After 50 years of teaching more than 10,000 students, Associate Professor of Accounting Linda Stillabower is still having fun in the classroom.
The energy she brings to her work continues to resonate with students, with Stillabower recently receiving Goodman's 2025 Student-Voted Teaching Award at the graduate level.
Student leaders Kristen Noble and Matthew Bignucolo presented Goodman's 2025 student-voted teaching awards to Finance Lecturer Geoff Hoover and Associate Professor of Accounting Linda Stillabower during the annual Goodman Student Success and Faculty Appreciation Celebration in April. From left are Hoover, Noble, Bignucolo and Stillabower.
"One of the most fun things to do is to connect with the students and see them connect with something they thought they would have trouble with," she said. "It's a great deal of fun when they challenge you or come up with a new question too."
Stillabower teaches graduate tax accounting courses at Goodman, a subject area students sometime struggle with. She leans on her undergraduate degree in philosophy to go back to the fundamentals of tax accounting and help students understand the why' behind the law.
"It's a skill set, being able to find the underlying logic," she said. "The interesting thing about tax, is that everything is there for a reason. Memorizing concepts doesn't let you move forward with planning for you or your clients, it's the logic that stays with you forever and you'll be able to say that's why that's there."
Each year Goodman students get the opportunity to vote for the undergraduate and graduate instructors who made the biggest impact on their experience in the classroom. The awards were handed out at the annual Goodman Student Success and Faculty Appreciation Celebration held April 7 in the Goodman Atrium.
"What makes this award so special is that it's completely student-driven," says Graduate Business Council President Matthew Bignucolo, who spoke on behalf of students and presented Stillabower her award. "It's not about titles or publications it's about connection and impact. It recognizes the faculty members who went above and beyond to create a meaningful learning experience. It reflects the voices of the students who were engaged and supported inside the classroom."
Finance Lecturer Geoff Hoover received the undergraduate Student-Voted Teaching Award for the fourth time.
"There are so many deserving individuals in our Faculty that are just as worthy of this title, it genuinely catches me by surprise to hear that the students have given me this recognition," he said.
Business Students' Association Co-President Kristen Noble, who presented Hoover's award, noted that his students appreciated his ability to make difficult material easy to understand and found him supportive, engaging and knowledgeable as an instructor.
"I try to make real world connections whether it be current events, or how it will apply to their personal finances later in life to help students make connections to the course material," Hoover said of his approach to teaching.
