Faculty


Top Management Scholar, Enthusiastic Entrepreneurship Mentor Evan Rawley to Join Faculty


Evan Rawley, an exceptional scholar and enthusiastic entrepreneurship mentor, has joined the School of Business faculty as an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship.

Greg Reilly, the head of the management department, said Rawley will be a tremendous asset to the school.Continue Reading


Professor Emerita Susan Spiggle Gives Large Gift to PhD Program

Professor Emerita Susan Spiggle, pictured above, teaches a course in 2018.  Spiggle recently made a generous donation to the School of Business. (Contributed Photo)
Professor Emerita Susan Spiggle, pictured above, teaches a course in 2018. Spiggle recently made a generous donation to the School of Business. (Contributed Photo)

For novice writers, it is often difficult to accept constructive criticism and develop a willingness to edit and repeatedly revise their work.

Overcoming that reluctance is essential for Ph.D. students who plan to become professors, because their careers hinge on their ability to clearly define their research and present it in a concise and appealing way to editors at top academic journals.

“For future faculty members, being able to write is their bread and butter,” said Professor Emerita Susan Spiggle. “You can have all the best data in the world but if you can’t write clearly and define the importance of your work, it really doesn’t matter at all.”Continue Reading



Human Rights, Business Practices — and a Generation Ready to Make a Difference

People with placards and posters on global strike for climate change.
(istockphoto.com)

Human Rights, Business Practices — and a Generation Ready to Make a Difference

During the 10 years that Rachel Chambers worked as a barrister, practicing employment and discrimination law in the British courts, she occasionally wore formal attire: a full-length robe and a white, horsehair wig.

No wig is required in her role today as a UConn postdoctoral fellow and professor, where her international legal experiences, recent work for the United Nations, and passion for social justice prepared her to teach BLAW 3252: “Corporate Social Impact and Responsibility.”Continue Reading


School of Business Mourns the Loss of Keith Johnson, Professor Emeritus

Keith B. Johnson, 87, professor emeritus and former head of the School of Business’ Finance Department, passed away peacefully at Windham Memorial Community Hospital on Aug. 21.

Johnson had worked in the School for 34 years before his retirement in 1996. While he enjoyed his many professional accomplishments, such as his time in Washington D.C. at the Securities and Exchange Commission as a staff economist and summers as a Ford Foundation Scholar at Harvard University, he was truly most proud of his work with all of his students at UConn, his obituary read.

Johnson is remembered fondly by his colleagues as an outstanding faculty member, a trusted confidant, a hard worker, and a cherished friend.

Tom O’Brien, professor emeritus, worked for Johnson and became a very good friend. Johnson, he said, was a person you could confide in. When a colleague was terminally ill, it was Johnson who was consistently there to provide comfort, O’Brien said. And when you needed a helping hand, he was exceptional.

“I lived in my home for 10 years and I’d accumulated a lot of stuff in my basement,’’ O’Brien said. “When I was preparing to move, Keith came over and worked harder than I did to get the stuff loaded and cleared out. I’ve never forgotten how much he helped me that day. Of all the people I call my friends, no one went out of their way for another than KJay.’’

During his tenure, the School of Business created the Ph.D. program in finance. Although Johnson was initially skeptical about initiating the program, no one worked harder to ensure its success, OBrien said.

“Keith was a guiding light in the School in the 1980s and ’90s, as it transitioned into a full-fledged research institution,’’ recalled Karla Fox, professor emeritus and former Interim Dean. “He was one of the hardest-working, honest individuals I have ever known, and a pleasure to work with. He will be missed.’’

“It is definitely a sad day and a great loss, not only to the Finance Department but to the School of Business and the University,’’ said accounting professor Mo Hussein. “KJay was a leader whose contributions were beyond the finance department. He was also a community leader. He organized an annual race to raise money for the hospital and several other local charities.

“KJay was one of the first colleagues outside the accounting department to reach out to me and invite my family to his home,’’ Hussein said. “He is one of those who created the special the friendly culture of the school. In his passing I lost a friend and a mentor.’’

To read the full obituary, please click here.




Mentor and Innovator; OPIM’s Professor Marsden Retires

Professor James Marsden
Professor James Marsden, pictured above, is retiring after the fall semester. (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business)

Professor Jim Marsden, who led the OPIM department for 15 years and helped put UConn’s information management program on the national map, has taught his last class before retirement.Continue Reading


Hometown Advantage? CEOs Tend to Acquire Companies in Familiar Stomping Grounds

UConn Today – Multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway bought CEO Warren Buffett’s struggling hometown newspaper. Amazon acquired Whole Foods, which is headquartered in the same state where CEO Jeff Bezos grew up and owns a home.

New research shows these deals aren’t coincidences. Companies are 2.5 times more likely to acquire firms headquartered in the state where their CEO grew up than similar firms located elsewhere, the study found.

Read article


Coveted Class: Financial Services

Paul Gilson, director and assistant professor of in residence of finance at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford on Aug. 13, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Paul Gilson, director and assistant professor of in residence of finance at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford on Aug. 13, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

The Instructor

Associate professor-in-residence in finance, Paul Gilson grew up in the Thames River town of Gravesend, 20 miles east of London, and earned a degree in mathematics from Bristol University. His plan was always to go on to a Ph.D. “But first,” he says, “I needed a job.” So he went to work in London for KPMG, the global accounting giant. His first day at the office, stock markets around the world collapsed in the Black Monday crash of 1987, still the greatest one-day loss by percentage in Dow history. During the long recovery that followed, KPMG was kept very busy, and Gilson gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, a specialty of his department. “The late 1980s in London,” he says. “It was an exciting time.” Continue Reading