Jack A. Babinchak, Ph.D.

As an instructor of business and business-related courses since 2005, I aim to motivate students to begin a personal journey toward life-long learning and empowerment. My philosophy regarding teaching comes from years in the classroom and continues to evolve based on best practices and learning research.

I strongly believe that learning should be fun… free from stress and anxiety. When we feel threatened, we shut down and retreat or disengage. On the other hand, when we are relaxed and experiencing positive emotions, we remain engaged and invested.

The classroom should be a place where students feel comfortable, experience positive emotions and scaffold learning over a period of time. My job as a facilitator is to create a collegial environment where everyone feels safe and is encouraged to participate and express ideas. In such an environment, intellectual exploration and critical thinking are rewarded; every participant’s insights and experiences are valued. This creates a dynamic learning environment where we all learn from each other.

Dr. Jack Babinchak started his career as a management practitioner, first in a plastic recycling facility and then at a plastic bottle manufacturing plant. During this 15-year period, he pursued an MBA; earned certification in ISO, Lean and Six Sigma; secured a $1.5 million recycling grant for his company; and was part of a $21-million facility start-up.

“I have been in my second career, academics, for almost as long,” he says. Babinchak make the switch to academic in 2005, teaching at a small career college in northeast Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty at Central Penn in 2013. Right before coming to the college, he earned his Ph.D. in Management from Capella University in Minnesota.

He is a frequent presenter at academic conferences and co-authored a paper on adaptive learning technology on student performance that was published in The Transnational Journal of Business.

Married for more than 25 years, he and his wife Kristen have two children, Grace and Jacob. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, golfing and watching my kid's activities.