Bo Hart has worked in alumni engagement at the Darla Moore School of Business for nearly seven years, first as an associate director and now as senior director. He’s at the point where students he met walking the halls between classes are coming back for alumni events as experienced business professionals.

There’s one group of alumni — and current students — that hold special meaning for Hart, his former University 101 students. University of South Carolina students have been taking U101 for over 50 years, and close to 200 have had Hart as their instructor over the past eight years.

“I am almost unable to put into words how lucky I am to have had Bo as my University 101 teacher,” one recent student says. “He genuinely cared about each of his students, encouraged all of us to get involved, helped us prepare for real life experiences in the business school, and most of all, helped us network with important connections within the Darla Moore School of Business.”

It's that dedication to his students and forward-thinking approach that helped Hart earn the M. Stuart Hunter Award for Outstanding Teaching in University 101 for the fall 2024 semester.

Hart is an alumnus of the university, completing his master’s degree in higher education business administration here and returning to USC in 2016 after a year working at the University of Georgia. Since then, he has been a constant on the U101 instructor roster, teaching the course for the last eight years. In that time, he has adjusted his approach slightly with students’ changing needs, but the goal of his class has remained the same.

“It’s about creating a culture of trust and fun. But also, you have to get the work done. You have to find a balance,” Hart says. “That can be tough sometimes when the students are going through something that you don't totally understand, or you just don't see it the same way. And I think that's the benefit of having a peer leader that knows what’s going on, saying ‘Oh, it's midterm week or they’ve got a lot of group projects.’”

Hart found out about the award on April 1, through a surprise party put on by his most recent students and U101 staff. A video featuring the students guessing his reaction and comparing them to the moment he learned the news was posted online the next day. 

But Hart defines the success of his class by what his students do next. Three of his former students have returned as upperclassmen to co-teach his class as a peer leader. And many have emailed or caught up with him in the hallway to brag about how far ahead of their peers they feel. Every year, he has students complete a True Colors assessment, and he ends the semester with a lesson in career preparation.

“This is my favorite part of the class, because it's real world applicable to their success as business students. We have them create a resume and a cover letter, and they take their resume to the Career Center. We have a mock interview, so they have to dress up. And then I bring colleagues and family and other friends to the class, and we do a mock interview for an internship,” Hart says. “They don't like it at the time because career prep is not fun, but they come in afterwards and they're ahead of their classmates already.”

Former students call Hart “engaging,” “innovative,” “dedicated” and “outgoing.” Many highlighted his commitment to future, past and present students at the Darla Moore School of Business and his overall commitment to building community. According to Hart, that’s what makes his role so special.

“On the first day they are all so shy and quiet, and by the last day, they're all talk. But the moment that really you know that you've made a difference is when, I'm in the building and I'm walking around and I see three of them eating lunch together that didn't know each other before our class,” he says. “That’s the moment when you realize you’ve made a difference because they found friends that extend outside of the class.”

Hart will embark on year nine teaching the class this fall, welcoming 20 first-year business students to the community every Tuesday and Thursday.

“I want to make a difference,” Hart says. “When you look at the lifecycle of college students, . . . I think teaching this class starts them off with a reminder of ‘Hey, this is where you're meant to be.’”