FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Bob Garner
Building the best school of entrepreneurship in the country is no small task. To assist us in accomplishing this goal, we have maintained our commitment to sourcing and hiring only the most exceptional entrepreneurial educators. The students in the Jim Moran School of entrepreneurship have one-on-one access to these world-class faculty members at all times, and we genuinely believe this is one of our strengths. Among these faculty members is Bob Garner, a veteran of entrepreneurship and a gifted instructor. Mr. Garner has been a professor and trusted mentor since 2008, and during his time at FSU he has impacted thousands of students. He is also the advisor for the FSU Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) chapter and serves on the national SAM board of directors. We are proud of what Mr. Garner does for our students, and that is the reason he was chosen as our featured faculty member. Keep reading below to learn more about Mr. Garner and all that he does for our school, community and beyond.
What is your background?
I graduated from FSU with a degree in management in 1981 and took a job with the transportation company, Roadway Express. I spent 12 years with them and held positions such as Operations Manager in Valdosta, Georgia, Driver Superintendent in Miami, Florida, Assistant Terminal Manager in Atlanta Georgia, and Terminal Manager in Montgomery Alabama. I left Roadway in 1993 and moved to South Arkansas where I opened three Hardees restaurants. In 1999 I sold the restaurants, moved back to Tallahassee, and completed my MBA at FSU. In 2002 I accepted a job as Chairman of the Business Department at Flagler College in
What is your favorite memory of the 2019 graduating class? Tallahassee. In 2008 I began teaching entrepreneurship courses as an adjunct at FSU and when the entrepreneurship program
My favorite memory of this class is their work in the SAM
began growing I was hired as a full-time professor.
organization. The leadership from this year’s class was outstanding and I am really going to miss them. They really bought in to the community service aspect and actually ended up
What is your role with the Jim Moran School?
I am a faculty member and my main job is teaching. I am also heavily involved with the curriculum committee and serve on the micro grant committee. I am also the Chapter Advisor for a service club, The Society for Advancement of Management. Our chapter performs community service and we apply for the chapter of the year award, which we have won the last two years.
taking the lead on many of the projects. Their work won them the Chapter of the Year honor for both years. I also had the pleasure of accompanying them to two case competitions.
Their first year
they didn’t place so to see how much effort they put into this year’s case and be rewarded with a second place finish was very gratifying. I know I will stay in touch with some of these students for a long time and I am really excited to see them succeed in whatever they choose to pursue.
What is your favorite part of working for JMS?
What is your goal for the school?
My favorite part of my job is getting to spend time and mentor
I would love to see the school grow but I also understand there
students. I have built relationships with students and still keep in
are challenges given the nature of our curriculum. I also want our
touch with them even after they graduate. It is very gratifying to
students to be really prepared for life after they graduate.
see these young people succeed in their careers knowing I was
growing the program might be out of our control, we are 100%
able to assist them acquire skills that are part of their success.
responsible for the quality of the students in the program so I
We are also very fortunate to have a great team at JMS. The
want our students to be challenged while they are here.
school has great leadership and all of the professors are really engaged in making the students better.
While
