Business Administration

John Homer, Ph.D., Business Administration Department chair and professor of economics, has worked at Olivet College since 1979. Homer teaches all the college's economics courses and is the program coordinator of Civilization Studies, one of the college's four liberal arts core programs. His academic areas of specialization are resource economics, international trade and economic development.

Homer has received the Drs. Gorton and Peggy Riethmiller Advisor of the Year Award and the Drs. Gorton and Peggy Riethmiller Teacher of the Year Award three times. Four students who received the Donald A. Morris Award, given each year to the top five graduating seniors, have chosen Homer as his/her most influential faculty member during their career at Olivet. He has also received the John J. Shipherd Award five times and the 1844 Award, and has been chosen by three graduating classes to be the baccalaureate speaker. In addition, he has been awarded Faculty Member of the Year at The Ollies athletic ceremony.

Homer earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Western Michigan University, and a master's degree and doctorate in economics from the University of Hawaii.

Michael Oyster, a 1977 Olivet College alumnus, led a storied career before returning to his alma mater to serve as its executive-in-residence in 2012.

As a former CEO of publicly traded and private companies, a multinational corporate executive and entrepreneur, Oyster brings a wealth of experience to the college’s Business Administration Department.

But rather than go into detail about his impressive accolades, Oyster sums it up like this: “I was a business guy,” he said.

“I worked for AT&T, the world’s largest corporation at the time, for 20 years. I worked for mid-size businesses, both established and start-ups, and experienced all facets of the business world including helping them through IPOs and significant financing transactions. I built and ran a small software company and became the CEO of a public corporation, becoming experienced in mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate restructuring. Finally, I started my own company as an entrepreneur, making use of the learning and relationships gained throughout my career.”

It’s that corporate and entrepreneurial experience that prepared Oyster for his most recent venture: teaching.

“I thrive on seeing others achieve their goals, passions and dreams,” he said. “Investing in others’ achievements is key to individual fulfillment and hones your own skills and abilities as a leader. The students at Olivet College are fantastic. They have dreams that will be achieved, and providing the catalyst for their ideas to be built on is what teaching and leading is all about.

“Olivet College invested in me the same way,” he continued. “Not knowing what the future would hold, Olivet faculty and administrators invested in me individually, as they do in every student, with support, knowledge and the opportunities to succeed in life."

Oyster says that part of his investment includes sharing with students the important skills of becoming an effective and successful business leader. In return, he says, students must be willing to work hard toward their goals.

“I am a pretty transparent individual who willingly helps others succeed, as long as they are willing to work as well,” he said. “Life is not a free ride, but life is also not a solo journey. We all need mentors to help us grow, learn and achieve. I like to have fun in whatever I am doing, and I am serious when it is important. I am all about the end result – not stuck on a single path to get to the goal, but rather, I am flexible to a student’s personal pathway to achievement.”

To students hoping to pursue a business major at Olivet College, his advice is simple: “Work hard with me, be confident, ask questions, discuss and share with others, and engage. It might not always be apparent how the pieces connect, but they all do lead to a better understanding of the topic or skills of any given course.”  

Oyster is responsible for teaching courses, leading the Phi Beta Lambda honor society for business majors and minors, and working to increase experiential learning opportunities for Olivet’s business students.

He earned his Master of Science in management at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Business, and completed the Executive Program for International Management at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business, as well as the AT&T Leadership Development Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Lertchaipitak’s schedule this fall includes instruction in finance and financial planning courses. She enjoys teaching in a variety of ways in order to benefit and appeal to students with different learning styles and has teaching experience in both face-to-face and online classroom settings. Lertchaipitak is interested in conducting research in financial decision making, behavioral finance, financial satisfaction and financial literacy. She wants to help students learn about financial decisions and the importance of personal finance.

Currently, Lertchaipitak is a doctoral candidate in the personal financial planning department at Texas Tech University (TTU) and completing her dissertation, "Gender Differences in Search for Financial Information.” Lertchaipitak also has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, and two master’s degrees, one in finance and economics from West Texas A&M and another in personal financial planning from Texas Tech University. She has received awards for her recruiting efforts, teaching excellence and volunteer service at TTU.

Professor Oumtrakool joins Olivet this fall in the financial planning program, teaching courses on fundamentals of financial planning, investments and income taxation. He enjoys teaching because it allows him to witness firsthand and influence the ways in which students change and grow into positive and ethical financial planning professionals.

Oumtrakool earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Kasetsart University in Thailand before earning two master’s degrees, one in finance and economics from West Texas A&M University and another in personal financial planning from Texas Tech University. Oumtrakool is a doctoral candidate in personal financial planning at Texas Tech University. He has researched time use and well-being of retirees (the topic of his dissertation), retirement income and consumption, behavioral finance and portfolio allocation decisions of retirees. Oumtrakool’s research has been published in several papers, he has been featured as a speaker at many conferences and has been recognized for service to the community.

Lertchaipitak and Oumtrakool, originally from Thailand, bring an international perspective on business to the college as well as a strong interest in recruiting international students and leading study-abroad courses. The couple welcomed a new baby girl, Rory, this summer.