Coleman Patterson is Professor of Management and Leadership and the Director of the Leadership Studies Program at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.  In that position, he teaches courses in leadership, management, and organization theory as well as special topics and leadership workshop courses.

Before assuming his position with the Leadership Studies Program in 2004, Coleman served four years as Associate Dean of the Kelley College of Business at Hardin-Simmons University.  While serving as associate dean, he taught courses in organizational behavior, leadership, management, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, and statistics/research methods in his university's business programs.  He also taught management courses at the University of Alabama and Ouachita Baptist University.

Patterson taught undergraduate and graduate business courses at The International University in Vienna, Austria during the 2007, 2008, and 2009 summer terms.   He had students from 33 different countries in his international human resource management, e-commerce, organizational behavior, and statistics/research methods courses.  

From 1999-2008, Patterson was the HSU Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow for the award-winning HSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)—which performed hundreds of business, management, and economics projects in and around Abilene, Texas.

He is known by his students as one who is full of energy and excitement and as someone who cares deeply for his students and who expects them to learn.  His classes tend to be interactive, lively, and out of the ordinary.

Patterson graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a major in finance and a Master of Education degree in higher education leadership.  He earned an Educational Specialist degree in educational research and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in management from the University of Alabama.  He earned additional post-graduate hours in entrepreneurship through Baylor University, in marketing through Dallas Baptist University and West Texas A&M University, and in sport and recreation management through Hardin-Simmons University.

Patterson is author of Management Briefs: Management and Leadership Theory Made Simple and Business Briefs: Business Theory Made Simple and co-author of two editions of The Editor in Chief: A Management Guide for Magazine Editors.  He has published leadership and management articles in the Journal of Leadership Studies, The Journal of Management Systems, and Psychological Reports.  He has presented papers at a variety of professional conferences, including: Academy of Management, Southern Management Association, Southwest Academy of Management, and the International Association of Management.  He received two “best paper” awards for his research—one through the Academy of Management Research Methods Division and the other through the Leaders and Leadership Division of the International Association of Management.

In addition to his writing and teaching, Coleman has led numerous professional workshops for faculty and staff of Hardin-Simmons University and Ouachita Baptist University, for ministers and church leaders in southwest Arkansas, and for dozens of community organizations and school groups.

Patterson's career in higher education began soon after his high school graduation with the Campus Shop and Bookstore on the University of Florida campus.  Through his undergraduate years at UF, he worked at the bookstore's Central Office Supply and warehouse.  After graduation, he worked in financial aid, advising, and assessment staff positions at Santa Fe Community College (Gainesville, Florida) and the University of Florida.  He worked briefly as a staff member at Lake City Community College (Lake City, Florida) and the University of Alabama.  He worked for three years as a teaching assistant and two years as a research assistant at the University of Alabama.  He served as a faculty member at Ouachita Baptist University and as a faculty member and administrator at Hardin-Simmons University.

In addition to his experiences in higher education, Coleman also has experience with churches, volunteer organizations, sports teams, and musical performance groups.  He is the owner and head instructor of Texas Martial Arts Center, dabbles in e-commerce and web design, and owns rental property in Abilene, Texas.