James D. Geiger, M.B.A.

Phone:

765-455-9471

Email:

jdgeiger@iu.edu

Campus:

IU Kokomo

Biography

James Geiger is a Lecturer in the School of Business at Indiana University Kokomo and Program Manager for the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center (EIC), where he helps students explore entrepreneurship, develop their ideas, and turn those ideas into action. A two-time IU Kokomo alumnus, he earned both his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from the university.

Geiger's path to teaching grew from a role he often found himself taking throughout his life: helping others learn. While completing his MBA, he regularly led study groups with fellow students, working through problems at the board and finding ways to make difficult concepts understandable. Those experiences reinforced his belief that learning can be empowering—and that one of the best ways to truly understand something is to teach it.

That philosophy continues to shape his classroom. Geiger strives to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, sharing their experiences, stretching their knowledge, and even failing on the way to succeeding. Described by students as approachable, helpful, and humorous, he uses humor and real-world examples to make challenging material more accessible and relevant. His teaching spans finance, economics, statistics, accounting, and entrepreneurship, with an emphasis on connecting classroom concepts to practical decisions and real-world problems.

Before transitioning to academia, Geiger accumulated more than 15 years of management experience and was a small-business owner and operator. His professional experience informs a leadership philosophy grounded in servant leadership: leaders should ensure that others have the information, resources, support, and vision they need to succeed while being willing to lead through their own actions.

Geiger brings that same philosophy to his work in entrepreneurship. He views entrepreneurship as a leap of faith in one's own abilities—a willingness to pursue an idea despite uncertainty and adversity. For him, one of the most rewarding parts of the entrepreneurial process is helping students navigate the challenges between an idea and its realization and seeing what was once only a possibility begin to take form.

IU Kokomo holds a special place in Geiger's life. In addition to being an alumnus and faculty member, he serves as a Member at Large for the IU Alumni Association Kokomo Region. He values the university's close-knit campus and the relationships made possible by smaller classes, where students and professors have the opportunity to know one another. He enjoys helping today's students realize their potential while also welcoming alumni back to a campus whose legacy they helped create.

Outside the university, Geiger sings barbershop harmony with the Kokomo Men of Note and captains a team in the American Poolplayers Association. His other interests include music and guitar, aviation, travel, technology, the outdoors, and German language and culture.

Whether discussing a student's academic goals, an entrepreneurial idea, or simply an interesting question, Geiger hopes students find him authentic, approachable, and willing to listen.