S3E6: The Value of Continuous Curiosity with Dean Rachel Hayes

This season, join host Frances Johnson as she explores the topic
of continuous curiosity, asking: What is curiosity? Why is it
important? And what roadblocks prevent us from being curious in
our work, homes, and communities? Throughout this season, we’ll
also hear from guests who have used curiosity to pursue something
new – a degree, a profession, or a passion.


In this episode, Frances sits down with Dean Rachel Hayes to
discuss how she brings curiosity into her leadership role. They
discuss curiosity as a value at the David Eccles School of
Business, the pivots her college journey and career took before
landing her in Utah, and the importance of getting involved on
campus


Dean Rachel Hayes received an MBA from the University of
Colorado, and a Ph.D. from the Stanford University Graduate
School of Business. She came to the University of Utah as a
member of the accounting faculty in 2005, and has served in
numerous roles in her department and college. She is currently
the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Presidential Chair in
Financial Reporting and previously served as the Associate Dean
of Faculty and Research.  
Episode Quotes:

On cultivating a culture of curiosity among the Eccles
community


[09:20] I think fundamentally, we have an attitude of how can we
better serve our students, and as corollaries to that, our staff
and faculty, we want to be sure we're serving them as well. But a
lot of what we do is try to create opportunities and experiences
that will benefit the students that come to the Eccles School.


On the importance of developing curiosity in faculty
members


[09:20] Faculty are curious by nature because they've gotten into
this profession typically by being interested enough to do a lot
of research into their topic. So I think curiosity is a
fundamental characteristic of our faculty. Students get to
benefit from this because our faculty are actually out there
learning about current trends, what's going on in the markets,
and the newest types of, say, financial instruments, and students
benefit from this. Students benefit from having experts who are
learning and teaching the most current topics out there.


How curiosity helped Dean Hayes to adopt to
change


[18:16] My perspective as a professor of accounting is quite
different from my perspective now. It turns out that, in the same
way that I encourage students to get involved, I'm finding from
my own experience that I have to get involved because we have so
much going on at the school. So I'm learning and asking questions
all the time as I discover the different sorts of activities and
advantages we're providing our students.
Show Links:

Dean Rachel Hayes’ bio