Every day before class, University of Bridgeport professor Sharon Kratochvil takes an hour-long walk with her border collie, Callie, in a nature preserve near her home. This practice of shinrin-yoku, “forest bathing,” gives her time with nature to clear her head and get herself (and Callie) ready for the day.
After earning her Ph.D. in economics from the State University of New York, Kratochvil spent thirty years building analytics teams and analytics centers of excellence for companies like Citicorp and Capri Holdings. She also was an analytic consultant for companies like Johnson and Johnson, Keurig Green Mountain Coffee, Proctor and Gamble, and Unilever, developing analytic capabilities and products wherever she worked.
Professor Kratochvil’s pup Callie enjoying a walk in the snow.
Throughout all professor Kratochvil’s years of business success, in the back of her mind she knew she wanted to teach at the university level to share her practical experience with students. “That is very exciting for me,” she explains. “I have strong feelings about the skills that analysts must have. To be able to build that into the curriculum is thrilling.”
After leaving the business world to write a book on the customer-revenue connection, Kratochvil saw an ad for a position at University of Bridgeport. “UB is very student-centric, which was important to me,” she says. “The Trefz School of Business is laser-focused on preparing students for careers in business. This is my passion and what sold me on UB.”
“We took our time to find the right candidate because we knew we needed someone with gravitas who had the deep knowledge and extensive experience needed to develop UB’s core undergraduate curriculum,” says Dr. Mike Lohle, professor in the Undergraduate and Graduate Analytics programs. “When Sharon and I finally met, we hit it off immediately because we shared a common vision, focused on teaching analytical thinking before tools, where the business is in the driver’s seat and technology is in the passenger seat.”
Kratochvil took advantage of the opportunity; she is currently teaching three courses at UB, two of which she has reworked or developed from scratch. She is also developing two additional courses to round out the undergraduate Analytics program.
Professor Kratochvil leading an interactive session in one of UB’s computer labs
Professor Kratochvil also loves the flexibility that University of Bridgeport offers. For example, certain elements of the class weren’t working for her students this semester, and she was able to easily adapt to their needs to improve learning outcomes. “We’ve become much more experiential,” she says. “You have some latitude and are able to meet the students where they are. ‘One-size’ teaching ensures it is not going to work for anybody.”
In recent years, UB has adopted the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a holistic framework for teaching and learning centered on the individual student’s needs. It is an education model Kratochvil was already familiar with, and it has informed her curriculum planning and syllabus design. “I have a child who has learning disabilities, and so UDL was something I took into account,” she says. “It’s about applying what you’re learning and not having someone just sit there and talk at you.”
That flexibility and adaptability is especially key in a discipline like Analytics that is always changing. “In my career, I’ve been through four different types of data factories with different technologies,” she says. “If you teach to a specific piece of technology, the students may learn that piece, but if they don’t understand the larger picture, how are they going to evolve and be able to continue to learn?”
Kratochvil believes in fostering meaningful connections that take learning far beyond textbooks and lectures.
Kratochvil also focuses on student presentation skills and public speaking, which she points out is a skill often lacking in the data analytics space. “I want them to be comfortable speaking in front of people, which can give them a competitive advantage,” she says. “I want to teach them critical thinking, how to interrogate data, but also how to transform that information into a data story that they can present to anybody at any level of an organization.”
“Sharon’s joy for analytics and her passion to teach it the right way is opening opportunities for her students every time she steps into her classroom,” says Mike Lohle. “Her passion is evident in the classroom as she engages each and every one of our students in animated discussions about how analytics can solve pressing business problems.”
Professor Kratochvil’s connection with students is already changing the vibe in University of Bridgeport’s School of Business. During the interview, a first-year student she helped with technology challenges knocked on the door to thank her and say that she had received a good grade on an assignment for another class. They celebrated together. “It’s really sweet that she stopped by to tell me that,” says Kratochvil. “I’ve been teaching analytics in my job for thirty years, but the students here are very earnest and hardworking, and it is rewarding for me to be able to help them prepare for the future.”
In the fast-paced world of business analytics, it’s the guidance and inspiration of faculty members like Sharon Kratochvil that helps UB students succeed in college and beyond. Just as professor Kratochvil and her loyal companion Callie begin each day with the practice of “forest bathing,” the lessons she imparts extend far beyond the classroom — reminding students to pause and breathe as they find their own path to success.
Dr. Sharon Kratochvil recently joined University of Bridgeport as an associate professor, undergraduate Analytics at the Trefz School of Business. She earned a Ph.D. in Econometrics from Stony Brook University. Kratochvil was a data scientist, senior business executive, and customer strategist for global multi-billion dollar companies, driving bottom-line results with innovative analytic capabilities, insights, and models that leverage big data. Most recently, she built the Global Analytics Center of Excellence for Capri Holdings (Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, & Versace). Her passion is to prepare students for successful business careers by making real-world connections between the course material and the practical application of course content to the workplace.