Who’s Who: Dr. Stephen Custer Talks Risk, Reward and Everything in Between
Longtime VCU School of Business educator Dr. Stephen Custer recounts his journey from corporate titans to casino tables, sharing a story of high stakes and higher learning.
By Megan Nash
For nearly two decades, Dr. Stephen Custer has served as an assistant professor and director of the Decision Analytics Weekend Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Business.
Reminiscing in an inviting graduate lounge in Snead Hall, Dr. Custer recounts the unexpected turns of his career—from corporate heights to casino nights—and how a fortuitous call from an old friend ultimately steered him to a fulfilling career at VCU.
Sitting Down with Dr. Stephen Custer
Roots in Rockingham
In the rural expanses of Rockingham County, Va., Custer grew up in an environment steeped in hard work and family values. “I tell people the day they gave out parents I showed up with a bucket instead of a cup,” said Custer.
His father, a World War II veteran and entrepreneur, built what became part of a billion-dollar poultry business from scratch, while his mother, a woman who would spend her life contributing to business, civic and social circles in Rockingham, ran the business alongside him.
As a teenager, Custer would work in almost every part of the poultry plant there was to work in. “I grew up in a business,” Custer recalls. “Our kitchen was the office, and the phone calls for the business came at all hours.” Despite the humble beginnings, his family’s enterprise grew exponentially.
The Early Grind
A first-generation high school graduate on his father’s side, Custer’s educational pursuits took him from a small school with 200 students to Randolph-Macon College, where he thrived as an undergraduate and president of his fraternity. Marrying young, he and his wife moved to South Carolina, where Custer earned his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of South Carolina before attending Virginia Tech to earn his Ph.D. in statistics.
This path, however, was not without its challenges as he balanced academic pursuits with family responsibilities. Looking back, Custer shares, “It was a challenge, but my wife was great. She worked so I studied.”
Dr. Stephen Custer with his wife, Margaret, their first-born son, Quentin, and their dog at the Green, Virginia Tech.
Brushes with Corporate
His first job was with International Business Machines (IBM) in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he started out in the semiconductor division, then advanced to the reliability area division, bridging the gap between engineers and statisticians.
This role was a natural fit for Custer, whose ability to translate complex theoretical concepts into practical solutions set him apart. “I was the translator between the theoretical work and the practical application,” he explains. “It was a great job, and I loved it.”
From IBM, Custer moved to Xerox in Rochester, N.Y., where he managed the internal consulting department. This role offered him the opportunity to engage in the type of consulting work he always aspired to, albeit within the secure confines of a corporate environment.
When Xerox downsized, Custer started teaching at Canisius College, a small Jesuit school in Buffalo, N.Y., at the business school while also consulting within and outside of the school. As an offspring to his consulting projects, he built a newsletter business just as laser printers were taking off, creating a turnkey operation.
Going All In
An unexpected chapter in Custer’s life began when he turned to professional gambling. A downturn in his consulting business led him to find solace and challenge in the game of blackjack. Armed with books and a self-made computer program, he taught himself to count cards.
“I wasn’t too worried about making big money,” said Custer. “I had two objectives: One was to prove I could beat the bastards and two, not go broke trying. I met both objectives.”
“For about a year, I played blackjack on my kitchen table,” he recalls. “Then I started going to a local casino and did rather well.” This period of his life was marked by extensive travel to casinos across the country, where he sharpened his skills and observed human nature in its rawest form. “You tend to experience people as they are, not as they want you to see them. In a casino, masks come down,” he said.
His experiences culminated in a book, “21 A Journey: Memoirs of a Professional Gambler,” that detailed not just the mechanics of the game, but the human stories behind it.
Return to Academia
Dr. Custer in his office in Snead Hall.
Dr. Custer greets the incoming spring 2024 Master of Decision Analytics Weekend class.
For five years, Custer practiced blackjack in Las Vegas before taking a job with a consulting firm when an opportunity to return to academia came through a serendipitous call from an old friend at VCU.
Despite enjoying his consulting work, the thought of joining the VCU School of Business and, in turn, developing the Master of Decision Analytics (MDA) Program, was too enticing to pass up. “I didn’t have any faculty, staff, students or budget,” he says with a laugh. “But the business community was enthusiastic, and we built the program from the ground up with their input.”
The MDA program, now a cornerstone of VCU Business’ graduate studies, was crafted with direct guidance from Richmond business leaders. Custer credits much of the program’s success to the collaboration with industry experts and the pivotal role played by Rachel Kaeser, the new director for the MDA Weekend Program.
“Rachel has been an equal partner in developing everything about the [MDA] program. She kept me out of trouble and has played and still is playing an important role in every detail,” he said. “The program wouldn’t be what it is today without Rachel’s input and work over the years.”
On the success of the MDA program, Custer recalls two key moments that signaled they were on the right track. “We had our first advisory board meeting with no program, no budget, no students,” he recounts. “But the business community’s enthusiasm and the eventual enrollment of 30 students, almost double our target, proved we had something special.”
Custer’s approach to developing the curriculum was unconventional. “Our program was not put together by academics but by the people who would send the students and hire them. It was their needs that shaped it,” he said.
The first (2016) Decision Analytics Weekend class.
Rachel Kaeser, new director of the MDA Weekend Program; Dr. Custer poses with a Business School graduate.
Looking Back and Forward
Dr. Custer celebrates with alumni, faculty and staff at an appreciation party.
Now 82, Custer continues to teach and inspire, reflecting on a career that has been anything but ordinary. “I’ve done all these things in my 82 years including being a chicken plucker at one time,” he says. “But I can honestly say I’ve never had a job I didn’t enjoy. And my objective has always been to do what I enjoy, not chase money.”
With a chuckle, he adds, “I don’t know what I’ll do next, but whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”
Dr. Custer receiving accolades from friends and colleagues at an appreciation party.
Footnotes
Story by Megan Nash; Photos provided by Dr. Steve Custer, Rachel Kaeser, Terry Brown, Megan Nash and VCU Business Communications and Marketing Office