Faculty


UConn Online MBA Program Debuts Highly in New National Ranking

UConn Today – The UConn Online MBA program debuted at No. 33 among the best online programs in the nation, considered an honor for a program that recently entered the academic arena.

Poets & Quants, a news and ranking organization focused on graduate business education, announced the results this week. The UConn program also ranked No. 27 for career outcomes and No. 26 for academic experience.

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School of Business to Launch MS in Supply Chain Management

UConn Today – The School of Business is launching a master’s degree in Supply Chain Management next year, capitalizing on student interest, faculty expertise, and the identification of New England as a “hot spot’’ for supply-chain management positions.

“I’m very excited about this new degree program,’’ said professor Cuihong Li, a supply-chain expert who leads the Operations and Information Management department at the School of Business.

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Lingling Wang Helps Undergrads Become ‘the CFO of Their Personal Finances’

UConn Today – When professor Lingling Wang teaches finance to undergraduates, she also shares her personal investment strategy. She explains how she builds her portfolio, mitigates risk, and allocates savings for her teenagers to attend college.

“Not all of my students will be CFO of a corporation, but they will all be the CFO of their personal finances,” she said. “I want them to leave my class with knowledge that will be very useful in their lives.”

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Management Professor, Department Head Greg Reilly Named Interim Dean of School of Business

Professor Greg Reilly Interim Dean UConn School of Business

Professor Greg Reilly, an advocate for innovative learning and a leading strategic management scholar with extensive experience training executives globally, has been appointed interim dean of the School of Business effective Jan. 3. Continue Reading


School of Business Dean John A. Elliott To Step Down, Rejoin Faculty

UConn Today – After a dozen remarkable years at the helm of the School of Business, Dean John A. Elliott will step aside next month and return to the accounting faculty.

Elliott’s many achievements include creating new academic programs, expanding hands-on learning opportunities, championing the development of entrepreneurship programs serving all students, and expanding business education at regional campuses in Stamford and Hartford.

He spearheaded the rapid and successful pivot from in-person to online education at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, something he described as one of his biggest challenges.

His impact extends well beyond UConn, having mentored three associate deans who went on to lead business schools at the University of New Hampshire, Michigan State, and DePaul during the last three years.

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Dean’s Report 2024

Deans Report

Sharing Highlights of a Successful, Innovative Year

The 2024 Dean’s Annual Report is just dropping, and I’m excited to share some of the highlights and accomplishments at the School of Business this year.

Throughout our 20-page report, you’ll find articles, photos, employment statistics, and evidence of the boundless enthusiasm of our students, faculty, alumni and staff. Some of you will receive it in the mail, but in the interest of saving trees and reducing cost, it is also available online.

The cover article highlights the experiences of alumna Patricia Margarido ’19 EMBA. When Patricia, an experienced respiratory therapist, wanted to take on greater leadership responsibilities with Hartford HealthCare’s LIFE STAR program, she recognized that she needed to broaden her skills.

“I needed to lead teams, understand budgets, and learn the business language that people were speaking,’’ she recalled. The UConn School of Business’ Executive MBA program gave her the knowledge she needed in her work. Today she is co-director of the LIFE STAR program, which oversees three helicopter-ambulances that transport injured and other seriously ill patients to tertiary care centers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. We are proud of our alumna and the work that she does, and equally pleased to have played a role in her career ascendance. Her story begins on page 6.

Our goal with his publication is to engage the reader in understanding more about what a modern business education entails and to offer a glimpse behind the scenes in our classrooms, student experiences, and innovative programs.

Of course, our faculty and staff are a tremendous piece of our success. On Page 12, you can learn more about six of our recently promoted faculty, all rising stars, and discover their teaching and research passions. Additionally, professor Lingling Wang describes how she shares her personal investment strategy with undergraduates to get them excited about finance. She also gives them a mini lesson in enjoying life’s precious moments. Read her story on Page 14.

Alumnus Rich Eldh ‘81, and his wife Joyce Eldh, have set a remarkable example of student engagement. This year alone, they have granted UConn academic- and cost-of-attendance scholarships to 13 students from Bridgeport. If that weren’t extraordinary enough, the Eldhs have developed a close bond with these students, taking them bowling, introducing them to business mentors, and hosting them at the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame celebration in April. You can read their story on Pages 18 and 19 and catch up on the Hall of Fame celebration on Page 9.

Our year has included some other fascinating work, including hosting a seminar on artificial intelligence for Connecticut businesses and offering a course that explores ideas for growing Hartford. We’ve been winning competitions, bringing high school students to campus to learn about financial literacy, and even brewing a special UConn beer. (See Pages 16-17.)

I hope you enjoy the report and the richness and perspective it provides. I want to thank you, our alumni and friends, for the many contributions you have made to the School of Business this past year. I am grateful for your support and encouragement of our students, and your partnership in furthering our commitment to excellence in business education.

 

Enjoy.

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Anatomy Of An MBA Makeover: UConn’s Flex & OMBA Programs

Poets and Quants – The success of any MBA program makeover is in how quickly the new program establishes itself. By this measure, the restructuring at the University of Connecticut School of Business has been fantastically — perhaps even unprecedentedly — successful.

UConn shuttered its traditional two-year MBA in 2021 and redirected its resources into two 42-credit programs: a new 100% Online MBA and a part-time Flex MBA, the latter a hybrid program available in Hartford, Stamford, and online.

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MSA Marks 25th Anniversary with Celebration on Oct. 17

UConn Today – The MSA program is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, a significant milestone for the trailblazing program that consistently ranks among the best in the nation.

“I wish I could take the spirit, the energy, and the interaction that occurs in this program, bottle it and present it to potential students,’’ said accounting professor Steve Pedneault, who owns a forensic accounting firm and has been teaching in the program since 2007. “If they knew how special it is here, they would all come to UConn.’’

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