Meet Our Faculty
John Voyer
- Title
- Professor of business administration, associate dean for academic and student affairs; research associate, Center for Business and Economic Research
- Department
- School of Business
- Areas of interest
- Strategic management, organization theory, and entrepreneurship
What are the strengths of the School of Business?
Our No. 1 strength is that we’re AACSB-accredited. We’re 1 of 5 schools in northern New England and 1 of 2 in Maine. Only 8% in the United States have this level of accreditation. Our other real strength is the focus on partnerships with the business community.
What are some of the advantages to studying business here?
Students from their junior year on are embedded in the business community in some way, whether it’s exposure to guest speakers or involvement in some pretty heavy-duty projects. Through partnerships, we have an increasing number of people doing internships, and, in turn, getting jobs with those companies.
There are some well-connected student groups as well. The Accounting and Finance Society, the Student Marketing Association, and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) are all great ways to network within the community, and it’s networking that ultimately can help provide them with jobs.
What notable professional experience has influenced your teaching?
I was a sociology major as an undergraduate, and I was involved in a study of the second-largest public housing authority in Massachusetts. We had to design a questionnaire and go out, interview people, and gather information. I really enjoyed going out and being embedded in the community. It was a great way to learn.
That experience showed me that one of the best ways to teach business is to do business. I like to get students involved with real companies and try to help solve real problems. Sure, you’re taking a risk of it being a little messy. You send students out with certain objectives, and a whole bunch of things can go wrong. But the reward is worth it.
What do students want from their business education?
They want us to do a good job of providing them with worthwhile courses and experiences. There’s an unspoken desire for them to get good jobs after they graduate. We’re committed to creating a curriculum that will help them do that. You see students a year or two after graduation, and they tend to agree that they left here pretty well-prepared.
What’s the appeal of teaching at USM?
The faculty enjoy a lot of freedom to design classes as we see fit. I’m a bit of an improvisational teacher. I go into class assuming people have read the material and are prepared to discuss it, and we’re going to thoroughly evaluate the points raised.
By and large I really like our students. For the most part, they’re hard working. They are willing to do what needs to be done. That’s how the world moves forward.
Where do you live and why?
I’ve lived in the North Deering section of Portland for 21 years. It’s a good neighborhood, and it doesn’t take forever to get to work.
What’s Portland’s best-kept secret?
There’s some very distinctive and varied architecture in the older parts of the city. Four years ago I became a walking tour docent with Greater Portland Landmarks. I give tours of the Old Port, State Street, and the East End. There are some really interesting buildings downtown, some of which have been around for 200 years.
