Faculty Spotlight: Terri Dautcher

CLOCK PHOTO/EMILY DUDEK

Terri Dautcher is one of those familiar faces on campus. Whether it’s in the classroom, around the local community, or at the ice arena, Dautcher is one of the most beloved professors at Plymouth State University. With a diverse career behind her, Dautcher hopes to bring her knowledge of the business world to help incoming students with their career at PSU and beyond. 

Dautcher graduated from Dickinson College with a Psychology degree in 1984. Following graduation, she landed a position as an educator at Planned Parenthood where she spent most of her time working in juvenile detention facilities and high schools. Although Dautcher planned to get a Master’s Degree in Social Work, her plans quickly changed when her family’s trucking business hit rock bottom. Dautcher ended up sustaining the family business for 12 years, all the while taking night courses to complete her Master’s Degree in Business Administration. 

After eventually selling the family business to several loyal employees, Dautcher returned to her non-profit roots and became the chief operating officer at a job skills training program in Philadelphia. She worked there for three years until she decided to change career paths. Dautcher then became the chief marketing officer of a large psychic reading service; Psychic Source. While working for Psychic Source, Dautcher ,“Put [her] marketing chops to work,” and accomplished great strides with her team. Following her sixth year at Psychic Source, Dautcher was fortunate enough to move to New Hampshire and become a full-time faculty member here at PSU. 

Since 2007, Dautcher has taught marketing and professional development courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. When asked about her move from the corporate world to the teaching world, Dautcher said, “It was really a move to New Hampshire. I had vacationed on the lakes up here and had family up here, so it was a decision to be closer to family. I knew I was going to take some time to transition, so I worked remotely [for Psychic Source] for two years and then opened a little antique shop in Holderness for a year. Then I started teaching as an adjunct here at PSU, part-time, and it was really just the right place at the right time because a full-time contract opened up shortly after.”

While she enjoys teaching, Dautcher’s real passion is working one-on-one with students and helping them in all facets of their PSU experience. “I think the thing I really like is mentoring and developing talent. It’s what I always liked in my corporate jobs, it was always my favorite part of work,” said Dautcher. With over a hundred advisees, there’s no doubt Dautcher does her job right. “I have an unusual background that I think helps me mentor students. A lot of people teaching business don’t necessarily have that psych and social science background, so I think students come to me because I’m pretty good at shooting straight,” said Dautcher. “I find that most PSU students, when they’re in an environment where they don’t feel like they’re being judged or put down, are ready to be lifted up. They want to know how they can get better.” 

As an advisor, Dautcher consistently helps students think about their learning experiences in relation to their future career. “I like asking questions to help students solve their own problems and sort of think about what they need. Students are often too focused on the grade at the end, or getting something done, as opposed to the experience of what they’re going to learn through the process,” said Dautcher. “I’m getting better at helping students slow down, sit in a class week by week, and help them take away what they need to take away from it, rather than thinking about how they’re going to get things done. I want them to think less about the badge they’re earning and more about what they’re learning.” 

This year, Dautcher had the opportunity to advise Plymouth’s Student Support Foundation, an organization that offers assistance to students who are in financial need. “Out of this interaction and some other opportunities, we had to do some best practices comparison at other schools, we started to identify some key underlying issues here [at PSU],” said Dautcher. 

Based on these findings, the Student Support Foundation hopes to launch a multi-year supplemental framework that guides students to create a plan for their future, both personally and academically. “We want students to get more engaged, feel an authentic sense of community, have a support infrastructure where they can start to ask for resources, and just get on a better track.” With campus-wide support from the community, Residential Life, and the Advancement Office, this program has the potential to positively change the future of many Plymouth State students. Dautcher said, “I’m really excited to innovate and create something new.”