Faculty Profile

Soccer Standout Finds Place at Head of Classroom

Diego Guttierez, DBA, assistant professor of management and marketing

Rockhurst alumnus and faculty member Diego Gutierrez has taken anything but the traditional route to Rockhurst, through his professional career, and in life. Born in Colombia and an aspiring soccer star, Gutierrez came to the United States to pursue an education and his dream to play soccer professionally. After originally choosing another institution, Gutierrez realized quickly it wasn’t the right fit and transferred to RU.

“I felt it was best to move close to my parents and attend a university where I had a better chance of being successful,” Gutierrez said. “Playing for Rockhurst helped me understand the balance and commitment that was required to both athletics and academics.”

Gutierrez left Rockhurst after his junior season to play professionally for Sporting Kansas City in 1996, spending the next 13 years playing over 400 professional games in the MLS and as part of the U.S. national team. He said his professional soccer career taught him lessons that would also impact his life off the field.

“I learned it takes so much more than talent to be successful. Collaboration, sacrifice, and discipline are a fundamental part of athletic success, but also for business and life in general. They are the good habits that we teach our children so they grow up with a better chance of being successful as well.”

Gutierrez completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rockhurst in 2004 while he was playing soccer and, after retiring, returned to RU to earn his EMBA in 2014, eventually earning a doctorate in business administration from Creighton University. He said his experiences in soccer and graduate school showed him the next path on his journey: teaching.

“I believe that I’ve always been a teacher in some way, and after teaching one class at Rockhurst, it all came together for me,” Gutierrez said. “I understood the Jesuit mission, the influence of a good professor, and the impact that can be made by helping forge the next generation of adults and business professionals.”

FACULTY KUDOS

Keith Brandt, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, and Serge Nevsky, ’12, wrote an article titled “Variants on the New Zealand Puzzle,” published in the September 2020 issue of Math Horizons. S.J. Crasnow, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology and religious studies, is the author of “Can White Jews Still Be White If They’re Reviled By White Supremacists?,” appearing in Religion Dispatches, addressing the links between settler colonial white supremacy and anti-Jewishness in the U.S. Jane Hedrick, Ph.D., RN, professor of nursing, presented the findings of a research study, “A Descriptive Study of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Call for Building Resiliency in Nursing Students” at the Summit on Promoting Well-Being and Resilience in Healthcare Professionals on Oct. 22, 2020, hosted by The Ohio State University. Kirsten Potter, PT, DPT, M.S., professor of physical therapy, presented a poster titled “Self-Report Measures of Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis: Systematic Review of Psychometrics and Usability with Evaluation of Evidence” at the 10th International Symposium of Gait and Balance in Multiple Sclerosis.

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