2025 Lam-Larsen Distinguished Teaching Professorship Awards

Professor, Management 

Professor Sally Baack is a distinguished educator and leader in the field of management education, with over 25 years of dedicated service at San Francisco State University. A highly respected teacher and mentor, Professor Baack has consistently demonstrated excellence in the classroom, evidenced by student evaluation scores that average an impressive 1.21 across both undergraduate and MBA programs, including 17 perfect 1.0 section evaluations. Her commitment to student-centered learning and innovative pedagogy is widely recognized, including her selection as the College of Business CEETL Teaching Fellow in 2018–2019 and multiple College of Business Professor of the Year awards.

A thought leader in experiential and case-based learning, Professor Baack has authored numerous acclaimed teaching cases and pedagogical articles. She is known for blending rigor with creativity—integrating humor, interactive exercises, and global perspectives into her courses.

Professor Baack’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is exemplary. She integrates DEI principles through meaningful classroom practices, diverse case selection, and student engagement strategies that affirm identity and belonging. Her approach to mentorship—supporting both students and junior faculty—is personal, thoughtful, and impactful.

With a sustained record of scholarship, service, media engagement, and pedagogical innovation, Professor Baack embodies the very best of academic excellence and community impact. She is a cornerstone of the Management Department and a deeply valued member of the Lam Family College of Business.

Professor, Economics

Professor Venoo Kakar has been with San Francisco State University and the Lam Family College of Business for 12 years. She has provided transformative educational experiences by directly engaging students in teaching and research, resulting in co-authored publications and competitive job placements. Her students have regularly presented their class projects at the Grad Slam and the Graduate Research Showcase and have won awards at the CSU-wide research competition.

She has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate Economics courses and has consistently received exceptional SETE scores with several perfect evaluations. She continuously updates her teaching materials to include recent events that are relatable to students, such as through her presentation on the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse. 

Her flipped classroom approach, featuring publicly accessible YouTube videos, has freed class time for applied problem-solving and lab work, fostering deeper engagement. This approach has deepened student learning while also reaching a global audience. To date, she has created 214 instructional videos, which have collectively garnered 710,753 views. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and reports with students and provided research assistantships to 18 students, many of whom were first-generation college students.

She is also leading a collaborative project titled Using GenAI Tools to Engage Students with Economics Research. The goal of this pedagogical research is to make economics research more accessible and approachable for students at the introductory level.

Professor, Management

Professor Eric Lamm exemplifies the highest standards of excellence in teaching, curriculum development, and academic mentorship. Over the past several years, he has taught five distinct management courses in various modalities, consistently achieving exceptional student evaluations. His average SETE score of 1.24 (1.16 excluding an outlier) places him significantly above the departmental average of 1.58, underscoring his ability to foster a rigorous yet engaging classroom environment. Despite a reputation as a demanding instructor, students repeatedly describe his courses as enjoyable, enriching, and deeply engaging.

Professor Lamm is also an innovative pedagogue. He co-authored a first-of-its-kind interactive, digital-only textbook with Pearson that incorporates videos, drag-and-drop exercises, and real-time performance tracking—an effective response to changing student learning habits. His scholarship includes multiple articles in Management Teaching Review and conference presentations on experiential exercises that deepen learning through application and reflection.

Professor Lamm is also a dedicated mentor. He has supported over 15 junior faculty through comprehensive classroom evaluations and ongoing coaching.  In particular, his mentorship of Monique Domingo, now a tenure-track faculty member at Louisiana State University, is a testament to his ability to inspire and guide students toward academic careers.

In summary, through his teaching, innovation, mentorship, and DEI leadership, Professor Lamm has made a lasting impact on management education in the Lam Family College of Business and San Francisco State University.

Professor, Decision Sciences

Professor Julia Miyaoka has been with San Francisco State University and the Lam Family College of Business for 22 years. She has taught a wide range of Decision Sciences courses and has consistently received exceptional SETE scores. She is regarded as one of the most caring and effective teachers by her students and peers.

Outside the classroom, Professor Miyaoka has engaged in various curriculum innovation, course development, and pedagogical research. She was involved in improving one of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program's (BSBA) core courses, Operations Management, including the initiation of a student-led supplemental instruction section, the development of an activity-based version of the course, and an online version during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Professor Miyaoka has received a community engagement mini-grant and supervised facilitators for a summer high school program, with the goal to bring real-world math applications in business to incoming first-year high school students.