Dr. Kim Bynum is a professor of business at Flagler College and program director for the International Business degree program. She joined the College in 2023 after serving 21 years in the U.S. Navy as both an enlisted Sailor and commissioned officer. Her teaching and research explore one enduring question: What does it truly mean to help another person grow?
Dr. Bynum believes education is ultimately about helping students discover who they are capable of becoming, and she says Flagler's close faculty-student relationships create the kind of environment where meaningful conversations and transformative learning happen every day, both in and out of the classroom.
Q: What or who inspired you to pursue your field of study?
A: My path wasn't linear. The Navy introduced me to leadership under pressure, business helped me understand how organizations create value, and teaching showed me that my greatest passion is creating environments where people develop. I've come to realize that I'm less interested in studying “business” than I am in understanding how people make decisions, work together, and grow.
Q: What courses do you teach, and which is your favorite (and why)?
A: I teach Strategic Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management, International Business, Macroeconomics, and Introduction to Business, to name a few.
Strategic Management, the School of Business capstone course, is probably my favorite because students finally see how everything they've learned fits together. It's where they stop thinking like students and begin thinking like leaders.
Q: How do you bring real-world experience into your teaching/classes?
A: I rarely ask students to memorize answers they can look up. Instead, we analyze real companies, current events, ethical dilemmas, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).
My military leadership experience, business background, and work as a REALTOR® allow me to connect classroom concepts to decisions students will actually face. I believe learning should be challenging, but it should also be joyful. My goal is to prepare students to think critically, enjoy wrestling with big ideas, and make a positive impact long after they leave the classroom.
Q: How has your field evolved, and how do you prepare students for those changes?
A: AI is changing business faster than any textbook can. Rather than competing with AI, I encourage students to develop the uniquely human skills technology cannot easily replace: judgment, ethical decision-making, curiosity, communication, collaboration, and adaptability.
Q: What research or projects are you currently working on?
A: My current research is driven by one question that keeps showing up across my work in leadership, education, organizational change, and AI: What does it truly mean to help another person well?
That question has led me to study everything from humor to AI, service ecosystems, and ethical stewardship. At first those topics seemed unrelated. I now realize they've all been different ways of investigating the same human phenomenon.
Q: How have your experiences as a researcher or professional shaped the way you teach, and how do you intentionally bring that expertise into the classroom today?
Tap the photo below to hear Dr. Bynum's response!
Q: What skills do you hope every student walks away from your class(es) with?
A: I hope students leave with the confidence to think independently, the curiosity to keep asking better questions, and the judgment to make thoughtful decisions long after they've left Flagler.
Q: If you could take one Flagler class outside your department, what would it be?
A: Psychology. I've always been fascinated by people more than professions. What motivates us? How do we change? Why do certain conversations stay with us for years? I eventually realized that those questions don't belong to one discipline; they show up in leadership, business, education, and everyday life. Thankfully, teaching business courses gives me the perfect excuse to explore them all.
Q: What’s your favorite spot on campus—and why?
A: A table on the edge of the Learning Resource Center in the library. I love sitting just outside the action and watching students learn from one another. It's a mix of collaboration, problem-solving, laughter, shared frustrations, and those wonderful "aha!" moments.
There's an energy in that space that reminds me the best education isn't just about what students learn; it's about who they become because of one another.
Q: Coffee or tea? (And where’s your go-to spot in St. Augustine?)
A: Coffee, for sure! Sweetwater and Southern Grounds have been launching pads for more memorable conversations with my students and colleagues than I can count.
Q: What book, movie, or podcast are you currently enjoying?
A: The one movie I watch over and over again is Dead Poets Society. It captures everything I love about teaching. Great teachers don't simply fill minds—they awaken curiosity, challenge assumptions, and create the conditions for students to discover their own voice. Every semester, that's the kind of classroom environment I hope to create.
Q: What’s something your students would be surprised to learn about you?
A: I served 21 years in the U.S. Navy and was selected to command a warship before retiring. Whether fighting counterpiracy off the coast of Somalia, intercepting drug runners out at sea, providing humanitarian assistance in Kosovo and Haiti, or floating around the Persian Gulf as a display of military presence and deterrence, those military experiences still shape how I think about leadership, service, and the responsibility that comes with both.
Q: What is your go-to pump-up song?
A: Anyone who knows me already expects this to be a Taylor Swift song, and I shall not disappoint! My favorite pump-up song is "Long Live." This song reminds me that the best moments in life are the ones we build together.
If my students remember one thing about my classes years from now, I hope it's not the PowerPoint slides! I hope it's the conversations, the laughter, the challenges, and the confidence they gained along the way.
Q: What is your favorite pair of shoes, and how do they reflect you as a faculty member?
A: My shiny, black Doc Marten sandals. They're comfortable enough to spend all day on my feet, practical enough for an unexpected St. Augustine rainstorm, and just unconventional enough to remind me, and my students, that professionalism doesn't have to come at the expense of personality.
Like my teaching style, they're comfortable enough to invite people in and unconventional enough to challenge how they think. "Learning should be challenging—but it should also be joyful."
