Janice A. Black, Ph. D.

Biography

On January 1, 2021, Dr. Black joined the entrepreneurship faculty. This move allows her to move from over 20 years focusing primarily on management to primarily focusing on entrepreneurship. She is delighted to pursue her passion more closely here at WCU. She has started, worked in, and consulted with several entrepreneurial endeavors beginning in the early 1990s. She is a strong proponent for entrepreneurial skill training beginning in the K-12 systems. She is an invited speaker on the topics of applied creativity & innovation, organizational cultures supporting a learning organization, entrepreneurial skills, soft skills needed for success in today's business environment, and argumentation/reasoning processes in business.<br><br>Her educational background includes earning two bachelor’s degrees (communication studies and business administration) from California State University, Sacramento; an MBA from Sonoma State University; an Ed.S. in curriculum and instruction (learning technologies) from New Mexico State University; and a Ph.D. in business administration from Texas Tech University. Dr. Black has taught at several colleges and universities including Michigan State University, New Mexico State University, California State University, Sacramento and Coastal Carolina University.<br><br>Currently, Dr. Black lives here in the Smoky Mountains with her two standard poodles, Coco and Drake, and her spouse. In addition to traveling to present her research or for a talking engagement, she loves taking trips to visit the grandkids, exploring our mountains, reading with a good cup of coffee, and meeting new friends! If you need help in an entrepreneurship or innovation area, she is happy to help.

Education

• Ph D, Texas Tech University

Teaching Interests

Dr. Black joined our Entrepreneurship faculty on January 1, 2020. Her teaching interests include the following entrepreneurship topics: mindsets, creativity/innovation, leadership, business reasoning/analysis, tech transfer, and business plans. She provides multiple modes of instruction and coaches each student to meet both academic and personal goals.<br><br> Dr. Black has a strong commitment to helping first-generation students succeed. Her classes are either writing intensive or experiential courses. At her last university, she was recognized by the Center for Global Engagement for her exceptional service and support of international students during the Fall 2020 semester that was adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Interests

Dr. Black's research is presented around the world. In an era when academic articles receive less than 2 official acknowledgements by others, she has over 2200 citations. <br><br>Her research concentrates on entrepreneurial leadership, intrapreneurial leadership, the development of a context-for-learning, and strategic coherence. She is interested in the processes by which coherent and effective organizational cultures come into being especially during ambiguous times such as during a start-up or major environmental shocks. She doesn't focus exclusively on the small or microbusiness but has helped banks, hospitals, and other large organizations. <br><br>She also researches better ways to teach entrepreneurship skills.