Family Ties That Bind

By Terry Tush

Depending upon whose version you’re hearing, Ryan and Rebecca Greenbaum are together because of a coincidental scheduling conflict (his version) or a deceptive plan orchestrated to make sure they were alone together (her version).

As members of their workplace coed softball team in Florida, the pair was heading to the batting cages one day after work. One version is that teammates, who had joined them on previous trips to take batting practice, were supposed to meet up with the two. But this particular day, Rebecca found out it was just the two of them.

“Her story is a little different than mine,” says Ryan, laughing. “She thought I was tricking her into meeting for a date, [but] people were literally calling as we were going out [to the batting cages] to say they weren’t going to be able to make it.

“It ended up just being us, and I made the best of it.”

Now, 12 years and four children later, Ryan and Rebecca Greenbaum are valued faculty members in the Spears School of Business. Rebecca, who was hired in 2009, is an associate professor in the Department of Management and holds the William S. Spears Chair of Business Administration. Ryan is a full-time clinical professor in the Department of Management.

“Rebecca and Ryan are two great examples of the dedicated faculty we have here in the Spears School,” says Ken Eastman, dean of the Spears School of Business. “They both are very productive individuals, yet they make time for their children and each other. We are fortunate to have them on our faculty, and our students benefit greatly from their care and attention.”

The Greenbaums’ four children — 6-year-old Asher, 4-year-old Audrey, 2-year-old Grayson and 11-month-old Elizabeth — keep them busy outside the classroom.

The two older children are involved in soccer, t-ball and basketball. Thus, despite attempting to follow a nightly schedule, hectic evenings are routine at the Greenbaum home.

“We’re a very, very structured family, and I feel like we have to be,” says Rebecca. “We eat pretty early, around 5:15, because we have to get the kids to their activities by 6. We also make it a priority to eat supper together … and then after that it’s a whirlwind. I mean, the evenings go by so quickly.”

“We’re always busy,” says Ryan. “The time aspect is tough because you want to make sure you give each of the kids enough time, and give them enough of the things they each need individually, and it’s hard to do sometimes.”

Between juggling family and their own active lifestyles (Rebecca is a runner who has run a marathon and several half-marathons, while Ryan competes in mud runs), the Greenbaums’ responsibilities also involve hundreds of business students.

Rebecca teaches a couple of classes each semester, and her primary research interests focus on behavioral ethics and morality with particular emphasis on ethical leadership.

“In terms of just the job itself, what I like about being a college professor is the research, although I also like impacting the undergrad students. I think I have a bigger influence on the Ph.D. students because that’s more of a mentorship role,” says Rebecca, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida and a master’s in human resources management and a doctorate in management from the University of Central Florida.

Ryan, as a clinical professor, teaches Spears School undergraduate students, specifically the Fundamentals of Management and Sports Management classes.

“Rebecca tends to be more involved on the graduate side of things while I tend to be more involved with the undergrad, but they do mesh with each other very well,” says Ryan, who has degrees from the University of Florida (bachelor’s in journalism and communications) and Oklahoma State University (master’s degree in educational psychology and MBA).

“We help each other out. So when she has questions about how to make her classes maybe pop a little or how to do things differently, I’ll help her out with maybe adding different activities and looking at things through a different light. Whereas on the other side, if I’m stuck on some things and saying this concept seems kind of boring, how can I better relate this or how can I bring in some of the things she works on like bottom-line mentality or some of the different ethical issues into these classes, then she’s able to give me some good examples that I can use to get students to see in a different way, which is always very helpful.”

Ryan, a huge fan of the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals, has played on intramural teams with and against his students. “These students keep me young. The conversations I have, and the way the students feel comfortable talking to me and just talking about random things. … It keeps me thinking about things from their perspective and keeps me up-to-date with what’s new and new technology, so I don’t seem like the old fogey who’s teaching the classes.

“Outside of class I’ve had students come up and give me the bro hug, something they probably don’t give their other professors. It makes me feel like I’m making a connection.”

The Greenbaums admit they never expected to stay in Stillwater as long as they have but now that they’re a family of six, they don’t plan to leave.

“[The Spears School] is the reason we’ve stayed as long as we have. It’s wonderful,” says Rebecca. “When we first moved here, Stillwater felt a little bit small to us since we only had one child at the time. We came from Orlando, Florida, but part of what always kept us here is my job. I love working for the Spears School of Business. It’s a really, really good job. There’s a wonderful culture, and we work with really good colleagues.

“It’s a place where I feel like I can be creative with some of my ideas, and because it’s not so high pressure I feel like I have the freedom to be creative and do more of what I want to do. It’s always been a great place to work.”

Ryan, who was hired by Eastman in 2011 as an adjunct and became a clinical professor after earning his MBA, says the Spears School has something special that colleagues envy.

“I think we have a different school than what a lot of friends that I’ve made through academics have,” he says. “The people who are associated with the business school are amazing. It’s great.”