MBA adjunct faculty, alum Ben Quintana claims 2024 Online MBA Faculty Excellence Award

Ben Quintana never set out to become a college educator, but fate kept nudging him toward finding his true calling.

“I’ve always enjoyed public speaking and training and development,” he said. “I’m a lifelong learner myself. Being a college professor was a new revelation. I’m always searching for ways to contribute. Teaching ended up being one of them.”

Now in the third year of his second stint teaching at Boise State University, Quintana was recently named a 2024 Online MBA Faculty Excellence Award winner. Earlier this year, he was named the 2024 Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year.

He teaches BUSMBA 530 Leadership and Communication in the Online Master of Business Administration, along with three other courses across the other MBA programs — MBA 552 Strategic Human Resources (Professional MBA), MBA 512 Management and Oral Communication (Career Track MBA) and MBA 533 Communication Skills (Professional MBA).

“It’s exciting to be recognized as an educator,” he said. “The most rewarding part of teaching is seeing students grow from the beginning to the end of each course. Knowing that students took time to share their feedback with staff and faculty and then to be selected for this award by a committee of my peers made this recognition especially meaningful to me.”

Quintana is also working on a doctoral degree in organizational learning and leadership from the University of Idaho.

“Being a teacher and student simultaneously comes with its challenges, but it also gives me a lot of empathy and insights from a student perspective,” he said. “I understand what they’re going through. As a working graduate student, I know what it’s like to have competing priorities, balancing schoolwork with family and work responsibilities.

“I don’t assign busy work. MBA students don’t have time for it, and I don’t have time to grade it. Everything I assign is intentionally selected to help students learn and grow and comes from understanding what it’s like to be a graduate student and a working professional. Having this perspective leads to a better learning experience for them.”

Planting seeds

Quintana grew up in Mountain Home, Idaho, and graduated from Boise State in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Five years later, he added a master’s degree in organizational leadership from George Fox University.

“I wasn’t sure what I would do for a career,” he said. “I changed my major four or five times before selecting a communication degree. I took a training and development class offered through the communication department and wanted to learn more.”

While launching his career at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, Quintana developed an interest in leadership and service. He then served for two terms as an elected official on the Boise City Council.

“I started my career in sales as a membership representative,” he said. “Soon after, I got an opportunity to serve as programs manager for Leadership Boise and Leadership Boise Academy and launch Boise Young Professionals.

“The Academy was a shorter version of the adult Leadership Boise program for high school juniors. That’s where I first met (Professional MBA Director) Ally Daniels when she participated in the program. Fast forward 15-plus years, and Ally was the person who offered me the opportunity to teach in the Online MBA program. It’s a small, connected world we live in.”

Quintana’s entry into teaching started with the help of a few other people in his network, including Boise State’s current Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Jeremiah Shinn. Ben met Shinn in 2010 when Boise State sponsored the Leadership Academy program, and they have stayed connected ever since.

“Jeremiah was teaching in Boise State’s leadership certificate program led by Heidi Reeder, one of my favorite professors from my undergrad experience,” he said. “I stayed in touch with them and expressed an interest in teaching if they ever had an opening. They let me serve as an instructor for the Foundations of Leadership course, and not only did I love it, but the students responded positively to my involvement.”

While working as the Director of Organizational Effectiveness at St. Luke’s Health System, his alma mater came calling again as it prepared to start an Online MBA with a healthcare leadership emphasis.

“When they got ready to launch the new program, Ally invited me to build and teach the healthcare leadership course,” he said.

Soon after, Quintana moved to Northwest Lineman College to lead the human resources and internal communication functions as Vice President of Culture and People.

“It didn’t feel right to teach the class because I no longer worked in a healthcare leadership position,” he said. “I introduced Ally to a St. Luke’s colleague with teaching experience and a doctorate in the field. Ally agreed he was a great fit, so he took it and ran with it.

“I was bummed to miss out on teaching in the MBA program, so I told Ally and (Senior Director for Executive Education and MBA Programs for Working Professionals) Brian O’Morrow that if they had another opportunity in the future, I would be interested.

“The next year, they called and asked me if I would be interested in redesigning and teaching the Leadership and Communication course. We launched the new course in the summer of 2022 and update the content regularly using student feedback and the latest research.”

Full bloom

As he continues to thrive as an educator, Quintana looks forward to many more years of preparing business leaders to further their careers.

“I’d love to continue teaching in some capacity for the rest of my career, whether as an adjunct or one day as a full-time faculty member,” he said. “I love teaching. I’m very fortunate that Boise State’s online program allows me to teach while doing other things.”

Teaching a course he helped design gives Quintana extra satisfaction when he sees the immediate impact on his students.

“It’s fulfilling to learn that the hard work and effort you’ve put into designing learning experiences adds immediate value and benefit to the students,” he said. “We discuss real-world experiences and proven, time-tested concepts that have been validated repeatedly across decades.

“Then, we challenge the students to solicit feedback on how others perceive them, apply lessons learned from course materials, understand their unique strengths, and reflect on what matters most to them.”

Seeing the students transform from the beginning to the end of each semester and working closely with them keeps Quintana’s passion for teaching alive and well.

“I love working with MBA students, especially because they are action-oriented and want to apply concepts immediately,” he said. “When you give them a helpful tool or challenge them to think differently about a situation, they use it the next day and often see immediate results.

“They’re hungry to learn and ready to implement the lessons learned immediately. I find it incredibly rewarding to know I helped someone grow and improve their leadership and communication skills.”

Learn more about the Online MBA

Earning an Online Master of Business Administration from Boise State University can open doors to new opportunities and a brighter future — and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re exploring if an online degree is right for you or need help transferring credits, connecting with a student success coach is the perfect first step.

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