Author: Scott Slater III

Dr. Brianna Siegel Helps Her Patients, In Sickness and In Health

Posted on by Jeanne Leblanc

UConn Today – Dr. Brianna Siegel ’26 MBA was five years into her career as a primary care physician when COVID-19 changed her professional trajectory.

As she cared for her patients, she joined her colleagues at the Stamford Health Medical Group in designing systemwide responses to the challenges of the pandemic. The experience drew her back toward medical education and administration, a field she had considered pursuing during her chief residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, and this ultimately propelled her toward an MBA.

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Steve Gillette ‘26 MSA Trades Police Badge for Business Balance Sheet

Posted on by Eli Freund

UConn Today – Imagine waking up one morning and trading a police uniform and bulletproof vest for a dress shirt and tie. The handcuffs, patrol car, and emergency sirens are gone, replaced by the new tools of the trade: spreadsheets, financial statements, and the latest accounting software.

For most people, such a transition would be a shock to the system. But for Steve Gillette ’26 MSA, a former Glastonbury police officer turned accountant, that change was a hard but intentional choice.

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Ask the Experts – Weining Bao

Posted on by Scott Slater III

Wallethub – Q:Who should try zero-based budgeting?

I think anyone who wants every dollar to have a job should try zero-based budgeting. For example, people with steady income and a clear goal (paying off debt, building savings). Like Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory, it runs best when the flow is predictable.

Q: Who is most likely to struggle with zero-based budgeting?

I have a couple of examples. (1) Irregular earners. Their volatile income is like unreliable supply, and the system needs smoothing before it works. (2) People with no buffer and heavy fixed costs. Any shock could make them go straight to debt, like a JIT line with no safety stock.

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Three New Faculty Members Join the School of Business

Posted on by Scott Slater III

UConn Today – The School of Business is welcoming three new faculty members this Fall, who bring expertise in accounting, entrepreneurship, and real-estate research.

“Hiring new business faculty is always exciting, because the nature of our field is to stay on the cutting-edge of innovation and its application in the real world,’’ said Interim Dean Bob Day. “Looking at these three new hires and their current research programs I see innovation throughout: I see new taxation policies and new means of studying their implications; I see AI and autonomous-vehicle policy; I see research on manufactured homes and the impact of solar panels on real estate investment, among other topics.’’

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Ask the Experts – Weining Bao

Posted on by Scott Slater III

Wallethub – Q: When does it make sense to consider a credit card with a triple-digit annual fee?

My test is simple. If you need a spreadsheet to convince yourself the fee is worth it, then it is not. If you take a couple of trips a year, you are paying for the benefits you keep forgetting to use.

Q: In your opinion, what type of person should get a card like The Platinum Card from American Express?

I think the card is for people who live in airports. Frequent flyers, consultants, anyone whose company reimburses the fee anyway. Lounge access genuinely changes how travel feels once you use it every week.

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Ask the Experts – Kevin McEvoy

Posted on by Scott Slater III

Wallethub – Gas credit cards can give you as much as 6% back on gas purchases, either at any gas station or at a specific chain, depending on the card. To point you in the right direction, we evaluated the gas credit cards in our database of 1,500+ credit card offers and selected the top gas cards using WalletHub’s proprietary credit card rating system.

If you always purchase a certain brand of gas, your best bet is to get a card affiliated with that gas station. Otherwise, you should get a card that offers a solid rewards rate on all gas purchases, so that you can be flexible about where you fill up your tank. Also, before you purchase gas with a gas credit card, check to see if the gas station charges extra for using a credit card. Using your gas credit card is only worth it if the rewards you’ll earn make up for or exceed the extra charge.

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AI for ImpaCT: UConn Launches University-Wide Initiative to Drive AI Innovation Across Connecticut

Posted on by Alex Lohrey

UConn Today – Artificial intelligence (AI) has raised big questions for higher education, employers, policymakers, and communities. How should AI be used in the classroom? What skills will students need in an AI-enabled workforce? How can organizations take advantage of new technologies while addressing concerns about privacy, ethics, and trust? Answers to these questions are already being explored across UConn, the state’s flagship, land- and sea-grant university.

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Cricket Press Taps UConn Students to Explore AI-Driven Growth Strategies

Posted on by Theresa Cramer

CTSBDC – Sometimes all it takes is a fresh perspective to unlock new growth. Through a recent collaboration between the UConn School of Business and the Connecticut Small Business Development Center (CTSBDC), Cricket Press—a West Hartford staple since 1971—gained valuable insights from some of UConn’s top business students, opening the door to new opportunities and ideas.

As part of its Honors Program, the UConn School of Business offers a Case Competition which gives students a chance to work directly with real-world businesses to address a challenge. In years past, students have worked with larger enterprises, but during the Spring 2026 semester, students worked with CTSBDC’s client, Greg Confessore, owner of Cricket Press. For Confessore, working with the students was about continuing a legacy of being forward-thinking and using new technology—and the knowledge of others—to allow his small business to operate at a higher level.

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BUILDing Connecticut’s Capital City: Unique UConn Course Celebrates Five Years of Partnership, Collaboration, and Hartford Stories

Posted on by Jaclyn Severance

UConn Today – On a Wednesday afternoon in late April – tucked inside a quiet brick building in Hartford’s Frog Hollow neighborhood, just a few blocks from the shining gold dome of Connecticut’s State Capitol building – a celebration took place.

On the third floor of The Lyceum – an historic site that at different times in its past housed a box manufacturing company, a punk rock dance club, and a roller-skating business – there were balloons, and there was music. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Smiles and handshakes and hugs passed around.

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