Published on April 23, 2026 by Catherine Smith  

Samford University’s Brock School of Business announced its faculty award recipients during its 62nd annual Scholarship and Awards Ceremony, April 10. Each year, the school recognizes faculty members for excellence in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship, and service to the school. The awardees are selected by their faculty colleagues.

The 2026 faculty award recipients are: 

A. Gerow Hodges Research Award: Art Carden

Art Carden, Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor of Economics, was awarded the A. Gerow Hodges Research Award for his noteworthy scholarship.  

His most recent work has considered and applied the ideas of notable economists like James M. Buchanan, Gordon Tullock and W.H. Hutt to questions about how and why racist institutions emerge and persist. Carden and co-author Deirdre McCloskey are following their 2020 book, Leave Me Alone and I'll Make You Rich, with a book on economic history and philosophy that should be published in fall 2026. Carden has also explored what the economic way of thinking and Christian thought have to say to one another. 

Dr. Jennings B. Marshall Undergraduate Teaching Award: Mary Harrison 

Exceptional teaching is at the heart of the Brock School of Business experience.  Each year, faculty select one of their peers whom they feel has excelled in providing an exceptional classroom experience for undergraduate students. Mary Harrison, associate professor of marketing, received the award. Harrison has built her teaching philosophy around experiential learning partnerships that connect Samford students with businesses, nonprofits and entrepreneurs across Birmingham. Since joining Brock School of Business, she has developed client-based projects in Marketing Research, Social Media Marketing and Consumer Behavior courses, where students serve as consultants, conduct research and present recommendations to organizational leaders. 

Over the past two years, Harrison’s students have partnered with more than 50 organizations, including nonprofits, Samford Startup student businesses, small businesses and local institutions. These partnerships have included work with community organizations, local retailers, restaurant groups, professional sports teams and tourism and wellness partners. This work led to the creation of the Brock Consultancy, a branded initiative that formalizes experiential marketing research collaborations with the Birmingham business community and supports student preparation, community engagement and applied learning. 

Professor Larron C. (Larry) Harper Service Award: Anna-Leigh Stone 

Service is an expectation of all full-time faculty members, but some go beyond normal requirements to make a tremendous difference for the school. Each year, Brock School of Business faculty recognize one of their colleagues whose service to the school, university and community, and their academic discipline, greatly exceeds expectations. 

The 2026 recipient of the Larron C. Harper Service Award is  Anna-Leigh Stone, associate professor of finance and the Hackney Family Research Fellow. 

Since 2023, Stone has served on multiple search committees, school- and university-level learning assessment committees, and this year helped update the Brock School of Business assessment processes. She is a faculty adviser for Samford’s chapter of the Financial Management Association (FMA) and is a co-adviser for Finance and Economics Women (FEW). She serves on the program committee for the Southern Finance Association, discusses papers and chairs sessions at finance research conferences, and has served as a journal referee for 27 peer-reviewed articles.   

Dr. Robert W. (Bill) Service Graduate Teaching Award: Garrison LaDuca 

Garrison LaDuca, assistant professor of accounting, was named the recipient of the Dr. Robert W. Service Graduate Teaching Award in recognition of his work with graduate and upper-level undergraduate students. LaDuca primarily teaches Auditing I and II, courses that require both technical mastery and professional judgment for senior and master’s-level students preparing for careers in accounting. 

LaDuca is known for his relational approach to teaching and his commitment to helping students achieve their highest potential. He emphasizes clarity, engagement and professional development in his courses while fostering a supportive learning environment.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.