Professor Andy Hoffman Named 2025 Poets&Quants MBA Professor of the Year
Andy Hoffman, Holcim (US), Inc. Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business, was named Poets&Quants’ 2025 MBA Professor of the Year at a conference in Toronto yesterday. He received the award based on his drive to re-humanize business education, which he emphasizes in his Management as a Calling (MO 635) course.
Hoffman's teaching philosophy starts with a simple premise: business is not just a tool for wealth creation, it’s a vehicle for purpose.
“We only focus on the how of business. Now we need to bring in the why,” Hoffman said to Poets&Quants. “We should be helping students develop a functioning philosophy for living a meaningful life. That’s not just for humanities departments. Business schools need to take this seriously because of the impact our students have on society.”
In Hoffman's Management as a Calling course, students study more than leadership. They examine their values, motivations, and personal definition of success.
“This recognition is very fitting given Andy's impact at Michigan and beyond,” said Brianna Ross, MBA ‘25, of Hoffman’s honor. “I’m grateful to have learned from Andy through my independent study and as a teaching assistant for Management as a Calling. Andy challenged me and my classmates to think more deeply about who we are — not just as leaders, but as people — and to align our choices with our character.”
Hoffman has a dual appointment at Michigan Ross and the School for Environment and Sustainability. The schools are partners in the Erb Institute, which aims to create a sustainable world through the power of business.
