Michael Lapré, associate professor of operations management for the Owen Graduate School of Management, was awarded the 2024 Chancellor’s Cup in March. The Chancellor’s Cup is awarded annually to a faculty member for their achievements in fostering undergraduate student-faculty relationships, although two professors tied for the 2023-24 academic year, with associate professor of Medicine, Health and Society Gilbert Gonzalez being honored in February.
Lapré currently serves as the Area Coordinator of Operations Management & Quantitative Methods. He teaches courses in operations management and sports analytics, including Managing Operations in Vanderbilt’s Undergraduate Business Minor — a required course for the minor. Lapré has received the Shingo Research Prize, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research at Owen and the Dean’s Teaching Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning, among other recognitions.
Although Lapré said he knew he was nominated for the Chancellor’s Cup, he expressed surprise at receiving the award when it was given to him during a faculty meeting.
“It feels like a career award, especially because I got it for doing the things I love to do, which is first to teach the undergraduates in Managing Operations, and second is to do research with my undergraduate research assistants,” Lapré said. “Third is to support Vanderbilt soccer.”
The Chancellor’s Cup award recognizes the contributions of a faculty member to building relationships with students outside of the classroom, which Lapré said he enjoys doing with his research assistants as well as with the Vanderbilt soccer team.
“I go to every home game and to local away games. At this point, ten soccer players have taken my course, and I talked to them about soccer. I also run into random Vanderbilt soccer players on campus, and I’ve built many relationships with them,” Lapré said. “When I won the Chancellor’s Cup, the next week, I had dinner with Vanderbilt soccer alumni to celebrate.”
Lapré said he wants his students to walk away from his courses and research with enthusiasm for managing operations and the ability to approach situations insightfully.
“I hope that students will be well-rounded. It’s not just ‘okay, I’m smart and I can do this,’ but it’s also about being a good human being,” Lapré said.
Despite his passion for sports analytics, Lapré said his research examines organizational learning curves and focuses on manufacturing companies and airlines. In 2016, he introduced the Sports Analytics elective course to the MBA program to provide students with more exposure to applying quantitative methods to real-world situations.
“That really matched when I started teaching undergraduate students who I wanted to do research with. There’s all these opportunities to do this research in sports,” Lapré said. “Basically, I put the two together, and I’ve been doing a lot of research with undergraduates on all these different sports questions.”
With the introduction of the undergraduate business minor in 2017, Lapré said he saw this new platform as an opportunity to connect with more students and understand how undergraduate students may differ from those in the MBA program.
“I really love getting involved in the undergraduate space, which is why I do things like being a faculty marshall or going to Vanderbilt soccer games,” Lapré said. “I’m as happy as a clam. The synergy I get between research and teaching is absolutely wonderful.”
Junior Zoe Segal, one of Lapré’s undergraduate research assistants, said her weekly meetings with Lapré in the Spring 2024 semester were the highlights of her week due to his genuine interest in her life.
“Dr. Lapré has been the main reason that [my research with him] has been so impactful to me,” Segal said. “Even though I am an undergrad, he has treated me with respect and is willing to take the extra time to explain the things that I may not have learned yet, including business-specific data analysis tools.”
Segal expressed appreciation for Lapré’s Chancellor’s Cup achievement.
“I am thrilled that Dr. Lapré has won this award, as he has taken so many steps to foster the relationship between faculty and undergraduates,” Segal said in a message to The Hustler. “I have been so grateful for the opportunity to work with Dr. Lapré, and I will continue to look forward to our weekly meetings.”
Julia Amato (BA ’22) — who worked for two years as an undergraduate teaching assistant and a RA for Lapré — said she was grateful for Lapré’s enthusiasm for teaching and the way he fostered “a sense of belonging and connection” with his students both in and out of the classroom.
“Professor Lapré is extremely deserving of this honor,” Amato said. “He embodies the key values of the Chancellor’s Cup through his own engagement in the classroom, his mentorship outside of the classroom, his encouragement of continuous education and research, and his support of both his own students and all members of the Vanderbilt community.”
