Department News

Articles about activities within the academic departments

UConn NABA Inaugural Awards and Recognition Reception

Posted on by Claire Hall

On Tuesday, April 23, the UConn chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) held their inaugural awards and recognition reception at the School of Business to recognize the organization’s achievements this year, welcome the 2013-2014 Executive Board, acknowledge the summer internships and full-time positions of the members, and most importantly to thank the corporate sponsors for their wonderful support this academic year.

The event was well attended by students, faculty, staff, as well as the Vice Provost for Diversity, Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards to the following corporations: Travelers, IBM, Ernst & Young, PwC, Deloitte, CohnReznick, General Electric, KPMG, and McGladrey. The chapter also thanked INROADS and the NABA Professional Chapter for their continuous support of the members.

Three special awards were given for the following categories:

  • Faculty Advisor of the Year – Dr. Mohamed Hussein
  • President’s Award for Outstanding Alumni Support of the Chapter – Troy Woolery ’12
  • Top Recruiter – Ernst & Young

The chapter was also very proud to announce 100% job placement of the graduating seniors.

Lastly, the 2013-2014 Executive Board for the UConn NABA chapter was welcomed:

Co-presidents

Daniella Loma ’14
O’Rayne Clarke ’14

Vice President

Christina Headley ’14

Chief Financial Officer

Danielle Wellington ’15

Secretary

Frankie Richardson ’14

Membership Outreach Chair

Rachel Gavin ’14

Social Media Co-Chairs

Shanice Rountree ’16
Shantaye Taylor ’16

Digital Media Symposium: Innovative Collaborations

Posted on by Claire Hall

Representatives from business, creative, digital humanities/social sciences and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines gathered in the Rome Ballroom on Thursday, April 4th for a day full of exciting updates from the new Department of Digital Media and Design. UConn President Susan Herbst welcomed over 100 attendees, introducing digital media as an “umbrella discipline” with the areas it affects being limitless. Tim Hunter, Director & Department Head for the recently established Digital Media Center, further emphasized the symposium’s goal to raise awareness of current digital media projects and to stimulate new collaboration between disciplines. He also touched upon theory versus practice, citing digital media’s relevance to multiple industries and functions including business and entertainment, marketing, advertising, branding, entrepreneurship and social media.

Specialized presentation sessions were held for each of the four topic areas: business, creative, digital humanities/social sciences, and STEM.

Specialized Session for Business

The business session featured William Congdon ’75, Popular Mechanics magazine; Maureen Croteau, The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut; and ING Global Professor in marketing Nicholas Lurie. A lively roundtable discussion moderated by Christopher Levesque ’87, Director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) included Richard Guha, President of Synerscope Inc. (North America) and Mark B. Hatch, CEO of mBlast, Inc.

Digital media has paved the way for an enhanced user experience, according to Congdon and Croteau who presented the challenges and many changes their companies faced with the advent of digital media in the print magazine and newspaper industries. They also shared how digital media has changed the reader experience with the launch of news and magazine websites, iPad apps, video, interactive media, social media and contests.

The business roundtable discussion focused on “digital media and entrepreneurial trends,” including Facebook and Twitter, the increasing need for technology and software to analyze and visualize “big data,” and how consumers are influenced to choose some brands over others.

Marketing Professor Nick Lurie closed the business session by presenting findings of research on the perceived value of consumer-generated content, the differences in perception of negative versus positive reviews, and the role of temporal contiguity as it influences value perception.

Future Digital Media Collaborations

Provost Mun Choi joined the enthusiastic crowd for an open networking hour during which attendees discussed ideas and opportunities for future digital media collaborations.

The rapidly growing Department of Digital Media and Design recently welcomed digital media specialists Perry Harovas and Samantha Olschan to the UConn faculty. In addition, two new undergraduate majors jointly sponsored by the schools of business, fine arts, and engineering will be offered starting this fall at the Storrs and Stamford campuses.

Those who missed the symposium can catch up on Twitter using #UConnDMD

Katherine Pancak named among Inman News’ Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders

Posted on by Claire Hall

Inman News, a national real estate news service, has named Katherine Pancak, professor in residence of finance and real estate at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, among its 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders for 2013. The ‘Top 100’ list “recognizes those who embody leadership, ingenuity, strength, conviction, power, persistence, perseverance and progress—their voices and actions can move the industry toward change.”

Professor Pancak conducts research on real estate brokerage, real estate agency, and consumer protection and public policy. Her research on real estate law topics has been published in the Journal of Real Estate Research, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, the Real Estate Law Journal, and the Boston College Environmental Law Review. Pancak has also developed pre-licensing and continuing education course materials for real estate licensees.

Other influential real estate leaders named among the Inman 100 include the Vice President and Chief Economist of Fannie Mae, the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, the Chief Economist of Zillow and the newly appointed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

» Read more about Dr. Katherine Pancak

» Read the full Inman 100 report, “100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders”

» Learn about the University of Connecticut School of Business Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies

4th Annual Cornell Real Estate Competition

Posted on by Claire Hall

On November 15, 2012, a team of undergraduates from the University of Connecticut School of Business placed among the top three universities in the Fourth Annual Cornell Real Estate Case Study Competition in New York City.

Fifteen of the best international undergraduate real estate programs were represented as they vied for the top spot. Teams were judged on their approach, analysis and presentation skills in solving a real estate investment case based on a real-world transaction. The UConn team, which consisted of Michael Hovey ’13, Brian Kaukas ’13, Mallika Winsor ’13, TJ Mills ’12, Frances Gibbons ’14 and Austin Smyth ’15, received the case on Saturday, November 10th and worked endlessly to come up with the best solution. The team made their presentation on November 15th to a panel of prominent industry judges. The UConn team won their group and advanced to the final round where they presented to all participating schools and judges. Among the other final round teams (University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University), UConn was the only team to recommend the actual course of action taken in the real-life transaction down a few percentage points.

Other schools to participate in the case study included first place winner, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School of Business, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cornell University, Indiana University, Maastricht University, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Renmin University of China, University of Cambridge, University of Guelph, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin at Madison and Villanova University.

Finance Society Visits Morgan Stanley, Gets Inside View of Wall Street

Posted on by Claire Hall

In the early hours of Friday morning, October 26, 2012, eighteen members of the School of Business Finance Society embarked upon a trip into Manhattan to meet with Dan Toscano ’87, Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Leveraged and Acquisition Finance at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Toscano and his team hosted a Teach-In on Global Capital Markets for the business students. While learning about the inner workings of one of the leading global financial service firms in the world, the students followed up a question/answer session with a trip to the trading floor of Morgan Stanley’s world headquarters in New York.

During the afternoon hours, following a brief visit to the 9/11 Memorial Site, the students traveled to Wall Street to participate in the Wall Street Financial Crisis Tour which offered an insider’s view of the most significant financial event since the Great Depression. Also in attendance at the day’s events were Jim Lowe, Executive Director of the School of Business Career Center (SBCC) and Kathy Hendrickson, Program Manager of the SBCC.

Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies Releases Real Estate Markets Update

Posted on by Claire Hall

The Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies at the University of Connecticut School of Business has released its latest update on Connecticut Real Estate Markets.

Connecticut housing markets showed significant signs of improvement according to preliminary numbers for the third quarter of 2012. In a typical town and metropolitan area, prices in the third quarter were virtually unchanged from a year ago. Moreover the number of transactions was up by more than 20%, confirming a pattern of increases.

For more information, access the report here: “CT House Prices 2012 3rd Quarter”

Professor John Mathieu Inducted as Academy of Management Fellow

Posted on by Claire Hall

Professor & Cizik Chair in Management John Mathieu was recently elected to and inducted as an Academy of Management Fellow. The Academy of Management is the premier association for Management Scholars. Fellowship status is designed to recognize and honor members of the Academy of Management who have made significant contributions to the science and practice of management, and to provide opportunities for fellowship and a forum for discussion among persons so recognized and honored. Fewer than 1% of Academy of Management members worldwide receive this honor.

Management Information Systems Student Receives Prestigious Information Security Scholarship

Posted on by Claire Hall

Ryan Fried, a senior in MIS, received an Information Security Scholarship from (ISC)2 Foundation. Scholarship recipients were announced on September 11, 2012. This year, Ryan is one of only seven recipients of the Undergraduate Scholarship, which was open for applications worldwide.

When asked why he is interested in Information Security, Ryan said: “I enjoy the challenge of staying one step ahead of hackers and discovering vulnerabilities before they do. For the future, I plan on working as a consultant or in a technology leadership rotational program to further my knowledge of information technology.”

(ISC)2 (‘ISC-squared’) is the largest not-for-profit membership body of certified information security professionals worldwide, with over 86,000 members in more than 135 countries. Globally recognized as the Gold Standard, (ISC)2 issues the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®) and related credentials. The (ISC)2 Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust that aims to make the cyber world safer for everyone by supporting cyber security education and awareness in the community through its programs and the efforts of its members.

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NPR Discusses MIS Recruiting with UConn OPIM Department

Posted on by Claire Hall

Dr. Ram Gopal, department head of Operations & Information Management (OPIM) at the University of Connecticut School of Business, accompanied by OPIM faculty members Ramesh Sankaranarayanan, Sudip Bhattacharjee, Dmitry Zhdanov, and students Walid Namane, Imrus Sadiq, Carlo Guerriero, and Lily Elawar chatted with Neena Satija of NPR News about the overwhelming need for MIS (IT) skills in the state job market.Continue Reading

CREW 2012 Scholarship Recipient: Brittani Clayton

Posted on by Claire Hall

Brittani Clayton, daughter of Jim and Sue Clayton of Simsbury, Connecticut, is a recipient of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network National Scholarship. CREW is a national organization that promotes and encourages young women to enter the commercial real estate field and to connect with real estate professionals. Applicants were selected nationwide for the scholarship.

As a scholarship recipient, Brittani will be a CREW guest at their annual convention in Chicago, Illinois October 24 – 27th. The convention is an excellent opportunity to network with men and women nationwide and will afford the opportunity to learn about the current topics of discussion within the field.

In addition to receiving the scholarship, Brittani will also have the opportunity to participate in internship opportunities. CREW also offers a 12 month e-mentoring program that will allow recipients to work with professionals in the field on their goals. Brittani also received a free membership to CREW network which will allow her to connect with the 6,000 members nationwide. Congratulations to Brittani on this national recognition.

Brittani is entering her senior year at the University of Connecticut School of Business and is an intern this summer with GE Real Estate in Albany, NY.