Erin McLaughlin

Erin McLaughlin, PhD, is the Chair and Professor of the Business Department as well as coordinator for the Global MBA program. She is certified as a Global Business Professional by the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators (NASBITE).

McLaughlin's areas of interest focuses on corruption, economic development, and culture on an international scale. By incorporating her research into coursework, McLaughlin provides students with real-life examples to better understand the economic issues and their implications.

To help inspire students to think beyond the “bottom line,” McLaughlin shows students how to develop business concepts that affect real change through the Justice Matters curriculum. This can be seen in coursework that includes advocating on behalf of trafficked children in Ghana and the Ivory Coast—through The Hershey Company’s Raising the Bar program—and helping orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland start a craft business by developing a social business strategy. Students are able to see their academic efforts manifest into sustainable change for those most in need.

To further transform students into 21st-century leaders, McLaughlin incorporates study abroad experiences into her coursework. After completing classes that cover topics including the European Union, the conflict in Northern Ireland, and fair trade, McLaughlin and her students travel to locations affected by the issues. Students in the fair trade courses, for example, visited a cooperative in Costa Rica to provide a fuller understanding of the importance of alternative trading models.

McLaughlin earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a doctorate in Business with a concentration in International Business from Touro University.