Dr. Stephen Hill, Associate Professor
"Analytics is a rapidly evolving field, and it's simply not possible to teach 'everything' in any course. Students should be able to attack a problem and develop clever approaches to solving the problem."
Degrees Held
- Ph.D. in Operations Management – University of Alabama, 2008
- M.S. in Operations Management – University of Alabama, 2006
- M.S. in Civil Engineering – University of Alabama, 2002
- B.S. in Civil Engineering – University of Alabama, 2000
Career Highlights
- Awarded tenure in 2018
- Awarded departmental teaching award
- Heavily involved in study abroad and international education opportunities
- Taught in China, England and Germany
- Developed two new undergraduate analytics courses at UNCW
- Organized sports analytics sessions for a major conference for the last three years
In which online programs do you teach?
All MBAs, M.S. in Business Analytics
Which class do you teach online?
Business Analytics, Predictive Analytics
What types of projects can online students expect in your courses?
Students should expect to work through lots of practical example problems. The courses will culminate with a project, through which students will have the opportunity to put their new skills to work.
What do you want students to learn in these courses? What is the expected learning outcome?
Aside from foundational analytics techniques, I hope that students will leave my courses with a desire to continue learning. Analytics is a rapidly-evolving field, and it's simply not possible to teach "everything" in any course. Students should be able to attack a problem and develop clever approaches to solving the problem.
Why did you start teaching?
I've always (at least as long as I can remember) been able to explain things to people. In college, I helped out my fellow students and discovered that I might actually be a decent teacher. From there, I decided to become a professor and have loved every (well, just about every) minute of it!
What advice would you give to those considering this online program?
Learning business analytics will be massively rewarding, but you need to be ready to work and be open-minded. You'll quickly discover that solutions to problems won't always be obvious and that the path to a solution may be one you didn't expect to take.
What is the one book you think everyone should read?
“1984” by George Orwell
Tell us something interesting about yourself that your students might not know.
I've been to 31 countries (including a short step over the border into North Korea and two trips to Cuba). Favorite places would be either Iceland or Slovenia.