Author: Claire Hall


‘Risk Intelligent Compliance’ is Topic Of UConn’s Thought Leadership Breakfast on Feb. 10 in Hartford

Executive Breakfast Series | Risk Intelligent Compliance | Feb 10, 2016

“Risk Intelligent Compliance,” is the topic of the first in a series of Spring 2016 Thought Leadership Breakfast Seminars sponsored by the UConn School of Business.

The program will be offered Feb. 10 at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center, 100 Constitution Plaza, in Hartford. The event begins with breakfast and networking from 7:30 to 8 a.m., followed by the presentation by business law professor Robert Bird from 8 to 8:45 a.m. The program is free, but registration is limited. For more information or to register, please call Amanda Spada at 860-486-5498 or email Amanda.Spada@business.uconn.edu.

Compliance is big business and the stakes for a firm are high. Yet companies cannot simply dedicate unlimited time and resources to solving compliance issues. The skilled manager must know how to implement compliance effectively and do so at low cost and without disruption. Successful firms will be able to intelligently manage a full spectrum of risks and make decisions that both effectively and efficiently protect the firm from sanctions and harm.

In the seminar, Bird will introduce the concept of risk-intelligent compliance. He will discuss how to make compliance decisions within the confines of limited time and resources. Compliance risk is now a fact of life and something that cannot be completely eliminated. Managers can, however, evaluate the magnitude of various risks and then apply resources in a manner that is most efficient and effective in minimizing exposure. The seminar will explore multiple kinds of efficiency, the trade-off between risk and cost, and show how firms can best achieve their compliance goals and promote compliance as a source of innovation.

Bird, who is the Eversource Utilities Chair in Business Ethics at UConn, is a highly regarded and highly awarded researcher, who specializes in employment law, legal strategy, intellectual property, law and marketing, business and human rights and related fields. He has authored more than 70 academic publications in top journals and has received 15 research-related awards. He earned his law degree from Boston University in 1996.


Award-winning Professor Dick Kochanek’s Accounting Class Came with a Bonus: Great Advice for Living Life

“If the person next to you in class leans over and whispers, ‘I love you,’ you have to say: ‘Not until after class. I have to focus on Kochanek’s lecture now!'”

That’s one of the many witty remarks that Professor Richard “Dick” Kochanek has used to engage the 250 underclassmen in his “Principles of Financial Accounting” class.

Kochanek, who retired at the end of fall semester, is one of the most beloved and highly regarded professors at UConn. He has extremely high ratings from his students and is widely credited with turning their curiosity about accounting into a life-long career.Continue Reading


Global Recognition

UConn's Full-time MBA Program ranks among the top 100 in the world.

Financial Times: UConn’s MBA Program Ranks Among Best in the World

UConn’s MBA program has been ranked among the Top 100 in the world, according to a prestigious new report released today by Financial Times.

This is the first time that the program has received the honor in the short history of the report. UConn’s Full-time MBA program ranked No. 46 nationally (No. 19 among public institutions) and No. 96 in the world. The rankings were determined in part by responses from members of the Class of 2012, evaluating the program and its contribution to their career growth.

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Professor Ramunni’s ‘Accordion Fever’

Paul Ramunni (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Smiling and calm, Paul Ramunni plays a polka on his favorite accordion, a Giuseppe Verde. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Lessons in Patriotism, Family, Perseverance Resonate in Connecticut Accordion Museum

When Paul Ramunni was just 10 years old, his mother announced that he was going to learn to play the accordion.

His reaction was instant disdain.

“No Mom! Anything but that,” he said.

But his mother insisted, and play he did. He rarely practiced and, consequently, wasn’t very good. He considered the instrument a burden. Competitions were stressful. And, worse, it didn’t boost the social status of Ramunni, a glasses-wearing, Italian kid from Long Island. A few fights broke out on the school bus because of the teasing.Continue Reading


That Adds Up!

MS in Accounting Rises to #2 Nationally | U.S. News

U.S. News Ranks UConn’s Online Masters in Accounting Program as #2 in the Nation

A study released today by U.S. News & World Report ranked the UConn School of Business’ online Master of Science in Accounting Program (MSA) as No. 2 in the nation.

The highly competitive program, which typically draws 200 students each year, was touted as one of 2016’s Best Online Graduate Business Programs (excluding MBA programs). U.S. News focuses on course design, instructor qualifications, student/instructor interaction, student retention and more. Last year UConn tied for third place in the rankings.Continue Reading


EBV Director Invited to State of the Union Address

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced Thursday that Michael Zacchea, director of UConn’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), will be his guest at President Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 12.  Zacchea, who served in the Iraq war, is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and a Purple Heart recipient.Continue Reading


‘We’re Starting to Have Our Voices Heard’

Military Flag

Senator Blumenthal Attends UConn Roundtable on Veteran Employment; Seeks Ideas, Concerns, Suggestions

Their livelihoods couldn’t be more diverse—from farming to aerospace to cleaning services—but their message was the same: help us and help our fellow veterans find, keep and create great jobs.

That was the message that some 70 people delivered to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) during a roundtable discussion Thursday, Jan. 7. Hosted by UConn’s School of Business, the focus of the event was how Congress can further support veteran hiring and veteran-owned businesses.Continue Reading


In Memoriam: Mark P. Coville ’79

Mark P. Coville at the 2013 Hall of Fame (UConn School of Business)
Mark P. Coville at the 2013 Hall of Fame (UConn School of Business)

Alumnus Mark P. Coville ’79, a 2013 inductee into the School of Business Hall of Fame who maintained a strong affinity for his alma mater, passed away on Dec. 10, 2015, after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was 58.

Coville was a managing director in BlackRock Inc.’s trading and liquidity strategy group and had a long and successful career in financial services. He graduated from UConn in 1979 with a degree in finance.Continue Reading


‘For the Love of the Game’

John 'Jack' Veiga (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
John “Jack” Veiga (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Retired Management Professor Jack Veiga Still Winning Awards, Challenging Misconceptions

Retired professor of management John “Jack” Veiga was thrilled when his research paper won a major award—doubly so to be honored in a field that isn’t his specialty.

Veiga and his colleagues examined why some people become highly proficient with new, large-scale application software packages while others fail to master even the most elementary applications. The paper was named one of the five Best Information Systems Papers of 2014 by the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) Senior Scholars.

“While I have won awards for my research before, being honored for interdisciplinary research that is outside my field is particularly gratifying,” Veiga said.

When asked why he is still working so hard, after retiring from UConn in 2009, Veiga had a clear explanation.Continue Reading


Dan Toscano ’87

School of Business Alumnus Chairs UConn Foundation Board; ‘Let’s Be the Best… That’s What it Means to Come to UConn’

When alumnus Dan Toscano ’87 talks about the need for more scholarships to help UConn students, he speaks from the heart.

“I had some very discouraging moments when I was a student here and the tuition was due and I didn’t quite have it pulled together yet,” he recalled during a recent interview. “My wife, Tresa, and I had to fight to get through college financially. I remember those days vividly. I don’t want to see anyone else go through that.”Continue Reading