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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.

Back to the Dean's Corner


‘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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Erica Dean ’24, School of Business

UConn Today – Erica wants everyone to find the joy in every experience—even if that experience is a little bit scary. If you can learn something new at the same time, that’s icing on the cake. The School of Business graduate student and Double Husky took classes in Italian and floral arrangement, joined a sports team and a sports ministry and numerous other clubs, and says there are broadening opportunities at UConn for every person and interest. Erica plans to bring her skills in business analytics home to the family business after graduation. And she’s taking her own advice and continuing to plan new experiences, like a hike across Spain for the fall. And her whole family will continue to visit the Dairy Bar, because broadening your horizons doesn’t mean you forget the pleasures of your own backyard.

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Artificial Intelligence-Savvy College Students Introduce New Skills to Business Professionals at Hartford AI Day

UConn Today – Sophomore Samarth Gupta ‘26 stood in front a room filled with business leaders at Hartford AI Day and explained why artificial intelligence can dramatically improve everyday life.

MIT has created ICU Intervene, which predicts what treatments will be most effective for critically ill patients, he said. Paypal uses AI to analyze transactions to curtail cybersecurity fraud. And Amazon is using image detection to support a ‘smart store,’ which eliminates the need to wait in checkout lines.

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Innovation Experts Make Their Pitch for Quantum Technology, Unleashing Excitement, Urgency

UConn Today – If Connecticut is afforded the opportunity to develop the most advanced technology in the world—technology that would save lives, create jobs, strengthen the economy, and revolutionize many industries— how could it not vigorously pursue it?

That was the question that Rajeeb Hazra, an international quantum-computing expert, and the keynote speaker at Thursday’s “Imagining a Quantum Future’’ event, posed to the audience of more than 150 academic, government, and industry leaders.

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UConn ‘BUILD Hartford’ Students Brainstorm Ideas to Make Capital City More Vibrant

UConn Today – More than a dozen UConn students put Hartford under the microscope this semester, assessing the city’s strengths, scrutinizing its shortcomings, and strategizing ways to increase its vibrancy.

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School of Business Welcomes Four Experienced Faculty to its Ranks

UConn Today – The School of Business has added four faculty members to its ranks, all with extensive classroom experience. The new professors include a trio of OPIM experts, who will be based in Stamford, and a former LEGO-company innovator who is joining the Marketing Department.

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The heat is on: 7 things to know about Greater Hartford’s summer home sale market

Hartford Courant (Yahoo News) The Greater Hartford home sale market snagged a top-10 spot in a new national ranking of hottest housing markets in the country in June, adding to a string of similar flattering mentions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But how hot is hot?


UConn Grad Student Kevin O’Neil Extends College Hockey Career Following Pandemic Disruption

Kevin O'Neil, #19 on the Men's Hockey team, during a recent game with BU. (Photo Courtesy UConn Atlhetics)
Kevin O’Neil, #19 on the men’s ice hockey team, during a recent game with BU. (Photo Courtesy UConn Atlhetics)

During what should have been the pinnacle of his college hockey career, as a forward for the Yale Bulldogs, Kevin O’Neil had to accept the biggest defeat of them all—the Ivy League teams canceled the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic.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.