Aaron Phillips

Associate Professor (Lecturer)

Department of Management

Career Line, Faculty

Aaron T. Phillips is an Associate Professor/Lecturer in the Management Department at the David Eccles School of Business, where he has taught since 2015. At the Eccles School, he has taught a wide range of subjects: sustainability in business, emotional intelligence, business ethics, crisis communication, public speaking, professional writing, business history/philosophy, accounting communication, and communication theory. He is the faculty advisor for the full-time MBA Capstone class, which allows students to contribute to organizations in a consulting capacity, and he has coordinated the Management major’s internship program.

During his time at the Eccles School, Dr. Phillips has consistently earned accolades for his teaching, including the Alta Sustainability Integration in Teaching Award, the Dr. Rodney Brady Excellence in Teaching Award, the Leadership in Ethics Education Award, a fellowship with the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. Additionally, he has been recognized by the University of Utah as a Sustainability Teaching Scholar. He serves as the faculty advisor for the Outdoor Industry Club and has coached several teams of undergraduate students in national-level ethics case competitions. He frequently mentors honors students in their senior thesis projects, along with MBA students seeking sustainability certifications to add to their credentials. His recent research has investigated the interplay of AI and human learning systems in classroom settings, intentional building of resilience through “cold” networking, and building compassion and creativity into effective crisis communication.

Before receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Phillips taught a broad range of courses, also at the University of Utah. These include mountain bike touring, backpacking, and camping classes, along with writing popular nonfiction, environmental writing, scientific writing, introduction to rhetoric, intermediate academic writing, and service-learning professional writing. In his spare time, he enjoys riding and racing mountain bikes in the summer and Nordic skiing in the winter.

Publications
  • Phillips, A.T. (2015). Bordering Ecosystems: The Rhetorical Function of Characterization in Gray Wolf Management. Published online March 17, 2015; print publication forthcoming. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2015.1018837. Accepted, 12/09/2014.
  • Phillips, A.T. (2015) Eliding Extraction, Embracing Novelty: The Spatio-Temporal Configuration of Natural History. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 8(4), 452-467. DOI:10.1080/17524032.2014.919331. In press, 01/01/2015.
  • Phillips, A. T. (2012). Climate Change: Scepticism [sic] versus Objectivity? Science As Culture, 21(4), 607-610. DOI:10.1080/09505431.2012.706276. Published, 03/12/2012.
Honors & Awards

Doctoral Studies

One of 30 doctoral students nationwide selected for National Communication Association’s annual Doctoral Honors Seminar, Acadia National Park, ME, July 2013. Mentors: Steve Depoe, Laura Lindenfeld, Tema Milstein, Nathan Stormer. Theme: “Research Collaboration on Disciplinary Frontiers: Spanning Methodological Boundaries.”

Floyd O’Neil Scholarship in Western American Studies, University of Utah, 2012-2013

Master’s Studies

Teaching assistantship, Department of English, University of Utah, 1998-2000

Undergraduate Studies

Ruth Hinckley Wiles Scholarship, Department of English, University of Utah, 1996-1997

Kenneth Eble Scholarship, Department of English, University of Utah, 1995-1996

Tuition Waiver, Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, 1992-1993 and 1993-1994

Teaching Awards

Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Utah Writing Program, 2010-2011

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