Graduate Programs

Alumna Named SUNY Dean

Posted on by Claire Hall

Rowena Ortiz-Walters Becomes One of the Few Hispanic-Americans to Lead a U.S. Business School

Portrait of Rowena Ortiz-Walters.
Pictured: Rowena Ortiz-Walters. Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac University.

Rowena Ortiz-Walters, a two-time UConn graduate who earned her Ph.D. in 2005, has been appointed Dean of the School of Business and Economics at the State University of New York—Plattsburgh.

Ortiz-Walters is only the ninth Hispanic-American dean of a business school in the United States, according to The Ph.D. Project, a program designed to foster more diversity in corporate America and higher education administration. She will begin her new job on July 1.Continue Reading

HR Strategy Matters, Says Professor

Posted on by Claire Hall
Human Resources Professionals Taking On Larger, More Strategic Roles, Professor Greg Reilly Tells CBIA Conference Members.
Photo courtesy of CBIA

Human Resources Professionals Taking On Larger, More Strategic Roles, Professor Greg Reilly Tells CBIA Conference Members

The most sought-after human resources professionals today are full partners in the strategic leadership team, identifying weaknesses within an organization and hiring the right people to make a company more competitive and robust.

That was the insight that management professor Greg Reilly shared with 150 participants during the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s (CBIA) Human Resources Conference. Reilly was the keynote speaker at last month’s event at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cromwell.Continue Reading

‘Resilient Astronauts’

Posted on by Claire Hall

 Close up of Mars.

School of Business Professor Uses Expertise in Teamwork To Help NASA Prepare ‘Resilient Astronauts’ to Travel to Mars

Management Professor John Mathieu, an expert in team dynamics, is helping NASA figure out the complexities of developing a socially compatible and resilient crew of astronauts to travel to Mars.

Consider the challenges: an international crew of up to six astronauts will contend with isolation from their families, cramped living quarters, and extensive boredom that is punctuated with life-threatening danger.

They will sleep, dine and work side-by-side with their colleagues for up to two years, and privacy will be minimal. To send a simple message to mission command, and receive a response, will take 45 minutes, thus requiring the crew to be largely autonomous.Continue Reading

2015 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award

Posted on by Claire Hall

School of Business Instructor/Alumna Rebecca Ranucci Honored as University’s Top Teaching Assistant

A School of Business teaching assistant, who is known for both her academic rigor and willingness to help students, has received the 2015 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award from UConn’s Institute for Teaching and Learning.

Rebecca Ranucci, a fifth-year doctoral student in the Management Department, was honored at a ceremony Wednesday.Continue Reading

Going Once, Going Twice…

Posted on by Claire Hall

Cartoon graphic of several hands holding sticks with dollar signs on them, symbolizing an auction.

OPIM Professor Robert Day’s Combinatorial Auction Algorithm Employed Throughout Europe, Canada in Billion-Dollar Bidding Deals

When the Canadian government wanted to apportion mobile broadband services in February 2014—so that there would be plenty of cell-phone coverage, competitive prices and more provider options nationwide—it used an algorithm devised by UConn Business Professor Bob Day and his colleagues.

Day, a professor of Operations and Information Management in the School of Business, is an expert in combinatorial auctions. His services have been called upon by the governments in Canada and England, who have collected over $8 billion in auction revenues for just two projects he worked on in 2013 and 2014.Continue Reading

These are ‘Best of Times, Worst of Times’ for Risk Managers

Posted on by Claire Hall
Thomas Sullivan '00 MBA speaking at a podium.
Thomas Sullivan ’00 MBA

When a major retailer had a security breach, and consumer information was compromised, it created a ripple effect at Stamford-based First County Bank.

First County Bank customers inundated their local branches seeking new debit cards, and many wanted replacements right away. The bank is able to produce about 1,000 new cards a day in-house, but has to contract out for bigger projects, said John Bonora, senior vice president and chief risk officer at the bank, and a 2011 graduate of UConn’s MSFRM program.Continue Reading

New Members Inducted into Business Honor Society on Sunday

Posted on by Claire Hall

More than 100 UConn business students were inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma scholastic honor society during a dinner and ceremony on Sunday evening.

Beta Gamma Sigma recognizes students with the highest academic achievement at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels. Students from Storrs, Stamford, Hartford and Waterbury attended the ceremony in the Dave Ivry Seminar Classroom at School of Business. Keynote speaker was Dean John A. Elliott.Continue Reading

Accounting, Finance Faculty Members Recognized for Outstanding Research

Posted on by Claire Hall

Portrait of Jose Martinez and David Weber.The School of Business has awarded its 2015 Best Paper Award to professors David Weber, from accounting, and Jose Martinez, of finance, for their exceptional research articles that will appear in esteemed academic journals.

Weber’s research paper is titled, “Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses.”

“Picking Winners? Investment Consultants’ Recommendations of Fund Managers,” is the title of Martinez’s work. His paper also recently received a prize from the University of Cambridge and the Commonfund Institute.

“Both papers are to appear in very prestigious journals in their respective fields, The Accounting Review and Journal of Finance,” said Sulin Ba, associate dean of academic and research support. “The selection committee was particularly impressed by the public policy implications that came out of both research projects. These implications will have an impact on our society in the years to come.”

The competition was intense this year with 10 nominations, all papers accepted in top academic journals, Ba said.

“Dr. Weber’s paper, co-authored with Ph.D. student Biyu Wu, addresses the requirement that corporations and their auditors publicly disclose internal control weaknesses, which is one of the most contentious and costly provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” said Mohamed Hussein, accounting department head. “The study is important because it shows that the enforcement mechanisms surrounding internal control reporting are often ineffective and in some cases may even provide disincentives for compliance.”

“This paper is one of many research projects conducted by the UConn accounting faculty that addressed critical accounting and tax issues,” said Hussein, noting that UConn accounting faculty research has been cited in Congressional hearings and in the British Parliament.

Chinmoy Ghosh, department head in finance, said he is pleased with his colleague’s success.

“Within a very short period of time since arriving at UConn in August 2014, Jose has made a significant contribution in almost every aspect of the job. Acceptance of his paper by the Journal of Finance, the top journal in the discipline, brings tremendous visibility and prestige to the department and the school,” he said. “Very recently, his research has been recognized by a leading academic group in Europe. His style of teaching and knowledge drew great praise from the Risk Management students at both our Hartford and Stamford campuses.

“Jose has also shown great interest and objectivity in various academic issues currently under review by the department faculty. We are very pleased to have him as a colleague and look forward to many more productive years from him at the School of Business.”

The Best Paper Award is funded by the generous support of the Arnold M. Robin & Rochelle M. Robin Excellence Fund.

Related articles:

Professor Jose Martinez Earns Triple Recognition for Work on Dubious Investment Management

Professor David Weber Finds Lack of Enforcement Surrounds Key Provision of Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Have the Skills But Not Getting Promoted? Your Lack of Confidence May Be Sabotaging Your Career

Posted on by Claire Hall

Could you give a speech in front of a room of strangers? Would you have the courage to run for elected office? Could you ask for a raise—and stand a good chance of getting it?

Those were some of the questions that executive coach, lecturer and author Barbara Roche asked more than 100 people during a program titled, “Women, Wisdom and Worth.” Continue Reading

‘Demystifying Big Data’ is Subject of March 25 Breakfast Seminar Sponsored by University of Connecticut School of Business

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Gray graphic with "Executive Breakfast Series" text, featuring a fork and pen side by side, symbolizing a professional breakfast event.The University of Connecticut School of Business is offering a breakfast seminar titled, “Demystifying Big Data,” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. March 25 at the Society Room, 31 Pratt Street, Hartford. Professor Ramesh Shankar, assistant department head for the university’s information systems program, will discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging Big Data and extracting full value. Participants will gain an understanding of the business value offered by the emerging ecosystem of Big Data technologies such as Apache Hadoop, Spark, Hive, and others.

This a “must-attend” event for Human Resources, Marketing, Information Technology, Operations Management and Healthcare leaders as well as Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers and Chief Executive Officers. Business leaders will leave the seminar with an enhanced understanding of the potential of Big Data in their organization to improve functional and operational results.

Pre-registration is required and can be made online or by calling 860-486-5498. Seating is limited.

Dr. Shankar earned a Ph.D. from the Stern School of Business at New York University. His current research focuses on social media, strategic analysis of digital goods, such as software, music and video games, and the impact of information systems on business processes and structure of firms. He has served as a management consultant with many multinational corporations including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Morgan Stanley, Wipro Infotech and ICICI Ltd.