Author: Scott Slater III


Ask the Experts – Best Car Insurance Companies

Wallethub – Which do you think is a better indicator of a good car insurance company: low rates or good customer reviews?

Shopping for insurance is really a multi-step process. Low rates are an attention-getter. They will stop and attract a shopper but will not automatically convert a shopper into a customer.


What A Year It Has Been!

This month I am pleased to announce the release of the 2021 Dean’s Annual Report that celebrates the year that was. It highlights many of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends, with particular attention to the ways they have made the business school a better place. They have contributed time and treasure to launch new programs, to create new companies, and to make life better for others. I have been privileged to know and work with so many of these inspiring individuals whose words and accomplishments adorn these pages. Continue Reading


2 Military Veterans Help Other Vets Transition to Purposeful Civilian Life

Next Avenue – Career transitions are hard for everyone, but the shift from military to civilian life can be particularly challenging. Soldiers coming back from the Vietnam War were too often treated as damaged goods by employers, according to research by Alair MacLean, sociology professor at Washington State University, it remains to be seen how welcoming employers will be to service members returning from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — especially those in the second half of life.


UConn’s Commitment to Human Rights

Hundreds of faculty, staff, students and friends joined President Joe Biden and former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd in celebration and rededication of UConn’s Dodd Center for Human Rights on Oct. 15.

The assembly witnessed powerful comments from a host of luminaries including current Senators Murphy and Blumenthal, Governor Lamont and many others, culminating in a compelling speech from President Biden. Not present, but powerful in his absence, was the long-serving former U.S. Senator Thomas Dodd, the father of Chris Dodd, and a distinguished prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials. Continue Reading




Education by Intention

Years ago, driving through Oklahoma, I stopped for gas. In those days, attendants pumped your gas, and my attendant was a high school student heading for college. When he learned I was a college professor, he asked if college would be better than high school. I asked what motivated his question and he cited discipline problems and unruly behavior by classmates who hated high school.

My own high school experience was in sharp contrast to his, but, more importantly, I could assure him that I had never had a day as a professor when I felt I was more of a guard than a teacher. I encouraged him to anticipate four years of enthusiastic growth with other highly motivated, hard-working, and interested students.

As we enter the Fall of 2021 at UConn, I am pleased to say that I believe our new and returning students face that same optimistic future that I envisioned for him. Our students are not only interested, but interesting. They come together from different places with different specialties and goals.Continue Reading


UConn’s Popular In-Person Career Fairs Returning After Pandemic-Induced Hiatus

UConn Today – Like so many other aspects of life, the COVID pandemic has upended the process of searching for internships and full-time jobs for many current and graduating UConn students.

But there’s good news on the horizon: For the first time in two years, UConn is able to return to in-person career fairs – albeit with many health and safety precautions – while continuing to offer the popular virtual fairs, on-demand resources, and other online programming it expanded during the pandemic.


Strong Backgrounds, Proven Scholarship Are Hallmarks of School’s New Faculty Members

New faculty members include (left to right): Rachel Chambers, Xiang Zheng, Sami Ghaddar, Mary Vernon, and James Warren (Contributed photos)

The incoming cohort of new business faculty includes a consultant on human rights for the United Nations, an award-winning researcher focused on fintech, two enthusiastic accounting experts, and a management professor who researches corporate governance, innovation and performance.Continue Reading


Will Connecticut, and the United States, Remain a Beacon of Educational Opportunity for International Students?

The recent U.S. Census informed us that population growth was essentially flat in the last decade, and more detailed analysis in the last year suggests that the birth rate has been declining, the death rates have been rising, and immigration has declined.

A trifecta.

GDP growth derives largely from population growth and thus projections for GDP growth are minimal in terms of long-term trends, while better in terms of recovery from the negative effects of COVID-19.

As the dean of the School of Business at UConn, I am particularly concerned about the effects of these trends on our School, our University, and our state. All of the national trends affect us, but they are exacerbated by the emigration reality. Within the USA people move, and the long-term pattern has been emigration from the Rust Belt and the Northeast to the South and West. Continue Reading