Spotlights

Faculty Spotlight - Cynthia Cohen

Improvisation isn't exactly a class you think of when you think of MBA, but it's one that Cynthia Cohen thinks is vital to a student's success, in both their career and in their personal life. "Improvisation requires you to put yourself out there. It makes you get out of your comfort zone, and in business, and in life, taking risks is what can lead to great success, and if not, you learn resilience," Cohen says.

Improvisation is just one of the classes Cohen, a professor emeritus in the Management Department, teaches in the College of Business. She also teaches Executive MBA classes in negotiations and human resource management. At the heart of all her teachings is this: Don't be afraid to change. Don't be afraid to try. Don't be afraid to fail. She says those concepts are important for students' growth and learning.

Cohen, who has been with the College of Business for almost 30 years, earned a PhD from Georgia State University and an MBA and bachelor's in economics from the University of Georgia. Recently, she published "Improvisation and conflict resolution: What we can learn from theatrical improvisation training" in ACResolutions, which focuses on how the basic principles of improvisation can help with conflict training.