Mark Simon
Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

simon@oakland.edu
(248) 370-3295

Department: Management and Marketing

WINNER OF THE 2014 MICHIGAN DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Areas of Expertise:

Education:

Background (Also see Vita)

Research: Dr. Simon's research, focusing on helping entrepreneurs achieve their financial and lifestyle goals, has resulted in dozens of papers in multiple outlets. These include the Academy of Management Journal, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, Journal of Small Business Management, and Journal of Business Venturing.  Furthermore, Entrepreneur Magazine, the world’s most popular entrepreneurship periodical, featured Dr. Simon's work in its column that "distills the best new academic research into strategies [entrepreneurs] can use today." He has won multiple research accolades, including Georgia State University's Exemplar Research Award and The Waino W. Suojanen Award for Research Excellence.

Business Experience:  Dr. Simon has successfully founded or helped found a wide variety of companies, including, Wilderness Bound, a nature trip business venture,  Andean Designs, a gift and decorative accessories import company,  and The Balanced Entrepreneur, which provides educational services to entrepreneurs.  In addition, he started and managed the Entrepreneurship Institute at Oakland University, which developed and implemented hundreds of workshops and extensive programs for thousands of clients. These efforts led not only to profits, but also to recognition at local and national levels.  In a nationwide search, The Coleman Foundation identified Dr. Simon as one of "ten outstanding entrepreneurship faculty" based in part on his successful entrepreneurial endeavors.  He was also named "Diversity Champion" by the Race Relations and Diversity Task Force.

Teaching: Dr. Simon has taught multiple strategic management and entrepreneurship courses to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to executives.  Some of these courses were: Starting New Ventures, Retail Management for New Ventures, Entrepreneurship in a Global Context, Management Strategies and Policies, and Entrepreneurial Marketing.  Dr. Simon’s teaching focuses on training his students to practically apply management tools and theories to increase company performance. He has won ten teaching awards at the department, school, university and national levels. These include the Paul Lorenz Award for Teaching Excellence and a teaching award sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship.

Additional Information:

Oakland University School of Business