UConn 360 – When somebody scrolls through the top product categories on Amazon odds are some 60% of the brands for sale will be ones you’ve never heard of before. That poses a challenge for marketers looking for their brands to be chosen among the many options, including familiar ones. UConn marketing professor Danielle Brick has researched how novel brands can make inroads in a very crowded marketplace and it has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research. She joins us on the podcast and tells us about how she went about her research, which included offering candy bars to people that just worked out at a gym. Brick also tells us about how novel brands have affected her personal shopping habits and her research on spiteful brand choices in relationships.
Department News
Articles about activities within the academic departments
OPIM Professor Fasheng Xu, a ‘Forward-Thinking’ Scholar, Wins Early Career Award
UConn Today – Fasheng Xu, a professor of Operations and Information Management (OPIM), has been awarded the 2025 Chelliah Sriskandarajah Early Career Research Accomplishments Award, a global honor bestowed on just one scholar annually.
The award, presented at the Production & Operations Management Society’s (POMS) annual conference in Atlanta last weekend, recognizes exceptional research contributions by a scholar who completed his or her doctorate in the last six years.
Accounting Professor George Plesko Wins Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship
UConn Today – Each year, the Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship (PAECES) recognize the outstanding contributions of faculty, staff, students, teams, and community partners who collaboratively address critical societal challenges through the creative and reciprocal exchange of knowledge and resources.
CREA Foundation Creates Two Scholarships, Bonus Opportunities for Real Estate Students
UConn Today – CREA Foundation, Inc. has created two, renewable scholarships for UConn students interested in studying commercial real estate, and they include bonus opportunities to set them up for success.
“We’re excited and eager to partner with CREA to introduce more students to the real estate industry,’’ said David Wharmby, director of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies at UConn. “This gift will ensure that they are not just career-ready but have solid work experience in the industry.’’
Commencement Speaker: Servant Leadership Distinguishes Top Companies, Stellar Executives from the Rest
UConn Today – Alumnus Rich Eldh ’81, an entrepreneur who created a $300 million global research and advisory firm, told business undergraduates that servant leadership is one of the most important, and misinterpreted, components of business success.
“Servant leadership means leading with strength, for the benefit of others,’’ he told more than 700 graduates, their family and friends, during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. “It means empowering your team, fostering growth, and creating environments where others can shine.’’
Their Final Class Project? A Beer-Tasting Showdown
UConn Today – A friendly competition between two teams of UConn student brewers ended with one victor – but with everyone who got a chance to sample both beers a winner.
The UConn Brewing Innovation initiative – a multidisciplinary hub that partners the College of Engineering, School of Business, and College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources – has been showing students how the beer brewing process works from the ground up since 2023, in collaboration with Connecticut breweries.
Professor Bird Awarded Fulbright Scholarship to Conduct Legal Research in Finland
UConn Today – Business Law professor Robert Bird has been selected as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and will spend three months studying human-centered legal strategy and design in Finland next semester.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to collaborate with my peers in Finland, who are doing some interesting work on strategic legal design,’’ he said. “I believe this research will add value to organizations, make complex contracts easier to understand, and benefit my students as well.’’
Meet the Graduate: Finance major Julianna Cushner
UConn Today – Julianna Cushner comes from a long line of UConn graduates, and during her college search, she thought she might opt for a small, business-centric school. But once she toured the Storrs campus, she knew she wanted to continue the family tradition. Cushner has been involved in a number of activities, many of them centered around finance and investments. She is headed to the banking world of New York City following graduation and knows that the UConn network of alumni will be a benefit to her.
Robust Seafood, Brighter Laundry, and a Platform for Artists Topped This Year’s IQ Entrepreneurship Competition
UConn Today – Three impressive teams of entrepreneurs, whose startups range from more robust seafood to healthier laundry detergent to a great place for artists to share their talent, won this year’s Innovation Quest (iQ) entrepreneurship challenge.
The winning teams split $30,000 in prize money and will continue to develop their businesses in an advanced summer entrepreneurship incubator program at UConn.
Hartford’s ‘AI Day’ Draws Record Attendance
UConn Today – A team of tech-savvy UConn undergraduates taught dozens of Greater Hartford business managers, executives, and fellow students how to identify a brain tumor on a CT scan in less than two minutes.
Using Google Teachable Machine, they demonstrated how artificial intelligence can be used to ‘train’ a program to differentiate between scans of healthy brains and those raising red flags. Within minutes, participants were able to analyze new, uncategorized brain images on their laptops.