Cold-Calling and Bagels

Arizona prof "Vic" Piscitello's classes get students out of their comfort zones—and into free-lunch office hours and 24/7 support

by Kristen Fiani

Victor Piscitello
University of Arizona

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BusinessWeek asked business undergrads to tell us about their favorite professors. Here's another installment in the series.

If you ask around for Victor Piscitello on the University of Arizona's campus, you might run into some trouble. Truth is, there are very few people who refer to the popular marketing professor at the university's Eller College of Management as "Dr. Piscitello." But if you just ask for "Vic," you'll not only get an answer, but a story or two to go along with it. "Vic's a big kid," says senior Tyler Johansen of his former marketing professor. "His classes aren't a pain. I almost looked forward to them."

Others also admire Piscitello. Eller undergrads who participated in BusinessWeek's 2007 student survey most frequently named him as their favorite professor. Accepting a position as adjunct lecturer in the marketing department as he worked toward a PhD in education, Piscitello came to Eller in 2002 after spending more than a decade in Corporate America. He began at Eller excited about the prospect of working with undergrads, not only because he's a showman and his students are a captive audience, but also because they are optimistic about the world. "They keep me young," he says.

While Piscitello still finds his students' optimism refreshing, he's quick to introduce heavy doses of reality in the classroom by sharing his own experiences. "Less than 2% of my kids will be doctoral students, the other 98% will enter Corporate America," he says. "I'm able to give them a glimpse of what their experience will be."

Playing to Packed Halls

It's not a one-way street. Piscitello expects his students to contribute their own stories and examples to the class. "I call on a minimum of 10 different people in the peanut gallery' every day in order to increase their anxiety," he says. "I like to keep them on their toes."

Senior Amelia Gitter attests to Piscitello's uncanny ability to interact with a packed lecture hall. "Four hundred students pay attention and contribute to class every single day," says Gitter, who adds that Piscitello takes advantage of a wireless microphone to navigate the aisles of the hall.

Scoring an A is not hard, even if you have to work diligently, says Piscitello. "My courses are demanding," says Piscitello. "but all of my students have the potential to achieve above average' grades (As and Bs). The greatest variable is whether they want to put forth the effort." The average grade in Piscitello's courses in 2006-2007 was a 3.1 (or a low B).

Personal Selling Class in Big Demand

Still, it's not as though students have Piscitello wrapped around their little finger. The professor's ultimate goal as an educator is to provide students with a strong foundation in business, even if terror is a temporary byproduct. This is especially true in his "personal selling" class, a course that he developed. "It terrifies them," he says.

On the first day of Personal Selling, the 30 students enrolled in each section of the elective are asked to pick one industry they like and another they dislike. They are then assigned to attend three of the nearby Tucson Chamber of Commerce's power lunches a semester to meet contacts within these two industries and finesse their networking skills. The students study their business models in depth through both networking and outside research and re-evaluate their like or dislike for each. As a perk for getting out of their "comfort zones," students are provided free lunch from the chamber, bagels back at UA, courtesy of Piscitello, and a highly practical lesson in the challenges of connecting with people.

As a result of the Personal Selling course, three of Piscitello's students received job offers with Chamber of Commerce companies. Furthermore, the course's two sections for the fall 2007 semester were completely booked within an hour of registration, as word quickly spread about the personal benefits of taking the class. It will now be a permanent elective offered each semester as part of Eller's marketing program.

Chicago Bears on His Mind

Another signature Piscitello creation is his open-door lunch/office-hour format. "The best compliment [is] when students hang out at my office hours," says Piscitello. "We went through 13 loaves of bread and I don't know how many containers of peanut butter and chocolate milk last semester."

During senior Jeffrey Matthew's first visit to the office, he was offered a sandwich before any talk of marketing or assignments began. "He's there to help you no matter what and he wants you to do well," says Matthews. "He's very welcoming and likes to talk about what we do outside of school. He cares more about us as people than what [assignments] we are turning into him at office hours." Indeed, the topic of Piscitello's office hours is not always marketing. A fair share of time is spent talking about Piscitello's hometown love, the Chicago Bears.

In addition, Piscitello volunteers his time to advise many UA clubs and freely gives his cell-phone number to students for any-time contact. Johansen reached out to Piscitello on his cell phone for career advice a year and a half after taking Piscitello's introductory class. Johansen was greeted with the same enthusiasm and attentiveness as when he was his student. "He's incredibly supportive," affirms Matthews. "That [support] is appreciated by all of his students."

Every morning before work, Piscitello asks himself: "Who am I going to hang out with today?" There is never a disappointing answer to that question when you're the most popular, big kid on campus.

Kristen Fiani is an intern for BusinessWeek.