Alumni


Tremendous Workplace Shift Underway

Woman speaking into a microphone.
The National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) will hold its annual conference and career fair in Stamford from October 20-22, with the UConn School of Business as the lead academic sponsor. (NAWMBA photo)

Women MBA Conference’s Goal: Increasing Number of Women Business Leaders in Connecticut – and Beyond

The business world is on the cusp of a tremendous shift that will draw more women into top management positions, said the executive director of the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA).Continue Reading


Alumnus Pledges $1 Million

Portrait of John Kim.
John Kim ’87 MBA (UConn photo)

Scholarship Fund to Help Students from Underrepresented Backgrounds Attend School of Business

John Kim ’87 MBA, a Korean immigrant who earned an MBA from the UConn School of Business and is now the President of New York Life Insurance Co., and his wife Diane have pledged $1 million to a scholarship fund to help underrepresented students from Hartford earn a UConn business degree.

Kim and his family were able to move to the U.S. many years ago because of sponsorship by a host family.Continue Reading


UConn Alum Gives Back to Hartford

Hartford Courant – John Kim hasn’t forgotten the generosity that helped bring him to the United States from South Korea decades ago. And he’s returning it in a big way.

Kim, president of New York Life Insurance Co., along with his wife Diane, have donated $1 million to help students from Hartford attend UConn School of Business, where he received his master’s degree in business administration nearly 30 years ago.


Driven and Kind

Emeka Okafor receives his diploma from former School of Business Dean Curt Hunter during Commencement ceremonies at Gampel Pavilion in May 2004.
Emeka Okafor receives his diploma from former School of Business Dean Curt Hunter during Commencement ceremonies at Gampel Pavilion in May 2004. (Ryan McKee/NCAA Photos)

A Dozen Years After Graduation, Basketball Star/Finance Major Emeka Okafor Still a Favorite at UConn

Some of the members of the 2004 National Championship UConn Men’s Basketball Team would wear a weight vest in practice to improve their endurance as they ran up the bleachers in the old Memorial Stadium.

Not Emeka Okafor ’04. Continue Reading


In Memoriam: Frank Wuest ’82

Frank Wuest ’82, president of the Boston-based real estate investment firm Marcus Partners and a dedicated alumnus who enjoyed mentoring UConn business students, died unexpectedly Aug. 13.

“Frank Wuest was an exemplary alumnus of the UConn School of Business,” said Dean John A. Elliott. “He engaged with faculty, staff, students and alumni. He spoke at events in Boston, he hosted visits by our students to his real estate offices, he took their phone calls, and advised them well.”Continue Reading


Fund Provides UConn Business Startups Financial Support

UConn Today – The University of Connecticut in partnership with Connecticut Innovations (CI) and Webster Bank today announced it is establishing a $1.5 million UConn Innovation Fund that will provide early-stage financial support to new business startups affiliated with UConn.


Top Business Executives/Alumni Join Newly Created Dean’s Advisory Cabinet

UConn School of Business Dean John Elliott in his office.
UConn School of Business Dean John A. Elliott (Marie LeBlanc/UConn School of Business)

Dean John A. Elliott has assembled a new Advisory Cabinet for the School of Business, which includes 12 outstanding business leaders who are also passionate about their commitment to the University. Continue Reading



A ‘No Phony Gimmicks’ Guy

Bob Kaufman ’74, founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture (Bob’s Discount Furniture)

Alumnus Bob Kaufman, Founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture: ‘I Believe Everyone Should Work for Themselves!’

One of the biggest decisions that anyone will make in life is whether to work for themselves—or work for someone else, said UConn business school alumnus Bob Kaufman ’74, founder and president emeritus of Bob’s Discount Furniture.

“I believe that everyone should work for themselves,” said the man who created the rapidly-growing, 73-store furniture giant, and who, thanks to his prolific advertising, is arguably one of the most recognized people on television.

“Being an entrepreneur is Continue Reading


‘Analytically Eloquent’ Dissertation

Alumna Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. Continues to Win Recognition for Research

Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. (management) was recently awarded the J. Richard Hackman Award for her Ph.D. dissertation. The award is given to a recent graduate whose work shows the greatest potential to advance the understanding of groups beyond one discipline.

Portrait of Margaret Luciano.
Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. (UConn School of Business)

Luciano’s dissertation, “Unpacking the Dynamics of Cross-Unit Coordination: A Multi-Level Quasi-Experimental Investigation,” studied 2,357 hospital-patient transfers between units over a 16-week period and investigated the implications for patient care.

She received the Hackman Award at the 2016 INGRoup conference in Helsinki, Finland in July. Her adviser, UConn Management Professor John Mathieu, was also in attendance.

At the award ceremony, Luciano’s dissertation was described as “theoretically sophisticated and interesting, methodologically rich and analytically eloquent.” Her research improved the work processes and quality of work life for hospital employees, improved patient quality of care and paid dividends to the hospital, the award committee concluded. “She not only advanced our science, but also our practice,” they said.

Luciano is now an assistant professor of management at Arizona State University.