Alumni

UConn SPAC Conference Will Address the Hottest Topic in Financial Markets

Posted on by Claire Hall
IMage of conference attendees applauding, SPAC conference logo is inset.
(istockphoto.com)

The UConn School of Business will host a half-day conference on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), which are seeing a dramatic spike in interest in the financial and investment communities this year.

“This is the topic of the year in the financial markets,” said Professor Yiming Qian, the Toscano Family Chair in Finance at UConn. “SPAC is not new, but was not popular until last year. Before 2020, the annual numbers of SPAC IPOs were in one or two digits. In 2020, however, the number jumped to 248 (compared to 165 traditional IPOs). The number for 2021 already exceeded 500.” Continue Reading

Retired Professor Offers $100K Matching Gift to Save Veterans’ Entrepreneurship Program

Posted on by Claire Hall

UConn Today – United States Marine Corps veteran Tony Audette builds custom motorcycles for celebrities, business titans, and other enthusiasts who want a bike that’s unlike any other. His exclusive motorcycles sell for upwards of $130,000.

After two years in business, Audette Motorcycles, in Canton, is thriving. Audette credits much of his business knowledge and expertise to the School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV). The startup accelerator steered him away from several costly business mistakes, he said.

Student Investors Endorse Their First Startup: A Gaming Company that Teaches Kids Social/Emotional Skills

Posted on by Claire Hall
Young girl playing video games
(istockphoto.com)

The recently created, student-run Hillside Venture Capital investment team has selected its first company to support–an educational-technology startup that strives to enhance social and emotional learning in children through a video-game app.Continue Reading

Lobster, Innovation, and A Dream Job Are All on the Menu for This Recent Grad

Posted on by Claire Hall
(Contributed Photo)

Fresh out of college and struggling to pay his sky-high New York City rent, Joshua Allen applied for a job as a restaurant busboy to supplement his full-time income.

He not only landed the job, but also earned some powerful insight into the restaurant industry and developed new ideas for improving it.Continue Reading

Ph.D. Alumna Wins Highly Competitive Management Research Award

Posted on by Claire Hall
Pictured above, Semin Park '19 was awarded the 2019 Lee Hakel Graduate Student Scholarship from SIOP, in addition to an Outstanding Graduate Assistant award. (contributed photo)
(contributed photo)

The Academy of Management has awarded a prestigious dissertation award to UConn Ph.D. alumna Semin Park ’19 for her research about friendships and conflicts among future paramedics participating in a mock emergency drill.Continue Reading

Former WWE Exec: You Can Bend the World To You, If You Do the Right Things

Posted on by Claire Hall
Geroge Barrios, right, at the 2019 School of Business Hall of Fame ceremony. Barrios spoke to EMBA students in Hartford, Conn. (Tom Hurlburt / UConn School of Business)
Geroge Barrios, right, at the 2019 School of Business Hall of Fame ceremony. Barrios spoke to EMBA students in Hartford, Conn. (Tom Hurlburt / UConn School of Business)

Entertainment titan and UConn alumnus George Barrios is frequently asked for career advice, and he tells his proteges is to be optimistic, passionate, and maintain a good attitude.Continue Reading

Deloitte Foundation Funding Helps UConn Attract, Retain High-Performing Accounting Educators

Posted on by Claire Hall
Back view of college students raising their arms on a class at lecture hall.
(istockphoto.com)

The Deloitte Foundation, together with a team of passionate Deloitte alumni, has donated $1 million to help attract and retain high-performing educators within UConn’s prestigious accounting program.Continue Reading