Willie Reddic (MSF ’06) is building a reputation as a business education innovator by drawing upon lessons learned while earning his master’s degree in finance from Gies College of Business two decades ago.
Today, as the associate dean for business education and associate professor of accounting at Syracuse University, Reddic is championing a practical, application-based approach to developing business curriculum. He encourages faculty to focus on real-world problem-solving instead of primarily emphasizing business theory.
“My goal is to prepare students to add value from their first day on the job,” said Reddic, whose teaching philosophy was shaped by a number of Gies Business faculty. This include Larry Gies Family Chair in Business and Dean Emeritus Jeff Brown, Hoeft Professor of Business and Department Chair of Finance Louis K.C. Chan, Professor Charles Khan, Professor Emeritus of Finance George Pennachi and former Gies Professor David Ikenberry, who later served as dean of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.
Cultivating grit at Gies Business
“Dean Brown saw in me the person who I could become, and I’m forever in his debt for that,” said Reddic, who came to campus after earning a bachelor's degree in management information systems and opening a real estate-related consulting firm in Atlanta.
The transition to graduate-level finance was not without its hurdles. He entered the program without the benefit of advanced coursework in mathematics, making the tools of the trade especially challenging. Knowing that strong quantitative skills were essential for admission into a PhD program, he made the decision, on Dean Brown's advice, to retake the entire math curriculum from the ground up.
This was not a quick fix. After repeatedly falling short of the score he needed on the GMAT, he enrolled in math courses at both Florida State University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University — attending classes during the day and at night, while simultaneously working 40 hours a week as a Florida insurance regulator. Reddic said that balancing full-time employment with a rigorous academic course load required discipline and sacrifice, but it was a necessary investment in closing the gap between where he started and where he needed to be.
“What he lacked in prerequisites he made up for in a fierce determination to succeed,” said Brown. “He came to class every day, participated in class discussions more than anyone, and did so in a thoughtful way. He took advantage of every opportunity to meet with me to understand the material.”
That determination carried Reddic through his work as an insurance regulator for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and into the next chapter of his academic journey. His mentors, Dr. Caesar Douglas and Dean Emeritus Mel Stith, recognized his potential and encouraged him to pursue a PhD at Syracuse University.
The doctoral program, however, tested him in ways he had not anticipated. At one point, he came dangerously close to being removed altogether. It was perseverance, determination, and the continued guidance of his mentors and advisor (and fellow Gies Business alumnus), Dr. Joseph Comprix (ACCY ’00), that instilled in him a 'don't quit' attitude — one that ultimately carried him through to earn his PhD in 2013.
That same resilience did not go unnoticed. DePaul University, impressed by his teaching and research, invited him to join its faculty as an assistant professor that same year. He was later promoted to associate dean of DePaul's Driehaus College of Business before returning to Syracuse in 2021 as an associate professor.
Challenging industrious students
At Syracuse, Reddic has led an initiative challenging faculty to incorporate AI across the entire curriculum, and the school now offers industry-recognized certifications (like no-code data analytics platform Alteryx) so that students start adding value from their first assignment onward.
"The business programs that will stand out in the future are those that offer a clear value proposition," said Reddic. "Our job as educators isn't to produce students obsessed with their GPA; it's to develop future business leaders who embrace the learning process and build real relationships with their network of faculty and alumni."
Reddic says he often chides students, telling them everyone is smart, but what's important is learning how to be different and stand out in the classroom.
"I remind them that the best place they can fail is in the classroom," said Reddic. "The worst-case scenario is a bad grade — but the lessons they walk away with are what give them the confidence and professional judgment they'll need to lead.”