Dr. Kelly Blanchard, Clinical Associate Professor in Economics, Krannert School of Management, strives to enhance the educational experience of her students, specifically by implementing specific instructional techniques in a study abroad program. Blanchard has offered her Managerial Economics (ECON 301) course as a summer study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain for the past several years. The course employs a variety of teaching methods, such as online content delivery and assessment, in-class lectures, guest lectures, and multiple co-curricular and extra-curricular field trips that are not available on Purdue’s campus. Students tour Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, where the Real Madrid soccer team plays, and hear from Spanish management consultants about the business of managing soccer teams. They explore Spanish agribusiness with visits to local olive oil and wine producers who generously share their entrepreneurship journeys. They also visit museums, such as Museo del Prado and Museo Reina Sofia, where they meet with museum directors who discuss the role of marketing strategy in publicly-funded museums.

The study abroad experience gives Blanchard a chance to incorporate the tools of intercultural pedagogy that she gained from participating in CILMAR’s (Purdue’s Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment, and Research) intercultural pedagogy workshops. In addition to covering essential business topics, assignments in the course address cultural self-awareness, giving students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery in both in their understanding of managerial economics, as well as in their ability to identify and contemplate intercultural differences.

In 2018, Blanchard was named a “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor” in the U.S. by Poets and Quants. In 2022, graduating Krannert seniors voted to award her the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. She has served as the director of the Purdue Center for Economic Education, a Faculty fellow at Windsor Residence Hall, a Faculty research mentor for Honors College students in Krannert, as well as Faculty mentor for Purdue Soybean Innovation Competition and Faculty advisor for Purdue Disney Appreciation Club and Sigma Kappa sorority.

The following table maps Dr. Blanchard’s teaching excellence evidence to evaluation activities.