Real Estate Professor Admitted to U.S. Supreme Court

July 10, 2014

UConn Center of Real Estate and Urban Economic StudiesA professor at the UConn Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies was recently admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court. Attorney Lucy Michaud, whose areas of expertise are real estate and business law, has been working with the real estate center at the School of Business as asst. ext. professor and a liaison to the Department of Consumer Protection.

Michaud was among 14 attorneys invited to apply for the special designation by the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International (P.A.D.). The accepted group was inducted to the Supreme Court of the United States in a ceremonial ritual on June 2, as part of the 48th annual P.A.D. Day held in Washington, D.C.

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States. Justices Samuel Anthony AlitoStephen G. BreyerRuth Bader GinsburgElena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor are all P.A.D. members. Following the swearing-in ceremony, Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor visited with the group to individually meet the inductees.

Pictured: Lucy Michaud (front, right) and P.A.D. members pose with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (front, center).

SC2 Hartford Challenge

July 2, 2014

The SC2 Hartford Challenge is a US EDA grant-funded program offered through the President’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) initiative.  The SC2 Challenge is an opportunity to create an economic development strategy and actionable plan—one that includes game changing policy, infrastructure and programming—to drive positive change for Hartford and impact revitalization efforts for other cities. Hartford’s goal is to become internationally known as the city where entrepreneurs come to start and stay to grow their businesses.

The City is calling for the formation of qualified teams by July 24thto submit their proposals. The top three proposals will share $100,000 in prize money. The top six teams will each be tasked with developing detailed, actionable economic development plans. These six teams will share $800,000 in EDA-funded prizes. The top prize is $500,000. UConn’s School of Business is honored to be a member of the review panel.

If you would like more information, please contact Stephen Cole at the Hartford Economic Development Division  at COLES001@hartford.gov or 860-757-9071. Please note: SC2 Hartford registration closes July 24th, and proposals are due September 22nd.  Learn more at hartford.sc2prize.com/

Research Study by Professor Bill Ross Finds Charitable Giving Hinges on Perception of ‘Worthiness’

July 1, 2014

Charities assisting people perceived as responsible for their plight may have a difficult time attracting donations, says a new study.

With more than $200 billion donated to causes each year in the United States alone, consumers are inundated with donation requests from charities supporting an array of recipients. Contrary to the idea that people who fit the profile of “givers” are uniformly charitable, their donations may be based on information or preconceived notions about the beneficiaries.

“As consumers have limited financial resources to allocate to charitable giving, they may evaluate how ‘deserving’ the recipients are before making donations,” according to William T. Ross, Jr., ING Global chair and professor of marketing at University of Connecticut and the paper’s co-author. “It’s not only the characteristics of the giver that determine their likelihood of donating, but of characteristics they perceive in the recipient.”

The finding contradicts previous studies that have focused on characteristics of people with the option to give suggesting an important boundary particularly among the most charitable—those defined as having a strong moral identity.
Ross was part of a team of researchers led by Saerom Lee, a doctoral student, and Karen Page Winterich, assisting professor of marketing at the Pennsylvania State University. Their findings are published in the latest Journal of Consumer Research.

The team looked at the responses of 600 participants studied in four scenarios.

In one, researchers examined the response of participants who were given an amount of cash to donate to a real nonprofit organization, the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers.

Participants were asked to choose between donating to medical patients described alternately as having a low-level of responsibility for their situations and those having a high-level of responsibility. The recipients were described either as unable to pay for medical treatment because of “low-wage jobs with poor benefits due to economic conditions” or unable to pay for treatment because of inability “to hold a steady job due to their drug and alcohol abuse or gambling addiction.”

The findings indicate that charitable organizations marketing their causes need to be cautious when describing the beneficiaries that they support, particularly if the recipient could be perceived as responsible for their plight and, by extension, undeserving.

According to the researchers, even when charities do not specifically highlight the responsibility of their recipients, consumers tend to assign their own preconceived notions about beneficiaries in stigmatized groups. For example, the plight of the homeless or drug addicts is often attributed to their own behaviors.

The study was funded by a Smeal Small Research Grant from the Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University and is based on the dissertation by author Saerom Lee, which was the winner or the 2013 Society for Consumer Psychology Dissertation Proposal Competition.

MS HRM and Advanced Business Certificate in HRM Approved by UConn’s Board of Trustees

June 30, 2014

The University of Connecticut School of Business is pleased to announce that updates to its MS HRM degree program, as well as a new graduate certificate in HRM, have been approved unanimously by UConn’s Board of Trustees. Following a rigorous academic review by the Management Department in January 2014 and subsequent approval by the Faculty of the School of Business, the former MPS HRM program was redesigned to accommodate today’s working professional and align the curriculum with the needs of tomorrow’s HR leaders. Every course in the program was updated and several new courses were added to the Graduate Catalog, including Managing Risk in the Workplace, Talent Management Through the Employee Lifecycle, and Consultative Management for Business Function Professionals. The new program is a 33-credit cohort program with concentrated seven-week sessions in a defined sequence. The benefits of this design include greater integration across the curriculum, collaborative learning across the cohort, and the ability to focus on one course per session while completing the degree in 22 months.

For more information, please contact us at 860-486-4176 or HRM@business.uconn.edu.

Strong Corporate Support for Students in UConn Stamford’s New Financial Management Major

The UConn School of Business is proud to announce a premier group of financial institutions supporting the School’s new undergraduate Financial Management major in Stamford.

The Financial Management major was designed and developed, in part, by CFA charterholders from prominent local hedge funds and investment firms. The major has been accepted into the CFA Institute’s University Recognition Program and stands to serve as inspiration to a program intent on helping cultivate a young generation of future CFA charterholders. The CFA credential has become one of the most globally respected designations and the Financial Management major, along with those selected within this program to join the Investment Management Program (IMP), will be exposed to academic and practical applications in finance coupled with reinforcement of strong ethical behavior.

“Through a progressive relationship with the CFA Society of Stamford, students who excel in the Financial Management major will be invited to join an exclusive Investment Management Program (IMP), which, among other benefits, provides access to a wide array of tools and research from financial institutions like Barclays, CreditSights, and Atlantic Asset Management,” said Jud Saviskas, executive director for the UConn School of Business in Stamford. “This innovative relationship encourages and facilitates an exchange of ideas, networking opportunities and career development for aspiring investment professionals – and it’s already received outside interest from many other colleges and universities.”

Last year, a group of IMP students travelled to Wall Street for a visit to several institutions such as Barclays, Bloomberg, and CreditSights. As program supporters, these companies allow students and faculty complimentary access to their client web portals such as, Barclays Live, which provides a range of research and financial analytics tools, and CreditSights’ online global research platform and an analytical staff of almost 80 investment professionals.

“Barclay’s and CreditSights’ web portals are an excellent tool for IMP students as they undertake the challenges of the program and the pursuit of the CFA Level I exam,” said Michael Dineen, senior vice president of Atlantic Asset Management and UConn adjunct professor.

Thomas Walsh, managing director at Barclays added that the collaboration with IMP is just one example of the importance the bank places on developing an early foundation of ethical investment knowledge. “The most successful students will be those who develop the skill sets they need to be productive and innovative members of the next generation’s workforce,” Walsh said. “We are delighted to be able to make Barclays Live available to IMP students and hope that they will derive significant benefit from these new resources.”

“We have had the pleasure to meet a number of IMP students, and they are coming into the space during interesting times in the evolution of the credit markets,” said Glenn Reynolds, CEO of CreditSights. “We hope the background information from prior credit cycles and our analysis of the structural shifts taking place today – most notably in banking and finance – can be of value as they prepare themselves for the role they can play in the markets. Credit has grown dramatically in all areas of the global economy from sovereign to corporate to household, and there are a lot of moving parts to the puzzle.”

Barclays
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management, with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays has long been recognized as a leader in not only fundamental equity and credit research but also technical and quantitative analysis. Their research, analytics and market-leading benchmark and tradable strategy indices are widely used by clients and the markets.

CreditSights
Founded by a group of analysts in September 2000, CreditSights is an independent research firm offering a range of fundamental research products, quantitative risk models, and ratings services that are used by clients making investment and risk management decisions. CreditSights does not underwrite securities or manage assets and has grown from 8 employees in 2000 to over 115 currently. The company has its main operations in New York, London, and Singapore.

Atlantic Asset Management
Atlantic Asset Management has been an independent registered investment advisor for over 20 years, focusing on institutional fixed-income and asset allocation strategies; and for 15 years, has run an investment manager “sponsorship” program, where promising emerging managers focusing on niche market segments have received seeding and infrastructure support to help grow their businesses.

Scholarship Opportunities for HRM Students

SHRM, the SHRM Foundation and the HR Certification Institute are now accepting applications for the Susan R. Meisinger Fellowship for Graduate Study in HR until August 18, 2014.  The fellowship is designed to support master’s degree students who are either members of SHRM or certified HR professionals through the HR Certification Institute. Sponsored jointly by SHRM, the SHRM Foundation and the HR Certification Institute, the fellowship supports those who want to leverage significant past contributions to the HR management field and who plan to continue contributing to the profession by earning a master’s degree in HR.

One winner is selected annually to receive a fellowship of up to $10,000. Additional fellowships may be awarded, depending on funding available, quantity and quality of applicants, and the discretion of SHRM. Each fellowship is renewable for one additional year for a total of two years of graduate study and up to $20,000 total for the fellowship. Doctoral students are not eligible for this award.

How to Apply
Download and complete the application form, compile all required materials, then mail your completed application package to:

Meisinger Fellowship
SHRM Foundation Administrator
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 535-6020

All required materials must be submitted together in one package. Applications will not be returned. Completed applications must be received by Monday, August 18, 2014. All applicants will be notified of results via mail by October 31, 2014.

Special Guest Speaker During ACCT 5505

June 18, 2014

The online MS in Accounting Program held its four day in-residence class, Acct 5505, from May 19-22, welcoming 100 new students to UConn. One highlight from the week was a speech from our welcome dinner’s keynote speaker, MSA alum, Ann Kummer. Ms. Kummer is a tax manager at Kirshon & Company, P.C., a firm located in Poughkeepsie, NY, and serving the Hudson Valley. She has nearly two decades of experience in public accounting and expertise in tax compliance matters including tax preparation and representation for high net-worth individuals, trusts and estates, partnerships, and corporations. Continue Reading

Experience a Top Ten Business Law Program!

June 17, 2014

Bloomberg Businessweek has named the UConn Business Law program as one of the top ten programs in the U.S.

This ranking is based on survey responses from graduating seniors regarding their learning experiences in Business Law classes. Members of the Business Law faculty have repeatedly earned national recognition from their peers for their teaching methods and classroom mastery.Continue Reading

Top Big Data & Analytics Masters Programs: Preparing Students for a Digital Future

We’re very excited to share that we have been listed as one of over 25 ‘most prominent big data and analytics degree programs” by BI Software Insight. Big data is a revolution that will transform our lives and our uniquely combined degree focusing in both analytics and project management is positioning our graduates for success. Our graduates are prepared to leverage and manage data as well as develop data-driven solutions. See more at Top Big Data & Analytics Masters Programs.

Students Engaged in Academic Leadership (SEAL) Cultivates Academic Success, Professional Development

June 12, 2014

SEALHasudin Pehratovic ’15 (BUS) says that the SEAL program has taught him to, “Never take anything for granted and always give back.” And if that’s not enough, the accounting major adds that the program has helped him with everything from questions of dining etiquette—’The bread plate goes on the upper left, the water glass on the upper right,’ he says with a smile—to introducing him to key UConn faculty and administrators as he explores career opportunities in his chosen field.

Pehratovic, who was born in Bosnia and came to Connecticut with his family in 2000, is one of 21 juniors and 13 sophomores who make up the first two cohorts enrolled in Students Engaged in Academic Leadership (SEAL), developed through UConn’s Office of Diversity.

Aimed at students who are the first in their families to attend college, admission to SEAL is through a competitive application process offered to first semester sophomores. Those accepted stay in the program from the second semester of their sophomore year through their senior year providing they maintain GPA requirements and are actively engaged in required activities. During this time, they receive stipends of approximately $500 per semester as they are exposed to networking and mentoring opportunities, internships, and organized team-building exercises.

Jeffrey Ogbar, vice provost for diversity, explains the genesis of the program at UConn this way: “The University does a great job of providing support for various groups of students: The Honors Program, Leadership Legacy through the Office of Student Activities, opportunities such as Upward Bound, Upward Bound-STEM, and McNair Scholars, that are federally-sponsored initiatives for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. We reach out to a wide variety of students.”

“But we found we were missing an important group – and that’s students who are the first in their families to attend college. This group, which we refer to informally as First Gen, has a disproportionately high dropout rate, particularly between their sophomore and junior years. We wanted to do something positive to reverse that trend.”

Ogbar explains that this is not a situation unique to UConn. Although overall our graduation rates are significantly better than the national average—with an 83% six year retention rate—on a national level only 26% of First Gen students graduate with a bachelor’s degree within eight years.

Reasons given for a high attrition rate include the fact that these individuals may lack a support system that includes parents who have experienced college and who support the idea of higher education. These students tend to be older with additional work and family responsibilities. And in some cases they come from a lower socio-economic status which makes paying for higher education more difficult.

“UConn’s SEAL program is aimed exclusively at first generation college students regardless of their race, ethnicity, or economic status,” says Ogbar. “As long as applicants have a GPA of at least 2.5 and are committed to developing their leadership and academic skills, they are welcome to apply.”

Kelly Sanchez ’15 (CLAS) and Shantel Honeyghan ’15 (CLAS), both members of the first cohort chosen last year, agree with Pehratovic that SEAL has provided a variety of important opportunities.

A native of Jamaica who lives in Hartford, Honeyghan was first introduced to UConn through the Teacher Preparatory Studies Program at Bulkeley High School. This initiative, which partners high schools with the Neag School of Education, is designed to encourage talented students, particularly from minority groups, to become teachers.

She says, “When I first came to UConn I thought I wanted to major in education because I had so many positive experiences with faculty from Neag when I was in high school. But, somehow I wasn’t confident in my choice. I took a close look at myself and evaluated my interests and now I have a double major in English and Human Development & Family Studies. I’ve decided that I want to get a master’s degree—and eventually a Ph.D.—in higher education and student affairs.

“Part of my decision is the example set by Dr. Ogbar, by Dr. Price in the African-American Cultural Center, and by others I’ve met through SEAL and my exposure to leadership activities. Diversity and multi-culturalism are very important to me and I hope I can give back by eventually working in an office of diversity initiatives or an office of civic engagement.”

Like her peers in the program, Sanchez who hails from New Haven, gives SEAL high marks for exposing her to leadership opportunities and introducing her to individuals on campus who serve as mentors and role models.

“I knew from the time I was in high school that I wanted to major in psychology and when I went for my interview [for the SEAL program] I met Michelle Williams and she has been a wonderful mentor for me – being there when I need her and encouraging me to every step of the way. What I didn’t anticipate was how much I would be inspired by Professor [Guillermo] Irizarry‘s course in Puerto Rican & Latin American studies. As a result, I now have a double major in Psychology and Latin American Studies and I hope, someday, to work as a clinical psychologist.

Williams, associate vice president for research and associate professor in the Department of Psychology, and Irizarry, associate professor of Literatures, Cultures & Language, are examples of the types of relationships forged between students and campus leaders envisioned by Ogbar and SEAL program administrator Seanice DeShields, director of diversity initiatives in the School of Business.

“We’re really encouraged by the progress of this program,” says DeShields. “We have only lost one student so far—and that’s because of a transfer to another school—and the collective GPA of students in the program is over 3.3 and on the rise. We’re really excited about the future and the number of First Gen students who will be graduating from UConn in years to come.”

SEAL is currently funded by a five-year grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation.

Pictured: Jeffrey Ogbar, vice provost for diversity, left, Shantel Honeyghan ’15 (CLAS), and Hasudin Pehratovic ’15 (BUS). (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)