Faculty Leader: DQ Spencer

Here’s a tip for students and alumni: It pays to keep up with your network. It might land you a job.

Dr. DeQuindre Spencer (who goes by DQ) graduated from the College of Business in 2009. He went on to build a career in Human Resources, but never strayed far from the College of Business. He has been a frequent partner in the College’s recruiting e orts and has given numerous in-class presentations.

Last year, Dean Brenda Flannery asked Spencer to lend his expertise to an online forum on how to nd and keep a job during the pandemic. Ironically, Spencer had been laid o from his job in corporate HR just months before. Nevertheless, he hopped on Zoom and “I gave my spiel about being laid o from HR, and what to do. [I o ered] my two cents from an HR perspective and my two cents from the perspective of being unemployed,” he says. “I think that resonated with Dr. Flannery and some of her colleagues.”

It most certainly did. Flannery reached out to Spencer, who was nishing up a doctoral program at the time, to consider applying for an emergency faculty position within the College. “We were so fortunate to be able to hire him as a new faculty member given he is an alumnus,” she says. “What’s so cool about DQ is that he brings this wealth of industry experience to his teaching, but he’s also passionate about students.”

Spencer, who recently earned a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Colorado Technical University, began teaching Principles of Management and Agribusiness. While he’s new to the role of professor, Spencer has been able to leverage his professional background in the classroom.

“One of the things I like to do is talk about relevant current topics,” he says. “Any chance I have to put some kind of personal experience into the curriculum and program I do. I also want to use my HR perspective to help students nd alignment toward the career they want.”

Spencer’s student-centered approach also shows up in his on-campus involvement. He is a service liaison and mentor to Inroads Organization as well as the Black Intelligent Gentlemen (BIG), an organization with the expressed goal of improving the long-term trajectories of Black men in colleges and universities. As someone not far removed from his own college days, Spencer also makes it a point to connect with students as much as possible.

“My philosophy is I’m always going to be accessible,” he says. “I encourage students to access me as much as possible, to reach out and communicate.”

WE ASKED SPENCER TO GIVE US A LOOK AT HIS LIFE OUTSIDE THE (VIRTUAL) CLASSROOM:

If I wasn’t a professor, I would be: In HR somewhere.

My favorite spot on campus is: The union, it’s lively and a lot of food there too.

I’m proud of my students when: They actually talk to me when they say, ‘I’m having this issue’ and take me up on my off er [to help].

One thing people might not know about me is: I want to create a children’s book about overcoming adversity and perseverance and dedicate it to my children.

The best part of my day is: Early classes. [I like to] get a good jump.