For Baylor profs like Don Carpenter, knowing students by name is just the beginning

For more than two decades, Don Carpenter (BBA ’81) has made it his mission to invest in Baylor students’ lives.

The lessons he teaches in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business certainly matter. But ask former students what they remember most, and many will point not to a lecture or exam, but to a conversation or a word of encouragement from a mentor who believed in them when they needed it most.

“Students are why I do this,” Carpenter says. “The opportunity to help shape their lives and watch them grow is the greatest reward.”

That commitment to students earned Carpenter one of Baylor’s highest honors. In 2025, the clinical associate professor of accounting and business law (and Baylor alum) received the Collins Outstanding Professor Award, a recognition voted on by Baylor seniors that celebrates excellence in teaching and mentorship.

For Carpenter, however, the award was less about personal achievement and more about the relationships that have defined his career.

Known for beginning class with his legendary greeting, “It’s accounting time!”, Carpenter has a reputation for bringing energy and enthusiasm to a subject many students approach with apprehension. His classroom is filled with stories from decades of professional experience, practical lessons from the business world, and plenty of humor. But beneath the engaging teaching style is a deeper purpose.

“When you’re speaking to students, you have to earn the right to be listened to,” he says. “No one owes you their attention.”

Carpenter believes that effective teaching begins with trust. Before students can learn from a professor, they must know that professor genuinely cares about them. Carpenter builds that trust by intentionally building relationships with students even beyond the classroom.

Each semester, he invites every one of his students to schedule a one-on-one meal or coffee meeting through a simple offer he calls, “You book, I’ll buy.” The gatherings aren’t about grades or assignments. Instead, Carpenter uses the time to learn about each student’s background, aspirations and experiences.

“I get to know that person uniquely,” Carpenter explains. “Then I get to interact with them throughout their time in the business school and often long after graduation. If we can make that connection early, it creates a relationship that lasts.”

Students have joined him on mission trips, participated in volunteer tax assistance programs and benefited from countless hours of mentorship. In each setting, Carpenter emphasizes service, integrity and the importance of using one’s gifts to make a difference in the lives of others.

Such actions turn a class roster into a community of students a professor knows by name and story. And real relationships like these last long beyond a Baylor student’s four years on campus. Carpenter, for instance, maintains connections with countless former students who continue to seek his counsel, even seeking him out when they return to campus.

Long after students have forgotten the details of an accounting lecture, they remember the professor who cared enough to invest in their lives.

Sic ’em, Prof. Carpenter!