Rick Schell

Rick Schell is a senior lecturer in management at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, where he teaches Leadership Communication and Consultative Selling. He is also director of the Undergraduate Business Minor program, where he teaches Business Communications. Prior to joining the Jones School, he spent 30 years in the Information Technology industry, working in sales, marketing, and education for IBM, the Amdahl Corporation, and Fujitsu Ltd. His business career included executive assignments in field sales, strategic and industry marketing, media and analyst relations, sales education, and global business development. He also served as chief of staff to his company’s president and CEO, where he developed and delivered strategic communications to all internal and external audiences. His interests and competencies include cross-cultural communication, crisis communication and gender communication.

TCore Competencies and Teaching Specialties

• Business Communications Cultural and Gender Communication
• Consultative Selling Crisis Communications
• Strategic Account Management Strategic Marketing
• Influence and Persuasion Negotiation

Education

• Rice University, Houston, TX, MA (1975) and Ph.D. (1976) in English Literature
• Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, BA in English with honors (1971)
• Columbia University, New York, NY, Chemical Engineering, no degree (1967-68)

Teaching Experience

• 2006-Present: Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University
  • Leadership Communication (MBA Core Course)
  • Consultative Selling (MBA Elective Course)
  • Business Communications (Undergraduate course)
• 2007-2014: Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University
  • Sales and the Art of Persuasion
• 2007-Present: Rice University Human Resources Training
  • Fundamentals of Business Writing
  • Advanced Business Writing
• 2004- 2006: Fujitsu Ltd. Program Director for weekly web-based sales training;
  Modules personally developed and delivered:
  • Fujitsu Strategy
  • Fujitsu in the Telecom Industry
  • Fujitsu in the Retail Industry
  • Introduction to Compliance Issues and Trends
  • Strategic Account Planning
• 1995-96: Amdahl Corporation. Director of Sales and Marketing Education
  Courses developed and delivered (in partnership with training consultant):
  • Selling to Business Needs (Consultative Selling)
  • Managing at Your Peak (Sales Management)
  • Communicating for Impact
• 1991-92: Amdahl Corporation. Principal Marketing Consultant
  Courses personally developed and delivered:
  • Facilitating Strategic Account Planning Sessions
  • The New Realities: Business, Computing, and Selling in the Network Era
• 1989-90: Raritan Valley College, Raritan, NJ. Courses taught:
  • English 101-102 (English Language and Literature)
• 1984-87: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Courses taught:
  • English 101-102 (English Language and Literature)
  • English 203 (Topics in English)
• 1982-83: Montgomery College, Rockville, MD. Courses taught:
  • English I and II (English Language and Literature)
• 1980-81: Richland College, Dallas, TX. Courses taught:
  • English 101-102 (Expository Writing)
  • English 201 (Introduction to Literature)
• 1974-75: College of the Mainland, Texas City, TX. Courses taught:
  • English 101-102 (English Composition)
• 1974-75: Houston Community College, Houston, TX. Courses taught:
  • English 101-102 (English Composition)
• 1971-75: Rice University, Houston, TX. Courses taught (as teaching fellow):
  • English 101-102 (Freshman English Seminar)