Sean Milligan, an instructor in the online Master’s in Project and Program Management program, has been awarded the 2019 Rabb School Award for Outstanding Teaching. Sean flew in from Pompano Beach, Florida to receive the award last week. The annual honor is given based on student evaluations, the development and implementation of top quality courses and a support for the goals of the Rabb School.

Sean completed his Master’s in Project and Program Management in 2014, and has been an instructor in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies since Fall 2015. His teaching specializes in addressing the common challenges that project managers face every day and presenting real-world solutions to those challenges, as well as transforming project and program managers into project and program leaders by employing various human factors that are inherent in the team environment.

At Brandeis, Sean teaches Challenges in Project Management and The Human Side of Project Leadership. He was instrumental in developing these key courses that allow students to engage with the important topics of the leadership of people, human-centered project communication, dealing with challenging personalities, managing geographically dispersed teams, overcoming stakeholders’ time management issues, and the navigation of external challenges as they relate to the project management life-cycle.

“I see him as a devoted person, a ‘workaholic’. He handled a huge volume of work within a short time-frame [supporting] numerous students,” commented one of his students. “He demonstrated that he practices what he preaches (or teaches). He always responds to your needs and asks further questions that prompt you [to conduct] further research.”

In addition to teaching in the program, Sean serves as a Global Services and Support Director for a privately-owned software development company specializing in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions for the manufacturing industry. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing projects and programs for a number of industries. He is a member of the Project Management Institute, is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and is a certified Myers-Briggs Practitioner.

When not working or teaching, Sean enjoys traveling, running, hiking, a good dining experience, and is a serious Red Sox fan.

Faces of GPS is an occasional series that profiles Brandeis University Graduate Professional Studies students, faculty and staff. Find more Faces of GPS stories here.