Tiffin University Ph.D. student David Farler won the Best Presentation Award at the International Conference on Economics and Business Engineering (ICEBE) in April. Farler’s paper, Effective Leadership in the Engineering, Technology, and Construction Industry, was his final assignment for the GLC 820: International Leadership Experience class.
The International Leadership Experience course was created to provide Tiffin University Ph.D. students the opportunity to start their academic publishing careers by writing and submitted a non-empirical international academic peer reviewed conference paper. Tiffin Ph.D. Academic Advisor, Dr. Perry Haan, taught the class and co-authored the paper. Farler’s paper was the first to be submitted from the class. “I am a firm believer that doctoral students should start their publishing careers while still in their graduate program,” Haan said. “It gives those who want to work in academe an edge to show they already published peer reviewed work.”
The Lima native studied under Haan in previous courses in the Ph.D. program and in his MBA program at Tiffin. “He has been an excellent mentor throughout my academic career. Dr. Haan helped tremendously in understanding how to utilize all the research and writing techniques taught in previous Ph.D. courses to formulate it into a journal article academic form of writing.” Haan is also serving on Farler’s dissertation committee.
Dr. Kenneth Rauch, Director of the Ph.D. Global Leadership and Change said the program curriculum features this course on the development and submission of a paper to a peer reviewed international leadership conference. He stated each student becomes an author and contributes to global leadership and change literature. “Dr. Perry and Dave Farler engaged in a great collaborative effort, and I am proud to have them represent the Ph.D. program and Tiffin University” Rauch concluded.
Farler said so far the Tiffin University program has been an excellent experience. One of the reasons he chose Tiffin was that the program has allowed him to research and write at an academic level and open up great opportunities for now and the future. “I was already an alum from graduating with my MBA in 2013. The program is accredited, and I knew Tiffin would push me to develop and enhance myself as an individual and professional” he stated.
Farler has over 15 years of professional experience in the oil, gas, chemical, manufacturing, and energy industry. Currently he is Senior Major Project Manager and Turnaround Lead at a BP refinery near Toledo. He has worked previously as a Major Project Lead, Turnaround Event Manager, Turnaround Engineer Lead, Project Engineer, Maintenance and Turnaround Engineer, Process Refinery Operator, Designer, and Pipefitter. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University and MBA from Tiffin University.
“My goals are to carry my learnings from the program and utilize them in my future leadership roles professionally and personally” Farler stated. He noted that the skills and assets he has developed over the last couple of years in the Tiffin Ph.D. program have made him a more well-rounded individual.