Two Sprott Professors Recognized with Carleton Teaching and Research Awards
In March, two Sprott professors received awards from Carleton University for their outstanding research and teaching achievements.
Associate professor of international business, Guoliang Frank Jiang, received the Research Achievement Award,and Sprott contract instructor and PhD Candidate, Arushi Sharma, received the Contract Instructor Teaching Innovation Grant.
Guoliang Frank Jiang – Research Achievement Award
Frank’s research examines the impact of shareholder and stakeholder pressures on female board appointments.
The appointment of women to corporate boards is often explained by shareholders’ desire to enhance governance effectiveness and the need to obtain legitimacy from non-shareholder stakeholders. However, while shareholders and stakeholders may both have a positive impact on women’s board appointments, their objectives and preferences are often misaligned or in conflict.
“The proposed research aims to add theoretical and empirical clarity to the existing literature on board gender diversity by differentiating between these two perspectives,” Frank explained.
Some of his recent research includes looking into how work-life programs influence women’s managerial representation in Japan.
Arushi Sharma – Contract Instructor Teaching Innovation Grant
Arushi will be using the Contract Instructor Teaching Innovation Grant to investigate the use of AI-based tools to provide feedback in large entrepreneurship classes.
Entrepreneurship classes, especially at the undergraduate level, can see huge enrolment numbers—which can cause challenges for instructors to provide individualized and timely feedback. This project proposes the evaluation and integration of AI-based tools to automate and augment feedback on coursework.
Arushi said the anticipated outcomes of this research extend beyond mere efficiency gains—there will be an uplift in feedback quality, a lightening of the instructor workload, and an overall boost in student satisfaction.
“I would also use this opportunity to delve into the human side of this technological shift. How do students perceive and engage with these AI-driven tools? What does it mean for their learning experience?” said Arushi. “This project is not just a technological experiment; it’s a journey into understanding the dynamic interplay between students and technology, making our classrooms more responsive to the needs and expectations of the modern learner.”