An industrial-organizational psychologist by training, Fullick-Jagiela came to Quinnipiac in 2013 after teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Florida. Her experience included large lecture classrooms, but at Quinnipiac she found opportunities to engage students through the smaller, real-world learning experiences that have become central to her teaching.

“When you’re in a smaller classroom doing project-based work, it’s a very different feel,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “While there is still a research focus at Quinnipiac, the primary focus is really on students.”

That student-centered approach has remained at the heart of Fullick-Jagiela’s work. She now serves as professor and chair of the management department in the School of Business, where her teaching and scholarship focus on leadership, workplace relationships, career development, identity and organizational behavior.

For those reasons and more, Fullick-Jagiela will be honored on October 20 with the university’s highest teaching honor – a 2026 Faculty Excellence Award – along with five of her colleagues.

The recognition came as a surprise to Fullick-Jagiela, who has been teaching for 20 years and has spent 14 of those years at Quinnipiac.

“It was unexpected. I was in shock and so surprised,” she said. “I’ve been nominated before, but I never really thought it would happen. I mean, the pool of talented faculty at Quinnipiac is so big, and you just assume it will be someone else. But I’m so grateful. Times have been tough in higher education, and this recognition has been like a balm to help start the semester on a positive note. To me personally, it was a reminder that it’s going to be okay.”

That search for deeper meaning is reflected in the way Fullick-Jagiela approaches her teaching. Her goal extends beyond helping students master course material to helping them develop as thoughtful, capable people and future professionals.

“It’s not just about teaching content; it’s about developing the whole learner,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “I see each of my students as leaders. It’s not just that in the future they might be a leader. They are leaders right now. It’s not about what I want you to know; it’s the type of person I want you to be and the kind of impact I hope that you will have in your career.”

Her teaching philosophy emphasizes helping students apply theory and research in meaningful, real-world contexts while developing critical thinking, reflection, interpersonal and leadership skills.

“Sometimes in business there’s this assumption that it’s all about shareholders, money and making more money, whereas my ethical background as an industrial or organizational psychologist is to center on the human,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “I really try to get my students to think not just about how to write a policy, but also about how that policy impacts the people who will be affected by it and to be thoughtful about whose voices are included in shaping it.”

Her courses give students opportunities to put that thinking into practice. In leadership and human resources courses, students work in teams to design training programs or organizational interventions for real or simulated clients. In the Advancing Employee Relations course, they analyze workplace scenarios, role-play difficult conversations and reflect on how their own biases and communication styles influenced the outcome.

“What I hope they’re learning is what their individual responsibility is to the greater community,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “I really try to get them to think about how their actions, their words, their behaviors impact others.”

Her students say that approach makes a difference.

Colin Fanning ’26 who took three of Fullick-Jagiela’s classes, highlighted that connection in his nomination for the Faculty Excellence Award.

“Dr. Fullick gets to know all her students and knows how to help everyone individually. She truly cares about each student she works with and knows how to help them achieve their full potential,” Fanning wrote. “She makes the lessons so real and applicable. I feel the most confident I have ever felt in my management abilities after taking her class.”

For Fullick-Jagiela, some of the most rewarding moments have come from seeing that philosophy take shape beyond a single classroom.

“The program I’m most proud of is the Frontline Leader program with Hartford HealthCare that has inspired other programs,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “And now we have a similar program at Quinnipiac for faculty and staff. Those are really cup-filling moments of being able to see that kind of immediate impact.”

She also points to the creation of Quinnipiac’s sport and entertainment major as another meaningful accomplishment.

“When we built the sport and entertainment major, it was the first-ever cross-school major,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “We found champions in each of the schools who were really passionate about making something for the benefit of our students.”

That people-centered philosophy extends beyond Fullick-Jagiela’s classroom. As chair of the management department, she brings the same attention to individual growth and well-being to her work with faculty.

Nitish Patidar, a professor of management and fellow faculty member in the School of Business, highlighted that approach in his nomination.

“Equally important is Julia’s deep commitment to faculty development and work-life balance,” wrote Patidar. “Through mentorship, encouragement of professional growth opportunities, and sensitivity to individual circumstances, Julia has cultivated a collegial environment where faculty can thrive as teachers, scholars and individuals.”

Fullick-Jagiela believes leadership education must also leave room for students to question the models they have inherited.

“The leadership development training of the past doesn’t work anymore,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “It used to be, ‘Assimilate, assimilate, act like the senior leaders now, and you will be successful.’ But it shouldn’t mean that you’re giving up your values and your ethics to do that, that you’re giving up your identity to fit into a place.”

For Fullick-Jagiela, the goal is not to tell students exactly what kind of leaders to become. It is to give them the confidence, curiosity and skills to figure that out for themselves.

“We need better thinkers,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “We need the folks who are curious enough to look for patterns in what’s happening, folks who are curious enough to ask questions and not just assume, ‘Well, that’s what I was told to do, so I need to do it.’ It might not necessarily be the best way.”

Ultimately, Fullick-Jagiela believes that kind of thinking has to remain grounded in human connection.

“I think that bringing it back to that sense of community is important,” she said. “The decisions that we make impact real people who have real lives. Taking the time to understand others’ experiences and ask how their lives are impacted by decisions is not only how we should navigate the world, but how we can change it.”