Samford University’s Brock School of Business has announced two newly established endowments which will honor two beloved faculty members who will be retiring within the coming year, Professor of Economics Jennings B. Marshall and Professor of Management and Leadership Robert W. (Bill) Service.

 

In acknowledgement of Jennings Marshall’s distinguished career, Brock School of Business has renamed its Undergraduate Teaching Award to the “Dr. Jennings B. Marshall Undergraduate Teaching Award.” This award is given to a full-time member of the Brock School of Business faculty who demonstrates excellence in undergraduate teaching. In addition to the award, an endowment has been established in his name and will support an annual faculty stipend.

 

Marshall has served on the Brock School of Business faculty since 1985. During his time at Samford, he provided service in all facets of campus life leading to the creation of the University’s Jennings B. Marshall Service Award. In Brock School of Business, Marshall served as director of undergraduate studies and chair of the Department of Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis. In the classroom, “No Partial Marshall” was a dedicated classroom instructor and past winner of Samford’s John H. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. Marshall taught courses across the curriculum but focused primarily on economics and data analytics. He maintained connections to the professional community by providing consulting and expert witness services through his firm, Marshall Hendon Minter & Associates. Marshall will retire at the end of the fall 2020 semester.

 

“It has been a blessing to teach at Samford for over 35 years,” Marshall said. “The students are wonderfully eager to learn and a joy to teach. The University and the Brock School of Business faculty has gotten stronger every year. I have outstanding colleagues who are wonderful teachers, excellent researchers, and who are all dedicated to their students. I will miss being here more than words can express.”

 

Recognizing the career of Robert W. (Bill) Service, Brock School of Business has renamed its Graduate Teaching Award to the “Dr. Robert W. (Bill) Service Graduate Teaching Award.” This award is given to a full-time member of the Brock School of Business faculty who demonstrates excellence in graduate teaching. In addition to the award, an endowment has been established in his name and will support an annual faculty stipend.

 

Service has served on the Brock School of Business faculty since 1993. During his time at Samford, he was named a winner of the John H. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. He was a frequent consultant in the business community and impactful teacher at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Service taught extensively internationally and brought those experiences back to his classes at Brock School of Business. Paired with his successful business and leadership career prior to academia, Service was able to effectively bridge the gap from the classroom to the “real world.” In addition to excellence in teaching, Dr. Service was a successful scholar and mentor to students throughout his time at Samford. Service’s retirement will be effective at the end of the spring 2021 semester.

 

Service said, “I love students and delight in their life’s achievements. I thank them for the richness they added to my (and my wife Jan’s) life. Without those relationship our lives would not have been so very fulfilling. Although I will miss being around them daily, Jan and I are forever blessed to be linked to so many through Samford.”

 

Interim Dean Chad Carson shared, “Drs. Marshall and Service have dedicated their careers to helping develop the next generation of Christian business leaders. They have done this with compassion for their students and enthusiasm for their respective disciplines. It is my hope that through the creation of these endowments we will be able to honor them and their contributions to Samford and Brock School of Business by supporting faculty for years to come.”

 

Support these endowments by giving online and choosing your preferred designation, or contacting Eddie Miller at emiller1@samford.edu or 205-726-4108.