Mark Carlock

Professor of Business Administration Department

Education

Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Alliant International University; Los Angeles, CA.
MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Alliant International University; Los Angeles, CA.
MA in Psychology; Pepperdine University; Los Angeles, CA.
BA in Psychology; California Polytechnic University; Pomona, CA.
BS in Chemical Engineering; University of Southern California; Los Angeles, CA

Biography

George Benard Shaw famously proclaimed that “Those who can, do. Those who can’t teach.” With all due respect to Mr. Shaw, I believe that those who “do” are in a unique position and have a moral obligation to teach.

My work as an adjunct professor came late in my professional career after holding positions with both for-profit and non-profit organizations, within government agencies, and with private companies. My studies in chemical engineering at USC led to employment with California’s Air Resources Board where I spent the next 25 years in positions of increasing responsibility. My efforts to improve air quality afforded me the opportunity to travel across the country and the world to confer with domestic and foreign governments and citizens eager to learn from the challenges and successes experienced in California. Although I found the work fulfilling, I felt disconnected from my goal of improving the lives of Californians.

One day, while reading the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol”, I was deeply moved by the words of Jacob Marley. Appearing as a heavily ladened and despondent apparition to his business partner, Scrooge offered an intended compliment that Marley was always a “good man of business.” The spirit woefully replied, “Business?! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.” To this end, and perhaps to escape Marley’s fate, I accepted a position with the Los County Department of Mental Health where I believed my master’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University would be of most use. My desire to find a way to combine my passion for psychology with my years of management experience was the driving force behind pursuing an advanced degree and ultimately earning a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. Having “done”, as Shaw would say, it was now time for me to teach.

My approach to teaching is simple; the more interesting and relatable the subject matter, the more easily it is understood. It is my goal to ignite curiosity and a passion for learning within my students and encourage conversations on the topics at hand as opposed to delivering lectures just to test student’s ability to recall what’s been said.

At one point in all our lives we pushed our elders to the brink of hysteria by constantly asking “Why?” and if we considered the response to be incomplete or unsatisfactory, asking “Why?” again and again. I believe that too many of us have been conditioned to simply accept information presented to us as truth without understanding because questioning authority has been discouraged. Conversely, I strive to create an environment where it is alright to ask “Why?” again and have found that both students and their instructor tend to learn something in the process.