Author: Claire Hall

Global Recognition

Posted on by Claire Hall

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’

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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!

Posted on by Claire Hall

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

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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’

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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

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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’

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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

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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

Reverse Stress Testing

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Finance Professor Wins Best Paper Award for Creating Insightful, Novel Method of Risk Assessment

Finance professor Yaacov Kopeliovich and his RiXtrema research team colleagues have won the 2015 Peter L. Bernstein Award for Best Paper for their work titled, “Robust Risk Estimation and Hedging: A Reverse Stress Testing Approach.”

The article originally appeared in the Journal of Derivatives in May 2015. It was selected by a three-person review committee and was chosen from a pool of nominations from 11 top financial journals. The judges looked for an original or new approach to the field or subject of study; surprising and/or insightful results or implications; and both practical and academic relevance.Continue Reading

I Thought We’d Never Be Able to Do It

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2015 CIBER Case Challenge Participants
Participants in the 2015 CIBER International Case Competition pose in front of the Jonathan the Husky statue on the UConn Storrs campus.
(Quian Callender/UConn School of Business)

Students from Different States, Nations Collaborate to Solve Real-World Problem during UConn’s CIBER Challenge

“I thought we’d never be able to do it,” UConn marketing major Stacia Smart recalls thinking when she heard that she and a team of other college students, all strangers, would have just 24 hours to solve a vexing sustainability problem for a major corporation.

Not only did Smart and her “Quadruple Threat” team develop a possible solution, including a new product idea for Unilever, but they took second-place in the UConn CIBER International Case Challenge this fall.Continue Reading