Brian Stevens
Stats Superstar
Raised by a teacher mother and a statistician father, Brian Stevens (HCB, ’12) jokes that he was probably created in a lab to teach statistics.
Stevens is a senior lecturer in undergraduate statistics and the faculty director for Technology-Enhanced Education at Haslam. Widely praised for his innovative and engaging teaching style, he recently received UT’s 2024 President’s Award in the Nimble and Innovative category.
While he admits he wasn’t an outstanding UT undergrad, Stevens explains that Ronald Foresta’s geography class opened his eyes to how an engaging teacher could make all the difference.
“Professor Foresta made it fun, and it meant a lot to me to enjoy a class,” Stevens says. “When I started teaching statistics, I thought, ‘How do I make this enjoyable?’” Stevens looked to his hobbies and interests—Marvel, video games, current events, and music—and found ways to use them to connect with students. “Not everything will resonate, but they are likely to find one thing they like.”
Stevens earned his MSBA from Haslam and became a lecturer in 2012. He has enhanced his course content over the years with his own brand of creativity to keep students engaged and learning, whether in an online class or in-person. Stevens seeks to capture student interest within the first few minutes of each session with humorous introduction videos, video-game-inspired “speed runs,” and pop culture references.
Using gamification to incentivize participation, Stevens ensures his classes are interactive and engaging. When students join his YouTube livestream, a program called MuBot tracks their activity and awards them points based on their participation in YouTube chats, polls, and quizzes.
“He didn’t just go through a slideshow like some other teachers do when it’s online,” says Ellie Gustin, a junior in supply chain management. “He gave us points for responding, and everyone was in the chat answering, which isn’t normal for an online class. If I’d had another teacher, I might not have been able to pay attention online—but he always made it super interesting.”
Henry Kitts, a junior in finance, had a similar experience in Stevens’s class. “He takes it beyond PowerPoint and the textbook and makes it come alive,” Kitts says. “He knows how to cultivate a community and brings so much engagement.”
Stevens reads all of his student reviews, using their suggestions to refine his courses and methods. This open mindset is one reason he excels as a lecturer—and why students and faculty alike appreciate his work.
“Students often tell me how they ‘expected to hate statistics,’ but after Brian’s course they are excited to dive deeper and, in some cases, even shift their career aspirations,” says Mike Galbreth, business analytics and statistics department head and Pilot Corporation Chair of Excellence. “It is hard to find a Haslam student whose college experience has not been enhanced by Brian’s talent and commitment to teaching excellence.”