Justin AkersDirector of the Sandage Center for the Study of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Graceland Universityjjakers@graceland.edu Justin grew up in South Central Iowa on a crop and livestock farm, graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Agricultural Business and worked as a professional farm manager, real estate and insurance salesperson, as well as an entrepreneur before returning to Iowa State to pursue an MS in Agricultural Education. Justin served as the Associate Director for the Sandage Center in 2008-09 under Andy Simpson, and returned in 2010 as Director of the Sandage Center, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, and primary advisor to the Graceland SIFE team. Justin’s interest and experience in authentic experiential education make leading the GU SIFE team a very interesting and rewarding challenge. Justin is also currently taking an active role in shaping the new Graceland University Agricultural Business program. He is also an active entrepreneur.
Jeff McElroyAssistant Professor and Associate Director of the Sandage Center for the Study of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurshipjwmcelro@graceland.edu McElroy grew up in Lamoni, graduated from Graceland University with a double major in Business Administration & Economics and earned an MBA from Drake University. He has worked in the business world for several years as a manager for The Maytag Company, Dexter and Pella Corporation in the Marketing/Customer Service and Training areas. In 2008, Jeff returned to Graceland as an Assistant Professor of Business Administration for the C.H. Sandage School of Business to incorporate his “real world” experiences into the classroom in marketing, entrepreneurship and operations courses. |
