Carole Shook Honored as September 2026 Cordes Chair

Teaching associate professor Carole Shook was recognized as the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center's September 2026 Wally Cordes Chair.

As a teaching associate professor of information systems focused on data analytics in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Dr. Shook has spent 27 years helping students succeed while continuously refining her approach to teaching and learning. Having taught more than 15,000 students, she is known for her student-centered philosophy, innovative classroom practices and commitment to mentorship.  Teaching was not the career Shook originally planned. After beginning her professional life as a certified public accountant, she accepted a teaching position at her alma mater, the U of A, and discovered a passion that would shape her career. Along the way, the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center became an important source of ideas, mentorship and professional growth.

In her Cordes Chair lecture, "Which Direction Is Your Teaching Compass Pointed?", Shook encouraged faculty to reflect on the values and goals that guide their teaching. Drawing on lessons learned throughout her career, she shared practical strategies inspired by outstanding educators, as well as insights gained through years of experimentation, reflection and listening to students. Her central message was asking educators whether our teaching compass is still pointed towards student success. Shook shared how mentors had influenced her teaching and how she had taken something she particularly valued from their classes and incorporated it into her own courses. Examples included learning how to collect feedback from students and use it to make changes during the semester, an approach she learned from TFSC co-founders Dr. Wally Cordes (chemistry) and Dr. Paul Cronan (information systems). Other examples focused on building interpersonal relationships with students and creating learning environments where students feel comfortable exploring their personal strengths.

Shook shared that knowing where your teaching compass points means putting student learning first. Doing the right thing may not always make you the most popular or easiest teacher, but it may be exactly what a student needs to make a difference in their learning and their life. Most students value learning when it is incorporated into storytelling with a career focus. 

Having attended TFSC events every year of her career at the U of A, Shook also recognized each former TFSC co-director and the time, care and dedication they had invested in helping faculty become better teachers. In honor of her presentation falling on Sept. 25, the first officially recognized Dolly Parton Day, Shook made a donation to provide a year's worth of books for two children in Arkansas through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library as a way of thanking the audience for attending. The donation begins the circle of investing in student education, as the educators in the room had invested their time. She closed by sharing a quote from Dolly Parton that she felt also captured the spirit of Wally Cordes: "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

Beyond the classroom, Shook has been a leader in advancing teaching excellence across the university. She has served as president of the U of A Teaching Academy, co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center, and inaugural secretary of the SEC Teaching Center Consortium. Her contributions have been recognized through 37 teaching and service awards, including the Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Teaching and Mentoring, the Arkansas Alumni Association Faculty Distinguished Service Award and two national teaching awards from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Shook holds three degrees from the U of A and has dedicated her career to supporting students, mentoring colleagues and promoting excellence in teaching. Through her leadership, service and commitment to student success, she exemplifies the values celebrated by the Wally Cordes Chair recognition.