EMBA


Marketing Professor Robin Coulter Retires after Decades of Service, Scholarship

Professor Robin Coulter (contributed photo)
Professor Robin Coulter (contributed photo)

After decades of service at UConn School of Business, including her long-standing role as Head of the Marketing Department, Robin Coulter retired on Aug. 31. Robin’s scholarship has been widely recognized and garnered international awards, while her leadership has shaped the careers of countless students and faculty. The entire University and School of Business community is grateful for her many contributions, and significantly better for it.

Robin completed her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, and since joining UConn as an Assistant Professor in Fall 1987, she served with dedication, enthusiasm, accountability, and professionalism.

Throughout her tenure, Robin demonstrated exceptional leadership, scholarship, and service. Promoted to Associate Professor in 1993 and subsequently to Professor in 2006, she was notably the first woman in 18 years to achieve this rank within the School of Business. In January 2008, she was appointed Department Head of the Marketing Department, a role she held for over 16 years.

During this time, Robin was instrumental in the development of a robust undergraduate curriculum with concentrations and minors in digital marketing and analytics, professional sales leadership, and social responsibility and impact in business. Her leadership also guided the creation of graduate certificates and the launch of the M.S. in Social Responsibility & Impact in Business. Within the Marketing Department, she -served as steward of the Voya Financial Endowment.

Robin’s collaborative spirit fostered strong relationships within the School of Business and across the university. Remembering her colleagues throughout her career at UConn, Robin especially valued working alongside John Elliott, George Plesko, Chinmoy Ghosh, Cuihong Li, Brandy Nelson, Alana Adams, and Meghan Hanrahan. She acknowledged the significant contributions of marketing department members past and present, and of Nancy White, her trusted department manager.

When asked about her history at UConn, Robin recalled the leadership and mentorship of Peter Nichols (Provost, 2006–2012) and Sally Reis (Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, 2016–2022) as being important in shaping her career and giving her a voice. She expressed gratitude for the thoughtful counsel of colleagues Jim Wohl, Kelly Bannister, Renee Boggis, Johanna Gorgone, and Brandon Murray. Robin actively served on the University Senate, Scholastic Standards Committee, and Nominating Committee, and in these roles was exposed to myriad perspectives related to university actions. She, along with Senate colleagues and committee members Laura Burton, Holly Fitch, Jen Dineen, Hedley Freake, Jen Lease-Butts, Maureen Armstrong, Karen Bresciano, and Christine Wenzel, impacted many changes over the years. Across campus, Robin also noted her collaborations with Dave Kenny and Blair Johnson in Psychology, as well as Kathy Libal, Shareen Hertel, and Human Rights Institute colleagues.

In her instructor role, Robin taught and mentored undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral students. Robin chaired and served as advisor to many doctoral students, noting, “I am very appreciative of their engagement and insights and our joint scholarship.” Robin was a strong advocate of the Executive MBA (EMBA) program, having not only taught, but also served as the EMBA Academic Director and as chair of redesign task forces. Her Global Business Issues international trip course was a highlight learning experience for UConn’s EMBA students. She took great reward from the many students who said the trip changed their lives personally and professionally.

Over the years, colleagues suggested that Robin consider other administrative roles at UConn and elsewhere. Recalling these opportunities, Robin quoted a mantra from quotes Dr. Seuss: “Life is a great balancing act.” Robin’s many roles at UConn enabled her to contribute to the Department, School of Business, and University. She took on leadership positions at the American Marketing Association (AMA) Academic Council and served as AMA President.

In her remarkable career of scholarship, Robin’s portfolio of work, broadly speaking, focused on consumer behavior issues with attention to global citizenship and cross-cultural consumer behavior, branding in developed and emerging markets, and numerical cognition and pricing. Her long-term scholarly research program included award-winning, reprinted, lead article publications, including the recent 2025 Journal of Consumer Research article “Tournaments of Destruction: Consumers Battling for Visibility.” Robin known for her adeptness and advocacy of multi-method approaches to address interesting research questions. For this, Robin acknowledged her many co-authors over the years, particularly, her long-time colleagues, Linda Price and Yuliya Strizhakova.

Robin’s excellence in teaching, research, and service has been recognized through several honors, including being named a Voya Financial Fellow in 2015 and a nominee for Distinguished Board of Trustees Professor in 2023. She was honored as an American Marketing Association Fellow in 2023.

“Being named an AMA Fellow is very meaningful and humbling,” she said, “Of course, there are many in my academic journey to thank for their support, but particularly my colleagues, Linda Price, June Cotte, Kelly Herd, and Jerry Zaltman.”

Importantly in regard to the “balancing act,” Robin recognized the enduring support of her husband, Keith, and their daughter, Alyssa. After many years at UConn, Robin looks forward to new adventures, but to also continuing with her scholarly work because, as she said, “That is who I am.”


On a Mission

UConn Today -(This story first appeared in the 2024 Dean’s Annual Report)

Patricia “Tricia” Margarido, a 2019 graduate of UConn’s Executive MBA program, leads a critical care team that takes care of patients in the most desperate, dire, and frightening moments of their lives.

She and her colleagues at Hartford Hospital’s LIFE STAR program treat patients 1,500 feet in the air, in the tight confines of a moving helicopter, assisted by equipment with the technological capacity found in an ICU. Their workspace is 11-by-5 feet, and their missions often take place in the darkness of night.

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‘Change Happens When One Person Makes a Bold Move’

UConn Today – Alumna Medina Jett ’08 EMBA delivered a commencement speech to the Class of 2024 that emphasized something she knows well: the importance of being brave and thoughtful in the face of change, whether celebrated or not.

“I stand before you not only as a fellow Husky, but as someone who understands the challenges and triumphs that come with the journey of life,’’ Jett told some 700 enthusiastic undergraduates, their families, and friends on Saturday afternoon in Gampel Pavilion.

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Dean Elliott’s ‘Alumni Town Hall’ to Address the Changing Role of Business Education

UConn Today – If you graduated from the School of Business a decade or more ago, you probably wouldn’t recognize some of the curriculum today.

“Our students are exploring newer areas of study, including entrepreneurship, data analytics, and financial technology, as they prepare to enter a rapidly changing workforce,’’ said Dean John A. Elliott. “This is a remarkable and exciting time at the School of Business and I’m eager to talk about what has changed and why.’’

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UConn EMBA Alumna: ‘I Believe I Can Change the World’

UConn Today – In her work as a vice president at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Annamarie Beaulieu supports strategic initiatives and research that contribute to new therapies and better medical care for children.

Beaulieu, who also has a master’s degree in public health from UConn and has raised four children to adulthood, has long known that maternal and child health was her passion.

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Hartford Business Journal Honors MBA Executive Director Mia Hawlk As a Top Woman In Business

UConn TodayMia Hawlk, the Executive Director of MBA Programs and a relentless advocate for graduate students, will be recognized next month with a ‘Top 25 Women in Business Award’ presented by the Hartford Business Journal.

Hawlk oversees the Online, FLEX and Executive MBA degree programs at UConn, serving 675 students. Her responsibilities have included the creation of an online MBA program two years ago, and more recently the redesign of the FLEX MBA, allowing students a highly customized education.

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UConn’s EMBA Program Ranks No. 20 in the Nation

Shot of a mature businessman using a laptop in a modern office
(iStockphoto.com)

The UConn Executive MBA program is among the most elite in the nation, ranking among the Top 20 programs of its kind, according to Fortune.

The EMBA program earned its high ranking because of its ability to attract top students, its outstanding reputation among companies, and its alumni representation in senior management of Fortune 1000 companies.

The 2022-23 Best EMBA ranking puts UConn’s program at No. 20 out of the 55 programs that the publication ranked as outstanding.

“Our EMBA program was designed to cater to the unique needs of mid-career executives, who already have high level skills, and are looking to round out their experiences,” said David Souder, Associate Dean of the School of Business and former Academic Director of the program.

“We’ve maintained high admission standards in the program, and it isn’t unusual for our EMBA students to also have advanced degrees in nursing and law or to have already earned a doctorate,” he said. “Furthermore, our program has been thoughtfully designed to enhance collaboration between expert faculty and mature students. Our students learn both from their instructors but also from each other through team projects.”

Professor Stephen Park, who is currently the Academic Director of the EMBA program, said the program has a proud and enthusiastic alumni community that supports its current students.

“We deliberately leverage those close working relationships, and that’s something our students welcome,” Park said. “We don’t have specialized tracks in our program, but rather we offer soup-to-nuts exposure to what top leaders in an organization need to know.”

The UConn EMBA program is now accepting applicants for the Fall 2023 class. For more information, please visit emba.business.uconn.edu


Hartford Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” Includes Three Business Alumnae Who Are Industry Standouts

Left to Right, Tammy Hendricks ’19 EMBA, Lindsay Castonguay Hany ’08 MBA, and Katherine Donovan ’09 have been named as honorees for HBJ's 40 Under Forty 2022 Class. (Contributed Photos)
Left to Right, Tammy Hendricks ’19 EMBA, Lindsay Castonguay Hany ’08 MBA, and Katherine Donovan ’09 have been named as honorees for HBJ’s 40 Under Forty 2022 Class. (Contributed Photos)

Three alumnae of the School of Business are among the Hartford Business Journal’s ’40 Under Forty’ award recipients this year. All have been recognized as outstanding leaders in their fields, ranging from banking to accounting to healthcare innovation.Continue Reading


UConn Redesigns MBA Programs to Offer More Flexible Course Options

UConn Today – The UConn School of Business announced plans on Thursday, Jan. 20 to redesign its Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, a decision reflecting growing student interest in more flexible educational options.