Professor of Practice Raj Singh says he empathizes with his students. “It’s fantastic to be with them, and many are first-generation students, and I can understand the challenges they are going through.
“I was the first in my family to go to college, and I had similar challenges years ago, including financial concerns. I understand the issues they are facing, and I’m supportive of them.”
The professor’s genuine interest in the people he teaches and his technique in the classroom was recognized with the student-voted 2022-2023 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award. The accolade was established by an alumnus and his wife to honor David Shulman, a retired economics professor, and annually rewards an exemplary business professor who embodies teaching excellence just as Shulman did.
“Dr. Singh arrives to the classroom ready and enthusiastic to teach students,” wrote one of the students who voted for Singh to receive the award. “He genuinely enjoys teaching; that’s evident in the way he engages us.”
Singh admits that he does a lot of reading and stays ahead of new technology, which “helps me do my job in the classroom,” says Singh, who teaches many undergraduate students, including first-year students. “Fortunately, at UCR we have a lot of support for the technology we use.”
Singh joined the School of Business in 1998. Another student-voted accolade, the Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, was created in 2015, and he was selected for that honor in 2016, 2019, and 2021 for providing the best overall classroom experience for learning engagement, teaching style, and innovative teaching methods.
“I try to connect with students, monitor their progress, watch facial expressions, make lectures interesting, and always be kind and respectful.
“He cares for his students,” said another nominating student. “It is a pleasure to be around someone so positive, intelligent, and amiable.”
The lessons Singh shares are also informed by a long and successful career: “I spent many years in engineering, management, and government,” he says. “This helps when I teach subjects such as labor relations, employee benefits, or human resources management. That’s how I’m able to connect real examples with the theory that I’m teaching in the classroom.”
“He is an outstanding professor dedicated to teaching his students about real-world topics that will benefit us in the future,” offered a student supporting Singh for the Shulman Award. “He has a lot of passion for teaching, and I can feel it whenever he speaks.”
