Molly Wickam

Job titles

$title, Professor of Teaching
Teaching (M.A.) , Graduate School

Highlight

Dr. Molly J. Wickam is a Professor of Education and Program Director at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she serves as Program Director for the Master of Arts in Teaching and ten Minnesota teaching licensure areas. Her work focuses on teacher preparation, business education, service-learning, innovation in business education, and the integration of artificial intelligence into teaching and learning. Dr. Wickam brings extensive industry experience in software product marketing, insurance risk management, property and casualty claims, and marketing, and she previously owned a small business. She also taught high school business and social studies in a highly diverse school district in California. At Bethel, she teaches a senior-level business capstone featuring client-based service-learning consulting projects, a marketing course, and graduate courses in teacher preparation. She advises master’s thesis students and supervises business teacher candidates. Dr. Wickam has significant experience with higher education accreditation and program quality, including work with ACBSP business program accreditation and Minnesota PELSB teacher preparation standards. She also co-directs Bethel’s faculty development initiatives, leading workshops and consulting with faculty on curriculum design, teaching, assessment, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in higher education.

Started at Bethel

2005

Education

Bethel University - B.A. in Business; Political Science, 1991
Northern Illinois University - M.B.A., 2004
University of Minnesota - Ph.D., 2015

Biography

Dr. Molly J. Wickam is a Professor of Education and Program Director at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she serves as Program Director for the Master of Arts in Teaching and ten Minnesota teaching licensure areas. Her work focuses on teacher preparation, business education, service-learning, innovation in business education, and the integration of artificial intelligence into teaching and learning.

Dr. Wickam brings extensive industry experience in software product marketing, insurance risk management, property and casualty claims, and marketing, and she previously owned a small business. She also taught high school business and social studies in a highly diverse school district in California.

At Bethel, she teaches a senior-level business capstone featuring client-based service-learning consulting projects, a marketing course, and graduate courses in teacher preparation. She advises master’s thesis students and supervises business teacher candidates.

Dr. Wickam has significant experience with higher education accreditation and program quality, including work with ACBSP business program accreditation and Minnesota PELSB teacher preparation standards. She also co-directs Bethel’s faculty development initiatives, leading workshops and consulting with faculty on curriculum design, teaching, assessment, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in higher education.

Awards

2025 Faculty Excellence in Scholarship, Bethel University

2025-2028 Fulbright Specialist

2022 Leadership Award, National Business Education Conference

2022 Best Paper Award for Building emotional intelligence (EQ) in high school business students. Business Education Research Conference

2021 Minnesota Marketing, Business, Information Technology Educators (MBITE) award for Outstanding Contributions to Business Education by a Post-Secondary Business Teacher

2021 Best Paper Award for An investigation of how the partnership for 21st century framework reflects innovation in MBA programs. Business Education Research Conference

2020 North Central Business Education Association's Outstanding Contributions to Business Education by an Administrator or Supervisor of Business Education

2020 Teacher Educator of the Year, Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education

2017 Outstanding Doctoral Research in Business Education Award, Association for Research in Business Education

2016 Selected (from a competitive application process) to attend the Innovator's Summit at The White House, Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Department of Education

2016 Selected (from a competitive application process) to attend a week of intensive Holocaust Education training at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.

2011-2012 Ray G. Price Student Research and Fellowship Award, University of Minnesota

2005 Awarded Jr. Achievement "Teacher of the Year" San Diego, California

Publications

Starr, L. J., & Wickam, M. J. (2025). Understanding secondary educators’ readiness and pedagogical content knowledge for artificial intelligence integration. TechTrends, 1-7.

Saeger, K.J., Finley, L.R., & Wickam, M.J. (2024). The AI revolution: Awareness of and readiness for AI-based digital tools and technologies in business education. Journal of Research in Business Education, 64(1). https://jrbe.nbea.org/index.php/jrbe/article/view/106

Saeger, K.J., Finley, L.R., & Wickam, M.J. (2024). How business educators can facilitate problem-solving using design thinking. In J. Blair & M. Robles (Eds.), Effective methods for teaching business related topics during and post-crisis (pp. 187-206). National Business Education Association.

Wickam, M. (2023). Assessing career development curriculum within a business capstone. Journal of Research In Business Education, 63(1), 37-48.

Wickam, M., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2023, March 20). Using design thinking to develop a career development plan SWOT analysis. Faculty Focus.https://www.facultyfocus.com/author/ff-mollywickam/

Saeger, K., Finley, L., & Wickam, M.J. (2022). Applied problem-solving through design thinking in business education. Accepted for publication by National Business Education Association.

Wickam, M.J., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2022). Advancing the mindset of design thinking in secondary and post-secondary business education. The CTE Journal, 10(1).

Wickam, M. (2022). Conscious capitalism: An emerging economic philosophy for higher purpose in business. Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 25(1), 84-91.

Saeger, K., Wickam, M. J., & Finley, L. (2021). Comparing entrepreneurial spirit in job descriptions seeking business undergraduates and graduates. Industry and Higher Education.

Finley, L., Saeger, K., & Wickam, M.J. (2021). An investigation of how the partnership for 21stcentury framework reflects innovation in MBA programs. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(5), 70-88.

Wickam, M.J. (2021). Helping managers find time to think creatively. Business Education Forum, 75(4), 28-29. Theory and Prac

Wickam, M.J., Finley, L., & Saeger, K. (2020). Assessing alignment of entrepreneurial spirit to job descriptions seeking business administration or management undergraduates. Journal of Education for Business, 95(1), 1-7.

Slyter, J.A., & Wickam, M.J. (November/December 2021). Employability skills curriculum: Increasing access to employment for students with disabilities. Techniques.

Rodriguez, A., & Wickam, M.J. (2021). Building emotional intelligence (EQ) in high school business students. Business Education Forum, 75(3), 4-8.

Wickam, M.J. (2020). Henry Ford's dishonest business practices during the Holocaust: A two-day lesson for high school business teachers. The CTE Journal, 8(1).

Wickam, M.J. (2017, Fall). Employability skills with purpose: Service-learning in graduate business education. The Journal of Research in Business Education, 58(2).

Wickam, M. J. (2015). Enhancing employability skills in graduate business programs: Service-learning in capstone courses. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy.

Presentations

Graif, F., & Wickam, M.J. (2026, February 6). Examining school district preparedness for personal finance education in Minnesota high schools. Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Finley, L.R. & Wickam, M.J. (2025, April 30). From awareness to ability: Exploring the use of AI digital tools and technologies in business education. Park University’s Lunch and Learn Series, Park University, Parkville, MO.

Wickam, M.J. & Finley, L.R. (2025, April 23). Using GenAI tools to achieve professional and personal success. Colleague 2 Colleague Professional Development Series, Virtual.

Wickam, M.J. & Finley, L.R. (2025, April 14). Using GenAI tools to achieve professional and personal success. National Business Education AI Symposium, Virtual.

Wickam, M.J. (2025, March 10). From inspiration to action: Using generative AI to articulate your purpose. Advancing Women in Leadership Conference, Nashville, TN.

Wickam, M.J. (2025). Artificial intelligence in business education: Are educators ready to integrate emerging tools? [Poster presentation]. Bethel University’s Second Annual Day of Scholarship, St. Paul, MN.

Saeger, K.J., Finley, L.R., & Wickam, M.J. (2024, March). The AI revolution: Awareness of and readiness for AI-based digital tools and technologies in business education. National Business Education Association, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Wickam, M.J. (2023, October 25). Education and innovation requirements for design thinking jobs [Poster presentation). Bethel University’s First Annual Day of Scholarship, St. Paul, MN.

Wickam, M. (2023, April 6). Embedding certifications into business curriculum. National Business Education Association, Kansas City, KS.

Finley, L., Saeger, K., & Wickam, M. (2023, April 2). Using design thinking in business communications to create a career development plan. National Business Education Association, Kansas City, KS.

Finley, L., Saeger, K., & Wickam, M. (2023, April 4). Somewhere over the design thinking rainbow. Business Education Research Conference, Kansas City, KS.

Certificates and licenses

Business education grades 5-12

Social studies education grades 5-12

Google’s Generative AI for Educators Certificate

AI Prompting Essentials Certified

IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner

Intuit Design for Delight for Educators

Search Advocate Training, Ohio State University

Professional organizations, committees, and boards

Council for Business Teaching and Research (CBTR)

National Business Education Association (NBEA)

Minnesota Business Educators Inc. (MBITE/MBEI)

National Council for Social Studies (NCSS)

Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)

Areas of expertise

Program management, AI in business education, business education, business capstones, service-learning, marketing, experiential learning, project-based learning, Teaching 9/11

Research interests

AI in business education, innovation in business education, business capstones, design thinking in business education, service-learning, experiential learning, Holocaust education, project-based learning