Meet the Faculty

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• D.  – Entrepreneurship, Baylor University (2022)
• S.  – Interdisciplinary Studies, Western Carolina University (2016)

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Brown, A. R., Wood, M. S., & Scheaf, D. J. (2022). Discovery Sells, But Who’s Buying? An Empirical Investigation of Entrepreneurs’ Technology License Decisions. Journal of Business Research. 144. 403-415.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Brown’s research is rooted in the insights of organization theory, which he uses to unpack the influence of context on entrepreneurs’ cognitive processes. His dissertation explores how the new venture ideation process transforms under distinct configurations of the entrepreneur’s surrounding ecosystem. Some of his previously published work investigates how decision context shapes entrepreneurs’ opportunity assessments, such as in the setting of university technology license decisions.

Dr. Brown’s teaching experience is predominantly in foundations of entrepreneurship courses, which he designs as semester-long hands-on boot camp for generating and evaluating new venture ideas. In addition, he has taught senior capstone courses in strategic management and first-year courses in theories of knowledge.

Prior to starting his Ph.D., he worked in the wine industry—both in North Carolina and Burgundy, France—with a primary focus on viticulture. However, at 22, he found himself missing his experience tutoring courses in Micro and Macro Economics and Organic Chemistry I and II, which led him to decide a life of grape farming wasn’t for him. This led him to take on a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Western Carolina University’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise, where continued working as a Teaching Assistant for Microeconomics and Ethics of Capitalism during the first two years of his Ph.D.

In his spare time, Dr. Brown enjoys fishing, hiking, and camping in the areas around Nashville, as well as playing games such as Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and Old School Runescape. When none of that is going on, you can usually find he, his wife Paige, and their cat Appa hanging out in their home in East Nashville (likely watching Survivor).

Dr. Jeff Cornwall, veteran business professor, author, and co-founder and former CEO of a fast-growing health care company in Raleigh, N.C., was the inaugural Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship in the Jack C. Massey College of Business Administration at Belmont University. Before joining the business faculty at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, he was the Sandra Schulze Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Kentucky.

His current research and teaching interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics.  Dr. Cornwall has authored or co-authored a number of books including: Bringing Your Business to Life, Bootstrapping, Organizational Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Financial Management, The Entrepreneurial Educator, and From the Group Up: Entrepreneurial School Leadership.

His blog, the Entrepreneurial Mind, is one of the most popular small business blogs on the web. It was named by Forbesas "Best of the Web" and is part of the Forbes blog network. The Entrepreneurial Mind is also linked to by Entrepreneur, Inc., the New York Times, and US News and World Report.

Dr. Cornwall developed his interest in entrepreneurship at a young age. He explains:

I grew up with entrepreneurship and small business as topics around the dinner table at night. My family was involved in many ventures. My father left a career in corporate America to pursue an entrepreneurial career in the mid-1970s. Today, my father is an active, octogenarian entrepreneur. I was fortunate to be able to be involved in many of my father's entrepreneurial endeavors from an early age. That is where I caught the entrepreneurial bug that I carried forward in my own career as an entrepreneur.

Dr. Jose Gonzalez  worked in financial management roles for Organization BAMA and Procter and Gamble in Mexico City before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. After moving to Nashville, he was a business manager for Total Management Services working primarily in the music industry. He later founded CIMA Financial Management, LLC, where has worked with a diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures.

He co-founded Conexion Americas, and served as Executive Director until joining the faculty of the Jack C. Massey College of Business Administration at Belmont University on a full-time basis. While at Conexion Americas, he was instrumental in conceptualizing and implementing programs that generated over $25 million of mortgage loans for Latino homeowners and trained over 500 Latino entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, Conexion Americas received notable distinctions: Entrepreneurial Venture of the Year, Innovation in Action Award, and Strengthening Families Best Practices Award.

Actively involved in Nashville's civic and business communities, his roles have included mentoring for the Hispanic Achievers Youth Program, service on the Nashville Alliance for Public Education Board of Directors, and the Bellevue YMCA Board of Directors as well as membership in the Board of Commissioners of Nashville's Metro Social Services Agency. A graduate of The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University, he served on the boards of The Massey School Alumni Association and The Center for Business Ethics.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• Doctorate in Organization Development and Change (D.ODC), Bowling Green State University
• Master of Entrepreneurship (M.E.), Western Carolina University
• Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Entrepreneurial and Small Business Management, American Public University
• Certified Professional Coach, American Public University

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Assistant Professor, Belmont University
• Visiting Instructor of Management, Georgia Southern University
• Adjunct Instructor, American Public University, Bowling Green State University, Western Carolina University
• Founding Partner/Business & Operations Executive, F4 CoSolutions
• Business and Operations Executive, Bright Side Arts (a division of Arts for Life)
• VP, Marketing and Licensing, Uware Brands
• Associate Director, Retail Business Development and Licensing, Boy Scouts of America
• E-Commerce Manager, Boy Scouts of America
• VP, Strategic Services, The Jackson Group
• Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Taylor-Harkins Group
• EVP, Marketing, 2.718 Marketing (formerly Colman, Brohan Davis)
• Chief Marketing Officer & VP of Customer Care, Geneer Corporation
• VP, Marketing and Product Development, Nykamp Consulting Group
• Senior Project Manager, Marketing Information and Technology, Florida Blue
• Assistant Market Manager, Florida Blue
• Program Manager, Direct Marketing, Florida Blue
• Founder/President, PinPoint Marketing
• Media Director, The Arnold Agency
• Director of Marketing, Silver Creek Ski Resort
• Managing Director, Capital Plaza Theater (Renaissance Productions)

RECENT ARTICLES

• Harkins, D. L. (2021). The Boy Scouts of America: How society’s changing attitudes affect nonprofit culture. Organization Development Journal, 39(2), 83–96.
• Rogers, B. Q., O’Brien, K. I., Harkins, D. L., Mitchell, T. G., & O’Neil, D. A. (2021). COVID-19 and OD: Unplanned disruption and the opportunity for planned talent development. Organization Development Review, 53(2), 61–67.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. David L. Harkins joined Belmont University in 2022. He has earned a Doctorate in Organization Development and Change from Bowling Green State University, a Master of Entrepreneurship (ME) from Western Carolina University, and a BBA in entrepreneurial and small business management from American Public University. 

Prior to joining Belmont, Dr. Harkins taught entrepreneurship and general business at Georgia Southern University as a visiting professor of management.  He has also held adjunct positions at American Public University, Bowling Green State University, and Western Carolina University, where he taught courses in Business Planning, Entrepreneurship, Idea Generation, Innovation Design and Prototyping, Marketing, New Venture Creation, PR for Small Business, and Social Good for Small Business.

His teaching interests are social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, organization development, and leadership. His research interests include organizational culture, empathy in organizations, and entrepreneurial thinking and innovation leadership in the social sector.

 Dr. Harkins has significant experience as an entrepreneur, marketer, and strategic change practitioner. As a consultant and executive coach, he has worked with or advised organizations both large and small in the areas of strategic change, innovation leadership, earned revenue development, and social impact, including the Alzheimer's Association (National), American Bar Association, Arts for Life, Bob Moog Foundation, Boy Scouts of America (National), Disabled American Veterans (National), Girl Scouts of America (National), Microsoft, National FFA Organization, National 4-H, Organization, and many others. 

Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, he likes to paint, hike, and explore with a camera in his spare time.

Dr. Mark Phillips has been affiliated with law firms in New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C. and has sales and marketing experience with Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland and management experience at the Urban Assistance Corporation in New York City. He has taught a variety of organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, negotiation and legal courses as an adjunct professor, guest lecturer and instructor at the MBA and undergraduate level. He also worked with the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence to develop its 3E Entrepreneurship Education program.

Phillips' article entitled “What Drives Attorney Performance in Large Law Firms?” A Theoretical Framework Examining Attorney Performance was published in the refereed proceedings of the 2009 Conference of the Southern Management Association. His work was also a finalist for the Best Paper Award for his work entitled “The Impact of an Entrepreneur of Small Business Owner’s Education on Knowledge Acquisition" in 2010.

Dr. Phillips was awarded a George Washington University Graduate Fellowship Award, the John Hopkins University Provost’s Award for Academic Research and Excellence, and the ICR Research Grant, awarded by The Institute of Corporate Responsibility at George Washington University.

Dr. Mark Schenkel developed his entrepreneurial experience by serving in a variety of general management roles in small, closely held, family firms, including: The Habegger Corporation, David E. Estes Engineering, Inc., The Hennegan Company, and Wright Brothers Inc. In those environments, he was charged with developing and implementing strategies for achieving business growth and profitability objectives. He has continued his efforts to foster entrepreneurship through direct consulting and advising and by serving on the Boards of local ventures in the Nashville area.

Dr. Schenkel’s research and teaching interests focus on the roles that entrepreneurial cognition (e.g., opportunity recognition and assessment) and strategic decision-making play in new venture creation, and corporate venturing activities. His scholarly work has been published (or is forthcoming) in professional journals including the Academy of Management Review, British Journal of Management, New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, and Management Research News.

Mr. Matthew Wilson has almost 20 years advising commercial real estate, investment and construction/development clients. His focus has been to assist small to medium size entrepreneurs in maximizing their value in the area of commercial real estate. His firm, Gateway Property Services, is a second generation family firm where he serves as President/CEO. He not only grew his entrepreneurial skills running his firm and advising his clients, but also through raising capital for investment projects that he also managed.

Matthew is involved the Nashville community. He is an alumnus of Young Leaders Council, he was the 2010 Board Chair for Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and he continues to be very involved in other local non-profits. He is an active member of Downtown Nashville Rotary Club. Matthew’s community leadership lead to being a 2011 finalist for “New Faces in Philanthropy” award and he has recently been named a finalist for Nashville Emerging Leaders Award for his accomplishments in his industry.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• Ph.D. – University of Alabama at Birmingham, Administration – Health Services, Specialization in Strategic Management (Dissertation: Strategic Alliance Value)
• B.S. – University of Alabama, Health Care Management 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Belmont University (2015-present)
• Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Middle Tennessee State University  (2007-2015)
• Chief Executive Officer, Around the Way Dog, Murfreesboro, TN (2009-2011)
• Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2001-2007)
• Chief Executive Officer, Wilstar Construction, Omaha, NE (2004-2007)
• Visiting Professor of Management and Marketing, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2000-2001) 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Wilson, Rachel C. (2015). Mayhem: A Hands-On Case Playing Activity for Teaching Porter’s Five Forces to Undergraduate Business Students. Small Business Institute Journal, 11(2).
• Wilson, Rachel C. (2012). Around the Way Dog. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 9(5).
• Wilson, Rachel C. (2010). Management Perspectives of High-Technology Strategic Alliance Outcomes. Journal of Strategy and Management, 3(1), 4-19. 

SELECTED AWARDS & HONORS

• Best Paper Award, Teaching Track, Small Business Institute Conference (2015)
• Highly Commended Paper Award for “Management Perspectives of High Technology Strategic Alliance Outcomes,” published in the Journal of Strategy and Management (2011)
• Dean’s Recognition for Teaching, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, MTSU (2008 - 2012)
• Dean’s Recognition for Research, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, MTSU (2009, 2010)
• Dean’s Citation for Excellence in Service, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2006)
• Entrepreneurship 101 Award, Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education for UNO’s Maverick High School Entrepreneurship Program (2006)

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Rachel Wilson serves The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business by teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in entrepreneurship and management and as the director of the Accelerated M.B.A. program.  She received her Ph.D. in 2002 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Administration - Health Services and Strategic Management.  She received her B.S. in Health Care Management in 1997 from the University of Alabama.  After teaching at the University of Nebraska at Omaha as the Director of the startup Maverick Entrepreneurship Institute and then at Middle Tennessee State University, she joined the faculty at The Massey School in 2015.

Dr. Wilson accompanies Belmont University AMBA students to South Africa for study abroad, and has planned and supervised graduate and undergraduate study abroad programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, and Bangladesh.  She teaches courses in entrepreneurship, small business consulting, and strategic management, and incorporates her consulting experience and prior ownership of both Around the Way Dog, a restaurant, and Wilstar Construction, Inc. into her classroom.

Her primary areas of research focus on strategic alliances used by small and medium enterprises in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. In this research, her objective has been to determine what types of activities and beliefs enhance the value received from partners in those alliances, and what factors diminish that value. Her works have been published in Health Care Management Review, Thunderbird International Business Review, the Journal of Global Competitiveness, Advances in Health Care Management, the Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, and the Journal of Strategy and Management, among others.  She has been awarded the Highly Commended Paper award by the Journal of Strategy and Management for her work on strategic alliances and the Best Paper, Teaching Track award from the Small Business Institute for her classroom innovation in industry analysis.

Wilson has been married to her husband, Scott, for twelve years and is the proud mother of a daughter, Emily, and two stepsons, Brayton and Brogan.