Provost’s Lecture Series

Kevin Ryan

Lessons Learned on the Way to Becoming a University Professor

I will share my approach to teaching and specific methods I use to engage and guide students in their quest to acquire knowledge. I will discuss techniques I have used in School of Business and School of Engineering and Science courses (traditional on-campus, online and hybrid courses, both undergraduate and graduate). I will identify the important qualities students value in a teacher and how I try to implement these qualities. I will discuss specific pedagogical methods which work (and do not work) for me. And along the way I will discuss how my industry experience has impacted my approach inside (and outside) the classroom.

Kevin Ryan,
Teaching Professor, School of Business; Inaugural Distinguished Teacher-Mentor Award, 2023

Dr. Kevin Ryan is a Teaching Professor in the School of Business. Before joining Stevens in 2001, Dr. Ryan was a distinguished member of the technical staff at Bell Labs. In his 23 years at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, he worked on network access, education and training, data communications, high-speed optical networks, and wireless networking.  Dr. Ryan teaches graduate courses in networking (architecture, protocols, evolution, and performance), broadband networking, the Internet, software defined networks, 5G mobile wireless networks and Python programming. In addition, he teaches undergraduate courses in Python programming, data analytics and mobile app development. He has taught courses at the Beijing Institute of Technology and participated in the development of a joint degree program with Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications.  

Dr. Ryan’s teaching awards include the inaugural Stevens Distinguished Teacher-Mentor Award in May, 2023, the 2019 Stevens Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award, the Provost’s Online Teaching Excellence award (2019), the Alexander Crombie Humphrey’s Distinguished Associate Professor Award (2005 and 2017), the Student Government Association Teaching Faculty Award (2011 and 2015), the 2008-2009 Wesley J. Howe Outstanding Graduate Teacher Award and the 2002-2003 Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management Outstanding Teacher Award.  

Dr. Ryan was a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation project that examined the application of dynamic spectrum access to wireless networks. Along with two Bell Labs researchers, he was awarded two patents in this area.  

Dr. Ryan received his Ph.D. from Stevens Institute of Technology, his master’s from MIT and his bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College, summa cum laude, all in electrical engineering. He is a member of the IEEE.