Michael Blattman, a longtime University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) faculty member who spent the last several years teaching in Europe, returned to the states to teach two hybrid business courses this fall.
“We are thrilled to have Professor Blattman return to the Maryland-area hybrid classrooms and, of course, also teach the online-only course sections,” said Kathleen Sobieralski, program director for the accounting department and a certified public accountant (CPA).
“Professor Blattman’s experience of more than 40 years with UMGC assists the students in our worldwide distance education program with his knowledge of UMGC overseas operations, and he understands family and work-life balance of our students, including active-duty military, veterans and military spouses.”
Blattman was a collegiate professor in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 2018 to 2022 and from 2011 to 2014. In his four decades as a UMGC faculty member, he has seen generations of students pass through his classes. He began with UMGC in 1981, teaching accounting courses at the Shady Grove education center and in classrooms on the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.
“Professor Blattman’s business and financial acumen is second to none,” said Luke Cashio ’21, who received his MBA from UMGC and is military spouse and a civilian financial analyst for the Defense Commissary Agency. “His delivery of course material is always relatable to current market conditions and trends, making material retention relatively easy. The connections he makes with students, and the support he offers beyond scheduled class times, impacted me and my success in his courses.”
During his time in Germany, Blattman taught in-person, online and hybrid courses in accounting, finance, economics, marketing, business management and human resources. He was recognized with the UMGC Teacher Excellence Award in March 2022 and Teaching Recognition Award in 2014.
“I had people anywhere from England to the Middle East sitting in my classes and, if they could figure out the time difference, they made it on time,” Blattman said.
Blattman’s students included servicemembers with the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden. Many started with a plan to take one or two courses but decided to pursue bachelor’s degrees or even MBAs once they found out they qualified for tuition reimbursement from the military.
Israel Guardia ’21 had a macroeconomics class with Blattman while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business management and is currently a logistics management specialist for the U.S. Army. “He thoroughly explained to us the concepts allowing us to better understand the subject,” Guardia said, “and it was overall a very satisfactory experience.”
In addition to teaching, Blattman has been a frequent commentator for the American Forces Network (AFN). He has spoken about a range of topics, including the economy, the housing marketing and teaching children to be financially responsible. AFN receives airtime throughout Europe six or eight times per week and its news and commentary address important American and European economic issues.
“Whenever I connect to a student, I find it highly motivating. There's just something about sharing my knowledge and engaging with them in a way where they really take it in and they benefit from it,” Blattman said.
Throughout his teaching career, Blattman also has served in a variety of professional management roles, among them senior vice president of sales and marketing and roles in finance on Wall Street and education. He received his MBA from St. John’s University Tobin Graduate School of Business and his bachelor’s degree from Queen’s College of the City University of New York.
This fall, Blattman is teaching Principles of Accounting I and Principles of Accounting II, which is a hybrid course on the University of Maryland College Park campus.
“Professor Blattman builds on his business and government experience to assist all students in the relevancy and importance of accounting with more than 50 percent of our Principles of Accounting students being business administration majors,” Sobieralski said.
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