Meet Dr. Jake Waddingham

Dr. Jake Waddingham attended college as both an academic and also as a track and cross-country athlete. He completed his undergraduate studies at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, and at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he studied journalism and political science. 

Today, he is an assistant professor of management at the McCoy College of Business, where he has just completed his first semester of teaching.

His first position out of college was as an associate editor of the Creston News Advertiser in Iowa. After a couple of years, he decided to go back to school for his MBA at the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University.

“I loved telling stories, and I loved working with people in the community to understand what was impacting their day-to-day lives,” said Dr. Waddingham. “Management really fit that bill where I could understand and tell stories about people in the context of organizations. I still got to cover a lot of the stuff I really enjoyed; it was just in a new outlet that I transitioned to.”

During his time at Iowa State, Dr. Waddingham was a graduate assistant and later became a lecturer in the Ivy College of Business. He made connections while completing his MBA that led him to pursue a Ph.D. in Management at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. 

Dr. Waddingham completed his doctorate this past summer and quickly joined the management department at the McCoy College. He currently teaches the strategic management capstone course and is looking forward to taking on some graduate-level classes in the future. 

“I get to work with the seniors,” said Dr. Waddingham. “It’s awesome working with the seniors because they’re getting excited about their next steps — their time at Texas State is coming to an end — and they’re getting ready to launch off into their careers. The nice thing about the senior capstone is that we’re tying their whole experience together. It’s a chance for them to put together all the pieces before they head off into the real world.”

His first research project was recently published in the Journal of Management titled “Burning up on Reentry: The Effect of Entrepreneurial Exit in the Hiring Context.” He is currently revising his dissertation for publication, which focuses on entrepreneurs using humor to help with investor relations. 

“The big one I am working on right now is my dissertation,” said Dr. Waddingham. “That one is on entrepreneurs when they use humor and how that influences investor decision making. The data shows that it’s overall a net positive. Some people really like it, and they get excited about it. Others are turned off by it and hesitant to invest their hard-earned money.” 

Dr. Waddingham is still a track star — he enjoys running and keeping up with his exercise routine. He and his wife, Pam, live in Austin and are parents to an Instagram-famous Pomeranian named Schuman. Jake and Pam are both scuba-certified and are looking forward to volunteering at The Meadow’s Center to help with habitat restoration efforts in the San Marcos River. ✯

For more information, email Twister Marquiss, manager of marketing and communications for the McCoy College of Business, at twister@txstate.edu.

About the McCoy College of Business

Established in 1970, Texas State’s business school officially became the McCoy College of Business in 2004 following a donation of $20 million by Emmett and Miriam McCoy. The college, which offers classes in both San Marcos and Round Rock, is accredited by AACSB in both business and accounting, and has graduated nearly 42,000 alumni.