Robin Soster Brings a Fresh Perspective to Drury’s MBA Program

Her vision for the role

“The first thing that is top of line for me to accomplish is evaluating our curriculum. We’re planning on redesigning our curriculum. We will, of course, offer traditional MBA content like finance, economics, management and marketing, but we want to offer them in an innovative way that is responsive to today’s student and employer needs. We are having a workshop on campus with past students, current students and people on the Breech advisory board to help us re-envision the MBA program. For me, that’s a really exciting opportunity to create something new and distinct while building upon the heritage of the Drury brand.”

Where she looks for inspiration

“I’m a self-proclaimed Disney-phile. I’ve always been inspired by Walt Disney, an innovative Missourian. I love creativity and entrepreneurship, and I feel like, oddly enough, being a professor has this air of entrepreneurism. It allows you to teach what you like and research what you’re interested in. I’ve always been inspired by Disney and doing things excellently, like not just making a ride, but making a whole story involved with the ride.”

What keeps her up at night

“I’m in this industry where it never stops. There’s always another thing. I think all the time, but one thing I don’t have a problem with is falling asleep at night. So if there’s anything that keeps me up at night, it would be something mindless, because I don’t stay up worrying about work or writing a paper. I do something that keeps me away from that perpetual academia life, like reality TV, ‘Candy Crush’ or playing Trivial Pursuit with my husband and a glass of wine. The things that keep me up at night aren’t stressful things, they are me things.”