From Officer to Scholar: Andrew Bettinger Explores How Entrepreneurs Navigate Life’s Setbacks

Major Andrew Bettinger ’28 Ph.D. arrived at Whitman with 13 years of Air Force experience and a clear mission: understand how entrepreneurs cope with setbacks and build resilience. As a Ph.D. student in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, he’s drawing on deeply personal experience to help others navigate life's most challenging moments. 


Before Syracuse, Bettinger served as a senior instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, teaching finance and directing advising for over 500 cadets. His earlier role as chief innovation officer for an Air Force acquisitions organization sparked his interest in entrepreneurship as he managed relationships with small businesses, venture capital firms and accelerators. 

A Personal Mission 

That curiosity took on profound meaning in 2020 when Bettinger’s middle son, Brady, was born with neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer. While treatment was successful, the tumor left him paralyzed below the waist. Now six, Brady uses a wheelchair. 


“I became deeply interested in how people deal with setbacks, resilience and how people keep moving forward,” Bettinger says. “The combination of my professional and personal experiences has motivated me to focus on entrepreneurial well-being and specifically how entrepreneurs’ appraisal and coping patterns affect their well-being.” 


His dissertation will explore an AI chatbot using cognitive behavioral therapy principles to improve entrepreneurial well-being, specifically targeting military veteran entrepreneurs transitioning from structured military life to uncertain entrepreneurship. The research earned him funding support from the Bernard D. and Louise C. Rostker IVMF Dissertation Research Fund. 


“Part of the reason I joined the Air Force was to make an impact for something larger than myself,” he says. “I am hopeful my research can help others, especially military veterans, in a meaningful way deal with setbacks and continue living a fulfilling life as an entrepreneur.” 

Finding His Place 

Bettinger hails from Albany and grew up a Syracuse sports fan. He now brings his three sons to games and educates them (and his fellow Ph.D. students) on Gerry McNamara’s greatness. He is certainly in good company saying he’s ready for another McNamERA.  


When seeking options for his Ph.D. journey, Bettinger was drawn to Whitman because of the entrepreneurship department’s distinguished faculty. He connected with then-Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie, who also taught at the Academy, and felt welcomed from their first conversation. When Haynie invited Bettinger’s entire family to his office during a summer vacation drive through Syracuse, it reinforced that sense of belonging. 


“Then connecting with Professors McKelvie, Minniti and my advisor Professor Wiklund, it was obvious to me I wanted to come to Syracuse and Whitman,” he says.  


Taking classes across three fields, Bettinger has benefited from diverse faculty perspectives. After completing his doctorate, he will return to the Air Force Academy as an assistant professor, then hopes to transition to a civilian professor role there after retiring. “I feel a strong connection to the mission of teaching and developing our future Air and Space Force Officers,” he says. 


For him, the journey from officer to scholar is about using research to help others navigate uncertainty with resilience—lessons learned from military service, scholarship and watching his son face each day with courage. 




By Danielle Rosenburgh