This fall, Colby-Sawyer College earned its third No. 1 ranking for best undergraduate teaching in U.S. News & World Report’s Regional Colleges (North) Category.

Jason C. Vallee, assistant professor of business administration and coordinator of the Wesson Honors Program, is one of the many reasons why.

Sean Roeger ’26, of Salem, New Hampshire, described Vallee as a genuine, caring person who does all that he can to help students understand concepts and how to apply them.

I have learned so much valuable information in his class just from this past semester that I will use for the rest of my life,” said Roeger, a business administration major and contemporary marketing minor.

Below is a lightly edited Q&A with Vallee, who also is an organizational psychologist and author of Invincible Leadership: Evolve, Adapt, Inspire. The Invincible Leader's Journey.

Who/what inspired you to become a professor?  

Dr. H. David Zehr inspired me to become a professor. He included me in his research as an undergraduate [at Plymouth State University] and my love for learning grew from there. I endeavor to create a learning experience for my students like I had and to inspire students to reach personal mastery in their fields.  

Who/what sparked your interest in your academic areas of expertise?  

My path began in psychology and quickly spread to the psychology of business. My interests center on the incentives that drive behavior in the business world. Outside of Colby-Sawyer College, I am an organizational psychologist at a major health center, where I lead a group of physician and provider coaches. This experience allows me to blend scholarship with practice, enhancing the classroom experience through real-world examples for my students. 

What is gratifying about teaching and, specifically, about teaching at Colby-Sawyer? 

The most gratifying aspect of being a teacher is the growth and development of the students. It's an amazing part of the job to watch a student grapple with complex and complicated issues in the beginning of the term, then command them at the completion of a course. Teaching at CSC is about relationships. We have the opportunity to become part of each student’s journey and share in their success.  

What are your goals? How do you strive to inspire students and transform lives? 

My goals as a professor are straightforward. First, I want to empower my students with agency, to instill in them that they have a voice, and that voice matters. Second, it is my goal to find out each student’s approach to learning. We all learn in different ways and there is value in the diversity in both thought and approach. I believe in a strengths-based approach to teaching and learning. Multiple modes of teaching are required to tap into the natural gifts of each and every student in the class. I often repeat, ‘Never judge a fish on how well it climbs a tree.’

What's a memorable project or special experience you've had working with students?

This past summer, I worked with two students to publish a workbook that is a companion to a book on leadership that I wrote — Invincible Leadership: Evolve, Adapt, Inspire. The Invincible Leader's Journey. Bringing students into the project certainly helped me gain a perspective I would not otherwise have had. It was an amazing experience.