Month: March 2014

MSFRM Receives STEM Designation

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

The State of Connecticut’s Office of Higher Education recently granted STEM designation for UConn’s MS degree in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM). Under the new STEM classification, MSFRM international students can now qualify for a 17-month OPT (Optional Practical Training) Extension making it a full 29 months of OPT.

MSFRM joins MS in Business Analytics & Project Management as the only two programs in the School of Business to receive STEM designation.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and growth. Over the last several decades the country has experienced a significant shortage of qualified workers for employment in STEM fields. Increasingly, businesses have to hire international workers to meet their needs. Therefore, STEM designated educational programs make it possible for international graduates to remain stateside longer to not only establish their careers but also to help meet the demand for STEM-educated professionals.

UConn’s STEM designated programs, and their related initiatives, also play an important role in Next Generation CT, state legislation passed into law and signed by the governor, that will invest over $1.5 billion dollars in UConn over the next 10 years.

“Recruiting the best and brightest international students to our program and then enabling them to successfully begin their professional careers is an important part of our educational mission,” said Professor Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the Finance Department and director of the MSFRM program. “Furthermore, providing a sufficient and qualified pipeline of talent for the nation’s economy is core to our service mission as a public institution.”

Under the traditional OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the U.S. are able to remain in the country and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM Extension.

“Undeniably, international students bring valuable contributions to our programs and classrooms,” adds Jud Saviskas, executive director of the School of Business in Stamford. “STEM designation now allows these highly skilled foreign graduates to extend their post-graduate training, establish their careers, and enhance the U.S. economy.”

1st Annual Risk Management Academic Conference

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

The Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) Program at the University of Connecticut will host the First Annual Academic Conference on Risk Management at Storrs, Connecticut on May 30, 2014.

Date & Time

  • May 30, 2014 (Friday)
  • 9am-5pm

Program Committee

  • Chinmoy Ghosh
  • Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai
  • Efdal Misirli

Purpose

The purpose of this conference is to bring together academic researchers at the frontier of risk management and investments. This year’s conference program includes empirical perspectives on credit contagion, hedge fund investment, fire sales, market efficiency, mutual fund investment and media visibility in financial markets, central bank borrowing and risk shifting by banks in Europe.

Invitation

The Finance Department at the UCONN School of Business organizes this conference for the first time this year, and we would like to make it an annual event where prominent scholars and active young researchers present their work and receive valuable feedback. We will be happy if you can join our conference in its inaugural run.

Presenters

1. Jean Helwege, J. Henry Fellers Professor of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina, “Do Hedge Fund Fire Sales Disrupt the Stock Market?”  (9:00 – 9:50 am)

Discussant: Namho Kang (University of Connecticut)   (9:50 – 10:05 am)

Audience Q&A. (10:05 – 10:15 am)

 

2. Jennie Bai, Assistant Professor of Finance at Georgetown University, “Non-committable Channel for Credit Contagion”.  (10:15 – 11:05 am)

Discussant: Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai (University of Connecticut).  (11:05 – 11:20 am)

Audience Q&A. (11:20 – 11:30 am)

 

Lunch & Remarks from Dean John Elliot (11:30 am – 1:00 pm)

 

3. Ron Kaniel, Professor of Finance, University of Rochester, “Making the list – the impact of WSJ fund rankings on consumer investment decisions”,  (1:00 – 1:50 pm)

Discussant: Jonathan Reuter (Boston College, NBER). (1:50 – 2:05 pm)

Audience Q&A. (2:05 – 2:15 pm)

 

4. Bing Liang, Professor of Finance, University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Hedge Fund Ownership and Stock Market Efficiency” (2:15 – 3:05 pm)

Discussant: Jean Helwege (University of South Carolina). (3:05 – 3:20 pm)

Audience Q&A. (3:20 – 3:30 pm)

 

Coffee Break (3:30 – 3:45 pm)

 

5. Phillip Schnabl, Assistant Professor of Finance, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Kaufman Management Center, NYU “Who Borrows from the Lender of Last Resort?”. (3:45 – 4:35 pm)

Discussant: Jennie Bai (Georgetown University) (4:35 – 4:50 pm)

Audience Q&A. (4:50 – 5:00 pm)

2014 Ph.D. Awards

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

 

2014 School of Business Hall of Fame Award

  • Management – Lauren D’Innocenzo

 

2014 Ph.D. Program-wide Outstanding Student Scholar Award

  • Management – Margaret Luciano, winning 2nd consecutive year

 

2014 Departmental Outstanding Ph.D. Student Scholar Awards (*Nominated for Program-wide Outstanding Scholar Award)

  • Accounting – Biyu Wu*, Andrew Duxbury, Valerie Tellez
  • Finance – Yihong Xiao*, Charles Clarke, Steven Kozlowski, Xiangkun Yao
  • Management – Margaret Luciano*, Brian Fox, Rebecca Ranucci
  • Marketing – Anna Vredeveld*, Nian Wang, Selcan Kara, Bin Li, Zahra Tohidinia
  • Operations & Information Management – Yuan Jin*, Yucheng Chen

 

Departmental Ph.D. Student Teaching Awards

  • Accounting – Biyu Wu
  • Finance – Yihong Xiao
  • Management – Wonseok Choi
  • Marketing – Selcan Kara
  • Operations & Information Management – Gang Wang (Winner of the Ph.D. Program-wide Teaching Award)

 

The CCEI Startup Challenge is back …. and we want YOU!!!

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

The snow is finally melting and temperatures are slowly rising, which means we are finally entering collegiate competition season, including our annual CCEI Startup Challenge.

The CCEI Startup Challenge is a two-pronged initiative that includes a Pitch Competition (April 7th), where ten $1000 prizes are given out for different categories of elevator pitches.  Then, the second element is a written Strategy Competition, where participants submit a written application containing specific elements found in a business plan (submission is max 5 pages in length), all submissions are reviewed, and the finalists are invited to do a full length presentation for a panel of judges from the University and from the Connecticut entrepreneurial community.  The details of these events can be found by vising our “Business Plan Competition” page. 

So, although this is a two part initiative, participants can do either/or, or both events.  However, we strongly encourage people to take the ideas that they pitch at the Pitch Competition, and flesh them out and submit written Strategy Competition entries for these same ideas.  The Strategy Competition also provides winners with larger monetary prizes, details found on the Business Plan Competition page.  

In past years, we have had significant overlap with other competition participants, such as Innovation Quest (iQ), the Engineering Senior Design Project (ESDP),  Startup Weekend Storrs, and the  State Collegiate BizPlan Competition.   The Pitch Competition is an event that we designed to be “for students by students”, and this years’ judges include winners from the 2013 CCEI Startup Challenge.   It is fun and interactive, and last year there were over 60 ideas presented to a packed room of over 100 attendees. 

Any UConn student is eligible to participate – each person (or team) has 90 seconds to present an elevator pitch for an idea of any type (app, manufactured product, service, etc.), real or hypothetical, and we present ten participants with $1000 each for 10 different prize categories, which include things like “best green idea”, “best college-focused idea”, “best overall pitch”, etc (listed on Business Plan Competition page). If you already are working on an idea, or if you are someone who wants to become involved in entrepreneurship at UConn, please come join us for the Pitch Competition! Any type of idea pitch will be heard – be as creative and innovative as you want to be.  Do you have an idea?  Pitch it!!!! 

 

Kathryn Huntington
khuntington@business.uconn.edu 

Over 100 Participate in Business Career Center “Biz-Nite” Event

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Biz-Nite EventStorrs, Conn.– On the evening of February 19, more than 100 School of Business students participated in “Biz-Nite,” the Business Career Center’s spring career event. The program included 35 corporate professionals from 16 companies who engaged students in presentations about the job market as well as full-time and internship positions.

The presentations were held at the School of Business in Storrs, Connecticut where there was a palpable energy as employers’ marketing banners lined the hallways. Steve Wolfberg ’81 (CLAS), principal and chief creative officer at Cronin and Company Marketing Communications, had this to say about the event:

“Biz-Nite was a great experience. UConn School of Business students are smart, prepared and curious. Hopefully they learned as much from me as I did from them.”

In addition to top key corporate partners, the evening also welcomed new presenters from the Boston Celtics, CareCentrix, Bouvier Insurance, and Cronin and Company. “Biz-Nite had a variety of employers, and as a student, I was able to hear about companies and the opportunities at them as well as talk with recruiters and have an informal interview,” said Nicole Nonnenmacher ’16.

Before, during and after the information sessions, students were able to network with business professionals and to deepen relationships developed at the Fall Career Expo.

At the end of the evening all students who had attended two or more sessions were entered into a drawing for two tickets to a Celtics basketball game at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. A junior MIS student was the lucky winner of the tickets, which were generously donated by Jillian Paine, inside sales manager of the Boston Celtics.

Pictured: Steve Wolfberg and Lindsey Wolejko, Cronin & Company, with School of Business students.

CFA Institute Helps UConn Business Students Practice Ethical Decision Making

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CFA Institute Ethical Decision MakingStamford, Conn. – On March 4, 2014, the Stamford CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Society hosted an Ethical Decision Making course for UConn business students on the Stamford campus. Michael Dineen, CFA and professor of finance, coordinated the event which was designed to provide participants with the framework to analyze situations from an ethics perspective.

Bob Dannhauser, head of global capital markets policy at the CFA Institute, led the presentation and discussion, presenting the CFA Institute’s Ethical Decision Making course in a case-based format. After the presentation, cases were given to all students, who were challenged with the task of choosing the ethical decision to make. This personal interaction and dialogue was an important component for the students: the discussion that ensued generated many considerations for real life situations that students may face in their financial careers.

The course attracted both graduate students in the MS in Financial Risk Management program and undergraduates studying Financial Management.

2014 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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Storrs, Conn.– Induction ceremony set for May 2nd at Hartford Marriott Downtown.

On May 2, 2014, a distinguished group of business leaders and alumni will be inducted into the University of Connecticut School of Business Alumni Hall of Fame.

The 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees are:

James V. Agonis ’71
Chief Executive Officer and President, Retired, AirKaman Cecil, Inc.
Jacksonville, FL

Kevin A. Bouley ’80
President and Chief Executive Officer, Nerac, Inc.
Tolland, CT

Brigadier General James S. Creedon ’53, USAF, Retired
President, Creedon Consulting, LLC
Litchfield Park, AZ

Joann L. DeBlasis ’76, ’83 MBA
President, Accident & Health Division, Navigators Re.
Ridgefield, CT

Amy J. Errett ’79
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Madison Reed
San Francisco, CA

Lisa R. Klauser ’90
President, Consumer & Shopper Marketing, Integrated Marketing Services
Upper Saddle River, NJ

The School of Business Hall of Fame recognizes alumni who have achieved outstanding success in their business careers, made significant impact on their industry or field of business and have been actively involved in their communities.

“We are pleased to honor and recognize this year’s inductees for their business excellence, professional achievements and extraordinary public service,” said John Elliott, dean of the UConn School of Business. “They are truly inspiring individuals and set a great example for the next generation of business leaders.”

The 2014 honorees join more than 100 individuals previously inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1993.

This year’s induction takes place on Friday, May 2nd at the Marriott Hartford Downtown at 200 Columbus Boulevard at 6:00 p.m.

Reservations and sponsorship information can be obtained by contacting the School of Business Office of Alumni Relations at frances.graham@business.uconn.edu or (860) 486-0315.

MSFRM Students Das & Li Awarded National Scholarships

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Stamford, Conn. – Only two scholarships awarded annually by the Public Risk Management Assoc.

PRIMA Student ScholarshipsEach year, the national Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) awards just two scholarships to students enrolled in public policy and public administration programs. For 2014, both scholarship recipients are from UConn’s MS in Financial Risk Management program.

Xinyue Li and Debolina Das, both enrolled in Stamford, were selected for the annual PRIMA Student Scholarship awards for their outstanding academic performance.

“These scholarships not only recognize our students’ academic strengths and their strong commitment to risk management, but also confirm the quality of our MSFRM program,” said Jud Saviskas, executive director of the UConn School of Business in Stamford. “We are very proud of these two students, and they are a shining reflection of our fine program.”

Based in Alexandria, VA, PRIMA exists to promote and advance the profession of public risk, and serves as the primary resource for public risk management educational programs, products and services.

The PRIMA student scholarship covers expenses related to their attendance at PRIMA’s 35th Annual Conference, June 9-11 2014, in Long Beach, California. These expenses include the conference registration, meals, hotel accommodations, and both air and ground transportation.

As a student scholar, each will be paired with a mentor—a PRIMA member who is an experienced risk manager. The mentor will help the students network, gain industry knowledge, and expose them to other learning opportunities before, during, and after the 2014 Annual Conference. The winners will also receive a complimentary one-year student membership in PRIMA.

“Our FRM program has grown nearly five times in the last three years, attracting outstanding students from abroad, and earning the support and recognition from major corporations in the northeast,” added Professor Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the Finance Department and director of the MSFRM program. “These competitive scholarships recognize the academic excellence of our students and highlight our focus and emphasis on research initiatives in Risk Management.”

Pictured: Xinyue Li and Debolina Das, recipients of the 2014 PRIMA Student Scholarship awards

IBM, MBAs Use Visual Analytics to Tackle Business Problems

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IBM, MBAs

Stamford, Conn.– “Big Data.”

It’s a term we hear over and over again, and its impact is universal. But what is “big?”

According to a 2011 IDC/EMC study, the estimated size of the digital universe was 1.8 zettabytes, and is predicted to grow to 35 zettabytes by 2020. To put that number into perspective, it is the equivalent of 35,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes!Continue Reading

UConn One of Only Two CT Business Schools Named “Best for Vets”

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Selection focuses on culture and curriculum that caters to vets.

This week, the Military Times newspaper named the UConn School of Business and its MBA Program to its “Best for Vets: Business Schools 2014” list, in recognition of the School’s commitment to providing opportunities to America’s veterans.

It is the latest acknowledgement of the strength of services for veterans offered through UConn’s School of Business, which has a record of success engaging those who have served in the armed forces.Continue Reading