Dr. David Reavis, interim dean of the Texas A&M University-Texarkana College of Business has announced the appointment two new faculty members.

Dr. Brian L. Matthews is teaching general business and management courses in the Business Administration program. Jamie Daigle is the inaugural faculty member in the Supply Chain Management program.

Dr. Matthews has lived in Texarkana since 2003. After graduating from Ashdown High School in 1997, he attended Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, where he was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society for freshmen, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing in 2001. He went on to attend Harding’s graduate program, graduating summa cum laude in 2002 with a Master of Business Administration in Management, and was inducted into Phi Beta Lambda-Future Business Leaders of America.

After graduating, he moved back to Texarkana where he has worked in sales, marketing consultancy, insurance, and healthcare. In 2012, he received a Doctor of Business Administration in Marketing from Argosy University, graduating magna cum laude. During his tenure as a doctoral student, he was also inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Dr. Matthews currently serves as a city council member for Texarkana, Texas, representing Ward 4. He serves as a board member for CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital, Alzheimer’s Alliance Tri-State and The Healing Place. He is president of the Diversity Awareness Committee at Texarkana Independent School District and has served on the boards of the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, Literacy Council for Miller and Bowie Counties, Partners in Education for the Texarkana Independent School District and the United Way of Greater Texarkana.

Dr. Matthews received the Dr. G.W. Thompson Professional Award from the NAACP in 2014 and The Distinguished Gentleman’s Award from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity in 2016. He continues to be a proponent of education by mentoring and speaking at middle school and high school campuses in the area. He is an ordained deacon and Sunday school teacher at Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Hooks, Texas, and is the father of a 9-year-old son, Bradley Matthews.

“There is a quote that says, ‘Those who care, teach.’ I believe that this quote describes the true essence of any teacher. The desire to teach is more than just a feeling. It is a passion,” Dr. Matthews said. “To join The Texas A&M University System, particularly Texas A&M University-Texarkana, gives me an opportunity to truly make an impact in the lives of our students. For me, teaching is the possibility of transformation. To help shape the perspective of my students as it relates to their academic passion is undeniably rewarding and gratifying. I am extremely excited about this incredible opportunity and hope to be a part of A&M-Texarkana for many years to come.”

Daigle was recruited as the Supply Chain instructor after teaching for more than five years at the collegiate level in Houston, Texas, at both The University of Houston-Downtown and San Jacinto College.

From building information technology infrastructures in Iraq to managing a business that had subsidiaries in Canada to New London, she has more than five years of experience in supply chain management.

Daigle said she feels an “affinity for teaching at the collegiate level and even her family says that the only time they truly see her glow is after lecturing business classes.”

She has taught the following courses through University of Houston-Downtown and through San Jacinto college, both being AACSB-accredited institutions: Managerial Auditing and Budgeting, Management of the Supply Chain, Global Logistics Management, Introduction to International Business and Trade, Management in a Global Context, Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior, Advanced Auditing, Professional Development for Business Professionals, Managerial Decision Making, Managerial Economics and Management of Information Flows.

Daigle is currently attending the University of Liverpool to obtain a doctoral degree.

Daigle said she makes it her personal endeavor to be a guiding light and positive influence as well as a source of information through tribal knowledge in the business industry as well as from her pedagogy.

“When students leave me with a healthy skepticism to become fact finders of information rather than drawing on inferences, I will have accomplished creating critical thinkers,” she said. “Once they can communicate with a fluency in business in both verbal and written contexts then my instruction was effective. After students are veterans in their field and leave with a transferability of knowledge that makes them a stronger asset to their industries; that is an indicator of accomplishment. Above all, when my students think ethically and in a higher order of thinking with the abilities to solve complex situations then I have impacted their ability for success.”

Daigle has relocated from Houston to teach at A&M-Texarkana this semester. Her father is a graduate of Texas A&M, so she says she is excited about being a part of The Texas A&M University System. She is an epicure and enjoys cooking a variety of foods with her three daughters.

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