Molly Wickam

Job Titles

Program Director, Faculty
Business Management (B.S.), College of Adult and Professional Studies
Teaching (M.A.), Graduate School

Highlight

Dr. Wickam is a Professor of Education and Business/Leadership and the Program Director for Bethel's MA Teaching and B.S. Business Management. She has a corporate background in software product marketing, insurance risk management, property & casualty claims and marketing, and was a small-business owner. She is also a former high school business and social studies teacher. She teaches a business capstone that contains a client-focused service-learning project, a marketing course, and various education courses. Additionally, she advises master's thesis students, supervises business teacher candidates, and is an ACBSP Champion. She also currently serves as Chair of the Faculty Development Committee for three of Bethel's schools (CAPS, Seminary, and Graduate School).

Started at Bethel

2005

Education

Bethel University - BA Business; BA Political Science, 1991
Northern Illinois University - MBA, 2004
University of Minnesota - Ph.D., 2015
National University - Single-subject CLAD teaching credential in business education and social studies education, 2002

Biography

Wickam has a corporate background in software product marketing, insurance risk management, property & casualty claims and marketing and was a small-business owner. At Bethel, she is the director of a graduate teacher preparation program and an undergraduate business management degree. She teaches a business capstone course that contains a client-focused service learning project, advises master’s thesis students, teaches a field experience course, supervises business teacher candidates, and is an ACBSP Champion. She serves as Chair of the Faculty Development Committee for three of Bethel's schools (CAPS, Seminary, and Graduate School).

Awards

2022 Leadership Award, National Business Education Conference

2022 Best Paper Award for Building emotional intelligence (EQ) in high school business students. Business Education Research Conference

2021 Minnesota Marketing, Business, Information Technology Educators (MBITE) award for Outstanding Contributions to Business Education by a Post-Secondary Business Teacher

2021 Best Paper Award for An investigation of how the partnership for 21st century framework reflects innovation in MBA programs. Business Education Research Conference

2020 North Central Business Education Association's Outstanding Contributions to Business Education by an Administrator or Supervisor of Business Education

2020 Teacher Educator of the Year, Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education

2017 Outstanding Doctoral Research in Business Education Award, Association for Research in Business Education

2016 Selected (from a competitive application process) to attend the Innovator's Summit at The White House, Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Department of Education

2016 Selected (from a competitive application process) to attend a week of intensive Holocaust Education training at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.

2011-2012 Ray G. Price Student Research and Fellowship Award, University of Minnesota

2005 Awarded Jr. Achievement "Teacher of the Year" San Diego, California

Publications

Wickam, M. (2023). Assessing career development curriculum within a business capstone. Journal of Research In Business Education, 63(1), 37-48.

Saeger, K., Finley, L., & Wickam, M.J. (2022). Applied problem-solving through design thinking in business education. Accepted for publication by National Business Education Association.

Wickam, M.J., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2022). Advancing the mindset of design thinking in secondary and post-secondary business education. The CTE Journal, 10(1).

Wickam, M. (2022). Conscious capitalism: An emerging economic philosophy for higher purpose in business. Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 25(1), 84-91.

Saeger, K., Wickam, M. J., & Finley, L. (2021). Comparing entrepreneurial spirit in job descriptions seeking business undergraduates and graduates. Industry and Higher Education.

Finley, L., Saeger, K., & Wickam, M.J. (2021). An investigation of how the partnership for 21stcentury framework reflects innovation in MBA programs. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(5), 70-88.

Wickam, M.J. (2021). Helping managers find time to think creatively. Business Education Forum, 75(4), 28-29. Theory and Prac

Wickam, M.J., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2020). Assessing alignment of entrepreneurial spirit to job descriptions seeking business administration or management undergraduates. Journal of Education for Business, 95(1), 1-7.

Slyter, J.A., & Wickam, M.J. (November/December 2021). Employability skills curriculum: Increasing access to employment for students with disabilities. Techniques.

Rodriguez, A., & Wickam, M.J. (2021). Building emotional intelligence (EQ) in high school business students. Business Education Forum, 75(3), 4-8.

Wickam, M.J. (2020). Henry Ford's dishonest business practices during the Holocaust: A two-day lesson for high school business teachers. The CTE Journal, 8(1).

Wickam, M.J. (2017, Fall). Employability skills with purpose: Service-learning in graduate business education. The Journal of Research in Business Education, 58(2).

Wickam, M. J. (2015). Enhancing employability skills in graduate business programs: Service-learning in capstone courses. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy.

Presentations

Wickam, M.J. (2021, July 23). Entrepreneurship gone wrong: American entrepreneurs’ collaboration with Nazis. North Central Business Education Association, La Crosse, WI.

Wickam, M.J., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2021, March 31). An investigation of how the partnership for 21st century framework reflects innovation in MBA programs. Business Education Research Conference (BERC), New Orleans, LA.

Saeger, K., Diemer, K., Finley, L., Hutchinson, G., Lammers, M.A., McCune, K., Mitchell, R., O'Connor, M., Orr, D., Schoenrock, R., Stout, M.T., Stanislawski, D., Sydow, S., Wickam, M., & Wiedmaier, C. (2019). The business education advantage for closing the employability skills gap. The CTE Journal, 7(1).

Wickam, M.J. (2019, June). Holocaust curriculum used by Christian English and social studies teachers: An exploratory study. Educational Research Quarterly, 42(4), 60-79.

Wickam, M.J. (2018). How written and oral reflection in MBA capstones enhance the ability to complete a service-learning project. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 18(4), 43-54.

Wickam, M. (2017, April 12). Employability skills with purpose: Service-learning in graduate business education. Business Education Research Conference (BERC), Chicago, IL.

Carlson, R., Mignard, M., & Wickam, M. (2016, October 27). Lessons learned about implementing co-teaching with undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates. National Conference on Co-Teaching, Bloomington, MN.

Wickam, M. (2016, April 15). Enhancing employability skills in graduate business programs: Service-learning in capstone courses. Leadership Institute, St. Cloud State University.

Wickam, M. (2016, July 28). Service-learning in online courses: Research and best practices. MN eLearning Summit, Minneapolis, MN.

Wickam, M. (2016, March 31). Enhancing collaborative learning skills through service-learning in MBA capstone courses. Meeting Society's Grand Challenges Through Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, Minneapolis, MN.

Certificates and Licenses

Business education grades 5-12

Social studies education grades 5-12

Professional Organizations, Committees, and Boards

Council for Business Teaching and Research (CBTR)

National Business Education Association (NBEA)

Minnesota Business Educators Inc. (MBITE/MBEI)

National Council for Social Studies (NCSS)

Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)

Areas of expertise

Program management, business education, business capstones, service-learning, marketing, Holocaust education

Research interests

AI in business education, business education, business capstones, innovation, design thinking, service-learning, and Holocaust education