McCoy College faculty build global connections through India Faculty in Residence program

​Two McCoy College of Business faculty members traveled to India this spring to participate in the college’s India Faculty in Residence program. The program strengthens international academic partnerships through research, collaboration, teaching, and an exchange of cultural and professional perspectives.

Dr. Sidney “Skip” Anderson, associate professor of marketing and Scott Emerson Professor of Business Administration, and finance professor Dr. Janet Payne, spent spring break visiting Pondicherry University in Puducherry, India, and the Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSoM) in Bangalore.

Dr. Seth Frei, assistant dean and chief of staff at the college, said the program was developed to provide faculty with opportunities to expand their international engagement and share their expertise with students and colleagues at partner institutions. 

“From the outset, we recognized that the program could support deeper research partnerships, scholarly collaboration, and academic exchange,” he said.

The program also gives faculty a chance to present their research, experience academic life in India, and observe and engage with global business ecosystems outside of the U.S.

“This is the inaugural year to help foster that relationship,” Anderson said. “It also provides a more global perspective for the participants. We get to see how business, healthcare, and entrepreneurship are conducted, which helps inform our research and teaching. It makes us better corporate citizens to understand that there are lots of different perspectives out there besides the U.S. perspective.”

For both Anderson and Payne, the trip also fulfilled their longtime interest in visiting India.

“It was such a unique opportunity,” Anderson said.

Payne echoed the sentiment.

“I’ve always wanted to go,” she said. “It seemed like a great opportunity, and it was fantastic.”

Two universities, two perspectives

Both faculty members spent several days at JAGSoM and Pondicherry University, connecting with students and faculty while getting a firsthand look at the academic culture and learning environment at each institution.

At Pondicherry University, Payne spent time interacting with doctoral students, where she was surprised by cultural norms, including students standing up as she entered the room as a welcoming sign of respect. At JAGSoM, Payne said the environment felt more familiar, with students arriving in business attire and participating more in discussions.

“It was really remarkable,” Payne said. “That was also a very great part of it, experiencing India from two completely different perspectives.”

Anderson described Pondicherry University as strongly emphasizing teaching and student preparation, while JAGSoM offered a more hands-on approach to business education.

At JAGSoM, students complete internships and experiential learning projects as part of the curriculum, designed to help them develop skills outside the classroom.

“The way they prepare their students is unlike anything I've ever seen,” said Anderson. “They are doing a lot of the things that we're doing here, but their approach is much more hands-on, which is possible for them because it's a much smaller University.”

Pondicherry University professor D. Lazar said having Anderson and Payne on campus was a positive experience for the university’s graduate and doctoral students.

“We look forward to future experiences like this,” Lazar said.

Turning conversations into collaboration

For Anderson, whose research focuses on artificial intelligence in marketing, the program opened new opportunities for research collaboration.

During presentations, Anderson said he shared an overview of seven research projects examining AI at the intersection of marketing and other disciplines, including operations management and economics.

“What resonated with them was that they could see that the research I was working on is current because it has to do with AI, and it addresses real-world problems,” he said.

Those conversations helped him build connections with JAGSoM faculty members who share similar research interests. Those connections have also led to collaboration, with several JAGSoM colleagues contributing to two of his ongoing projects, which he has since completed and submitted for review.

Payne was interested in both research and student engagement. At JAGSoM, she discussed a potential research project looking at financial literacy across India and the United States, including differences between rural and metropolitan populations.

Conversations also touched on women in business and Payne’s research on the adoption of financial technology. But she was most interested in possibilities that connected students across continents.

Payne discussed pairing students in similar courses at McCoy College and JAGSoM on shared projects, with teams composed of students from both countries. She also spoke with doctoral students about their research and how Texas State faculty might support their work, potentially by serving on dissertation committees.

“I wanted to talk to the students,” she said. “I wanted to find out what they were working on and talk about how I can help.”

The program also gave Anderson and Payne opportunities to experience India beyond its universities.

At JAGSoM, Anderson and Payne participated as panelists in a special edition of the university's Confluence event. In this industry-academia event series, business leaders, chief human resources officers, and technology experts gather to discuss emerging trends.