04 Broadcaster Press January 10, 2012 www.broadcasteronline.com Teaching stint at West Point led Huckabee to career as professor Spotlight On By Travis Gulbrandson travis.gulbrandson@plaintalk.net Greg Huckabee served 27 years as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army, but a three-year teaching stint at West Point in the 1980s may have the biggest lasting impact on his life. “I had so much fun teaching I thought, ‘Wow, boy wouldn’t this be a great second career, being able to use your experience in the teaching mode,’” he said. When Huckabee’s Army service came to an end, he did just that, and has been serving as an associate professor of business law at the Beacom School of Business since 2003. Shortly after his arrival, Coyoteopoly was founded. One of the goals of the student-run corporation is to integrate what is learned in the classroom into projects that benefit the community. “We’re committed to that vision,” Huckabee said. “Dean (Mike) Keller is committed to integrated business experiential learning, and it’s working for us. I think in time, it’ll really make us distinguished and stand out from other business schools in the country.” One event that should help the program – and the school – stand out is the Coyoteopolybacked South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, which is set to take place at Prentis Park this summer. Huckabee said a similar, albeit larger, program run by the University of Oregon is “a $21 million operation.” “It employs every student you ever thought of having. So, just even at a smaller level here, imagine economically what this could do for our students and the community,” he said. “It’s fundamentally a business activity. People wrongly think that movies and plays are theatrical productions. Well, they are, but they’re really businesses. “We demand that the students approach the tasks that they have to perform from a business perspective,” he said. This will provide the students with actual business experience, Huckabee said. “No other school has got (a program like Coyoteopoly), so it’s going to distinguish us from everybody else,” he said. Born in San Francisco, Huckabee lived many different places as a youth due to his father’s service in the Air Force. Huckabee’s personal experience in the military began when he joined the ROTC as a student at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. “By the time I graduated in 1976, the war was over, but I still had an obligation because I had an ROTC scholarship that I had to pay back,” he said. “I went onto active duty to pay back my scholarship thinking in three or four years I’d be done. But, by the time I finished experience in Europe, it was so much fun … GREG HUCKABEE that I decided I wanted to stay.” The 27 years he spent as a Judge Advocate – nine of them overseas, including one as a Fulbright Scholar in Poland – have provided Huckabee with plenty of experience to share with his students. “I was involved in a lot of contracting, labor issues and business types of activities,” he said. “I’m able to use those experiences to illustrate the different points that we’re talking about in class.” Beginning this fall, Huckabee will be sharing those experiences at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He will return to USD after one year. He said he has enjoyed his time in Vermillion, where he lives with his wife Susan and their two grandchildren, and he hopes to spend many more years here. Huckabee said both he and the business school have a primary lesson they hope to impart. “Business is fundamentally about serving,” he said. “It’s about serving other people … and providing services, goods and whatnot, and if you really, really serve them well, you will be successful. If you don’t serve them well, you won’t be successful. That, I think, is the key to successful business. That’s what we try and teach the students.” •Vehicles • Farm Machinery • Scrap • WANTED Iron Old PAYING TOP DOLLAR YOUR GLASS SUPER HEROES REPAIR FIRST REPLACE IF NECESSARY! Serving Yankton and surrounding counties • Windshield repair/replacement • Aquapel • Silicone wipers • Mini car detail • Windshield Performance Package • The Works Package Call for pricing (605) 496-4169 Call The Ruth Mart family would like to thank our many friends and family who have shared their hearts during this time. 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