Offered only during spring semesters, these seminars afford students the opportunity to earn a Professional Development Certificate from the School of Business while learning from international business leaders. This certificate is available to all graduate and undergraduate UConn students, and students may earn a certificate each spring semester if they so choose. A certificate is achieved by attending three out of the four GBLSS lectures offered during the semester (students complete and submit a registration form at each of the three lectures attended). It is a great place to network and will enhance the understanding of the global economy. Continue Reading
Graduate Programs
UConn Marketing Professor, Colleague Find that Merchants Can Use In-Store “Showrooming’’ to Boost Online Sales
Most consumers today split their shopping experiences between traditional brick-and-mortar stores and internet purchases. But if you believe that traditional, in-store browsing is facing extinction, think again.
In fact, it is often a trip to the mall or shopping center that gives consumers the confidence they need to buy similar, or more upscale, items online, according to research conducted by UConn Assistant Professor Jane Gu and her colleague, Giri Tayi, from the State University of New York at Albany.Continue Reading
‘The Doors are Open to Anyone with Ideas’ University Leaders Say that Student Entrepreneurship is on the Fast Track
When Management Professor Rich Dino started a course that helps non-business majors write a business plan, it filled almost instantly. He scheduled two more classes, and the same thing happened.
“This semester I have students majoring in everything from physics to music, and their different views enhance the class,” Dino said. “The doors are open to anyone with ideas.”Continue Reading
High-Caliber Students, Dedicated Faculty Credited for MSBAPM Program’s Rising National Recognition
Students, faculty and alumni of the School of Business’ Master of Science in Business Analytics and Project Management (MSBAPM) program are celebrating its double recognition as a top program in its discipline.
The Financial Engineer.net ranked the UConn program No. 11 in the nation in 2015, putting it in the company of other prestigious colleges, including New York University, University
of Southern California, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Fordham and Villanova universities.Continue Reading
Invitation to Apply for the UConn McNair Fellows Program
The McNair Fellows Program for Rising Sophomores and Rising Juniors
The McNair Scholars Program prepares talented, highly motivated UConn undergraduate students for doctoral studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. As part of UConn’s TRIO programs, McNair is open to low-income, first-generation college students or those from populations underrepresented in STEM graduate fields who are seeking to pursue a Ph.D.
Students who are currently freshmen (rising sophomores) or sophomores (rising juniors) can apply for this two week residency program, which will begin immediately after the end of the spring semester. Students will gain research experience while learning about:
- STEM Ph.D. career avenues
- Undergraduate research opportunities
- The more research-intensive McNair Scholars Program
McNair Fellows reside on the Storrs campus, shadow STEM researchers, and engage in academic writing and presentation exercises.
For more information, please contact Dr. Renée Gilberti at renee.gilberti@uconn.edu. Application materials are available now. Students at the Storrs campus and regional campuses are encouraged to apply.
To learn more please visit the McNair Fellows Program and the McNair Scholars Program.
New Marketing and Digital Analytics Graduate Course
The Marketing Department has launched a new course entitled Marketing and Digital Analytics (MKTG 5251). Offered for the first time during the Fall 2014 semester, MKTG 5251 introduces students to the application of advanced analytics that support data-driven management. Students work with Microsoft Excel and JMP Pro 11 software to address marketing decisions related to various topics including demand estimation, market segmentation, price optimization, customer choice, and customer lifetime value. The digital component of the course examines analytical techniques to evaluate and strengthen website performance and the effectiveness of an organization’s social media platforms.
“Big data and analytics are taking center stage within many organizations,” commented Dr. Gregory M. Sottile, developer of the course and its instructor. “While MKTG 5251 is a hands-on course, its primary objective is develop students’ ability to critically recognize opportunities to apply marketing and digital analytics for better decision-making.” Marketing and Digital Analytics will be offered again during the Fall 2015 semester.
Assistant Professor Gerlinde Berger-Walliser and MBA Student Group visit EM Lyon for International Business Study
In January 2015, a contingent of part-time MBA and MSBAPM students led by Business Law Professor Gerlinde Berger-Walliser spent two weeks studying international business at EMLYON, one of the top business schools in France. The group attended lectures taught by renowned EM Lyon faculty about the European business, social, and regulatory environment. As part of the inter-cultural program the UConn students worked on projects with EM Lyon’s International MBA students and traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to visit the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. In the evenings and on the free weekend, the group sampled the great food that Lyon is known for and toured different parts of Europe. Professor Berger-Walliser is looking forward to taking another group of MBA students to Lyon in January 2016.
Report Finds “Conflicts of Interest” Have No Effect on FDA Advisory Committee Votes
Policy and Medicine – Stringent conflicts-of-interest policies keep many experts off of FDA advisory committees. A new study suggests that the fear of pro-industry bias underlying these policies may be misplaced, and also serves to keep highly qualified candidates off of these committees.
James C. Cooper, director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason Law School and Joseph Golec, professor of Finance of the University of Connecticut, who conducted the study, sought to compare conflicted members’ voting patterns with objective criteria. They found that decisions by advisory committees with conflicted members to recommend drugs were more likely to be consistent with both the ultimate FDA decision as well as stock market predictions than non-conflicted advisory committees and members.
UConn B-School to Host Free Breakfast Seminar Feb. 24 – Long-term Thinking in a Short-term World
The University of Connecticut School of Business will offer a free breakfast seminar for the business community titled, “Long-term Thinking in a Short-term World,’’ from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. February 24 at the Graduate Business Learning Center, 100 Constitution Plaza, downtown Hartford.Continue Reading
Doctoral Student Margaret Luciano Wins Scholarships for Work on Employee Dynamics in Hospital Patient “Handoffs”
Margaret (“Maggie’’) Luciano, a doctoral candidate at the UConn School of Business, has been awarded two scholarships in recent months recognizing her achievements in the field of organizational behavior.
The Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) Lee Hakel Graduate Student Scholarship recognizes achievement in a graduate career and is intended to assist doctoral students in the field of industrial and organizational psychology with the costs of carrying out their dissertation work. She received the award in January.
It is the second recognition for Luciano, who, late last year also received an award from the Society for Human Resources Management for her dissertation proposal. She was selected as one of four promising researchers.
Her dissertation research focuses on understanding and improving cross-unit coordination between hospital units, and the dynamics between such groups.
She has investigated patient “handoffs’’ as they move from surgery to a recovery room. During baseline assessments, upwards of 20 percent of these handoffs were found to be lacking in one or more important ways, jeopardizing patient care.
“Margaret’s dissertation is a stellar example of cutting-edge applied research,’’ said John Mathieu, professor of management and Luciano’s adviser. “Conceptually, Margaret tests theoretical questions concerning the integration of employees’ individual differences and how they combine to perform interdependent actions. Practically, she devised and implemented a work process improvement which essentially orchestrated how different parties should function during these handoffs.’’
“Her dissertation represented a serious organizational change for the hospital, involving everyone from top management to the nurses and doctors performing the handoffs. Her field experiment revealed that her intervention reduced the percentage of problematic handoffs to approximately 4 to 5 percent—a 75 percent decrease from baseline,’’ Mathieu said.
Both the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP) awarded her competitive research grants on the basis of her proposed work. The criteria for both awards are that the work should advance both the science of human behavior in organizations, while also advancing practice and human welfare, Mathieu said.
Her research on these and related topics has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology and other peer-reviewed journals.
Luciano will join the management faculty at Arizona State University after completing her doctoral program at UConn. She earned her bachelors degree in psychology in 2009 and her MBA in 2010, both from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.