodson's students gain managerial insights through hands-on activities and case studies.

Per his nomination letters, Goodson is highly respected among students and his professional peers who seek his guidance on pedagogy.

Goodson is a two-time recipient of the MBA Faculty of the Year Award Goodson and the Delta Sigma Pi Teaching Excellence Award, both student-nominated honors. He is also a two-time co-chair of the INFORMS Teaching Effectiveness Colloquium.

Michael Ross, Ph.D.

The students of Michael Ross, Ph.D., professor of psychology, consistently report that he wants them to succeed. Whether helping first-year students navigate entry-level courses or graduate-level students prepare to become clinicians, students credit their success to mentorship from the 38-year SLU veteran.

Ross has bachelor’s degree in psychology from Westminster College and master’s degrees in clinical psychology and rehabilitation counseling from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He obtained a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Ross specializes in psychological interventions and treatments, sport and performance psychology, rehabilitation psychology and ethical reasoning.

Career highlights include currently serving as the Billikens’ NCAA faculty athletics representative since 1990. His responsibilities include oversight and consultation of academic integrity, NCAA rules compliance, and student-athlete welfare. Ross also serves as the director of the SLU Psychological Sciences and Consultation Lab where he trains doctoral students in the provision of sport psychology services and conducts research on evidence-based practices to enhance sport performance.

He also served as director of the clinical psychology doctoral program in SLU’s College of Arts and Sciences, assistant to the Office of the Provost and Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.

He is a recipient of the Donald G. Brennan, Ph.D. Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award and Frank Severin, S.J. Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Department of Psychology at SLU, among other honors.  

Per his nomination letters, Ross is a model for lifelong engaged thinking. He sustains a level of teaching excellence, sparking students’ passions while engaging them in learning critical psychological constructs.

Emerson honors educators ranging from kindergarten teachers to college professors. The recipients are selected by their educational institution and voted on by peers. Emerson will feature honorees’ names in a full-page commemorative advertisement in the Sunday, Nov. 20, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,500 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.