IBM, developer of the “Watson” computing system best known for beating human contestants on the TV game show, “Jeopardy!” has turned to student teams at the University of Connecticut School of Business’ Stamford Learning Accelerator for ideas on turning data among Watson’s vast inventory of unstructured information into purpose-based recommendations.Continue Reading
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UConn BCLC Students Help Rebuild Community in Macon, Georgia
Students from the University of Connecticut Business Connections Learning Community (BCLC) traveled over 1,000 miles over their winter break to volunteer in Macon, Georgia. The group of 26 students are helping Rebuilding Macon, Inc. to restore and fix up low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners’ properties. Rebuilding Macon focuses on the concerns of the elderly and disabled low-income homeowner and with volunteers like the Business Connections Learning Community students they have made great strides in improving the surrounding community.
School of Business Ph.D. Program Celebrates 25th Anniversary
On November 8-9, 2012, the University of Connecticut School of Business Ph.D. Program celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Since the beginning of the Ph.D. Program there have been 164 graduates including; 35 in Accounting, 48 in Finance, 31 in Management, 26 in Marketing, and 24 in Operations and Information Management (OPIM). Continue Reading
4th Annual Cornell Real Estate Competition
On November 15, 2012, a team of undergraduates from the University of Connecticut School of Business placed among the top three universities in the Fourth Annual Cornell Real Estate Case Study Competition in New York City.
Fifteen of the best international undergraduate real estate programs were represented as they vied for the top spot. Teams were judged on their approach, analysis and presentation skills in solving a real estate investment case based on a real-world transaction. The UConn team, which consisted of Michael Hovey ’13, Brian Kaukas ’13, Mallika Winsor ’13, TJ Mills ’12, Frances Gibbons ’14 and Austin Smyth ’15, received the case on Saturday, November 10th and worked endlessly to come up with the best solution. The team made their presentation on November 15th to a panel of prominent industry judges. The UConn team won their group and advanced to the final round where they presented to all participating schools and judges. Among the other final round teams (University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University), UConn was the only team to recommend the actual course of action taken in the real-life transaction down a few percentage points.
Other schools to participate in the case study included first place winner, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School of Business, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cornell University, Indiana University, Maastricht University, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Renmin University of China, University of Cambridge, University of Guelph, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin at Madison and Villanova University.
MBA Students Welcome President of Bigelow Tea to Stamford Learning Accelerator
Cindi Bigelow, president of Bigelow Tea in Fairfield, Connecticut, the #1 market leader of specialty teas in the United States, spoke to 45 MBA students recently in the Stamford Learning Accelerator (SLA) Rotunda at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus. Also present from Bigelow Tea were Lauren Westbrook, Brand Manager, and Patrick Rowan, Sales Representative.
Cindi was invited by Brian Brady, director of the SLA and faculty Instructor in Residence for “Thinking, Acting and Managing Entrepreneurially” in the Management Department, one of the MBA classes Bigelow addressed. Additionally in attendance were Professor Wynd Harris of the Marketing Department and students from her MBA course, “New Product and Management Innovation.” Also attending was Professor Tim Dowding of the Operations and Information Management Department and Associate Director of the International Business Accelerator at UConn Stamford.
Under Cindi’s energetic leadership, Bigelow Tea has embraced social media and continues to expand a product line that now includes over 120 varieties of black, green, decaffeinated, herbal and iced teas. The company produces over 1.6 billion tea bags annually.
Weeks prior to Cindi’s visit, the MBA students conducted research on tea drinkers and shared their findings with Cindi who led an interactive discussion on what it’s like to be the third generation running a family business, staying ahead of the competitive tea industry and why Bigelow Tea’s over 300 employees are like family. Cindi also engaged all of the students in a hands-on Earl Grey tea cutting demonstration, comparing Bigelow Tea’s brand to major competitors.
Photos from the event can be viewed at
To learn more about the Stamford Learning Accelerator, please visit http://sla.business.uconn.edu/
Students accepted for Travelers EDGE Venture project 2013
The University of Connecticut School of Business is excited to announce that the following students have been accepted to the Travelers EDGE Venture project for 2013: Begum Abadin ’15, Kurtis Adei ’14, Andrea Llivichuzhca ’14, and Janice Tate ’14.
Travelers’ EDGE (Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment) works to help underrepresented students attain college degrees, as well as a competitive edge when entering the job market. The EDGE Venture program is implemented through the University of Connecticut’s Innovation Accelerator (IA), which pairs business school students with community organizations for a portion of the semester (typically 14 weeks). Students in the program gain core business skills by using finance, marketing, strategic planning, research and analysis to address challenges associated with the identification and capture of business opportunities through consulting projects. Students in the program will receive college credits and financial compensation, in addition to the scholarships and stipends they receive through the Travelers EDGE program.
The accepted students will work with New England Air Museum to build a marketing plan that will promote the museum locally. The students will be supervised by a professor from UConn, a team of mentors from Travelers, and will also work closely with Susan Orred, director of development and marketing at New England Air Museum.
2012 Risk Management Conference
The University of Connecticut School of Business was proud to host our First Annual Risk Management Conference on November 9, 2012. Over 165 risk management and regulation professionals, faculty members, and graduate students in the Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) program gathered to discuss new challenges and opportunities in the field. Among the many notable guests in attendance were faculty members from several other universities, including Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. Continue Reading
Risk Management Conference Draws Audience of 165+
The University of Connecticut School of Business was proud to host our First Annual Risk Management Conference on November 9, 2012. Over 165 risk management and regulation professionals, faculty members, and graduate students in the Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) program gathered to discuss new challenges and opportunities in the field. Among the many notable guests in attendance were faculty members from several other universities, including Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. Continue Reading
Teaching. Research. Outreach.
This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1 (Fall 2012)
Dr. Karla H. Fox Reflects on Past Success, Contributions, and Continued Service
A distinguished educator and administrator at the University of Connecticut since 1976, Dr. Karla H. Fox retired from her faculty position as of August 1. Here, she reflects on her time serving the University and the School of Business, sharing some of her continuing projects and activities in her new position as Special Assistant to the Provost.
Teaching and Research
Reflecting on the past three decades, Dr. Fox proclaims, “[the University of Connecticut] is a dramatically different school than when I started [working here]. UConn has transformed into a truly research-focused institution. We’ve reversed the “brain drain” of 30 years ago, and now we’re a top school of choice for many students.”
In the 1990s, the School of Business made a strategic decision to become a technology leader among business schools nationwide. “It shows,” says Dr. Fox. “We’ve become much more professional in the way we present teaching and instruction, partly because we have access to the latest technologies.” During her time as Interim Dean, Dr. Fox contributed to this availability by implementing the latest in conference technology, enabling meetings or classes to run across campuses and to better link the undergraduate and MBA programs in Storrs, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury.
“Building upon the School’s history of excellent academics, we now have an expanded emphasis focused more on research and outreach,” Dr. Fox notes. Securing the approval of then Provost Peter Nicholls, Interim Dean Dr. Fox led the School in hiring 24 new faculty and staff members last year. “Hiring was critical; it enabled us to bring up new programs and strengthen others, such as the Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) program [in Stamford], which we were able to expand to Hartford,” she notes.
Outreach and service have entered the forefront in the last five years, according to Dr. Fox, who plans to continue efforts in this area.
Outreach: Stamford Initiatives
Dr. Fox’s involvement with the Stamford campus has come full-circle. She was one of the main individuals responsible for developing the new Stamford Downtown Campus in the mid-1990s. “That was really exciting!” she exclaims. “I can’t help but reflect on this—fast forward 25 years later, and here I am, working on the expansion of programs offered on that very campus.”
During the transitional period while she was Interim Dean, one of the initiatives Dr. Fox engaged in was the renewed emphasis of activities on the Stamford campus, including the establishment of the Stamford Learning Accelerator, new academic programs, economic development initiatives, and relationships with Fairfield County leaders. She has also dedicated time to the Digital Media Program both in Storrs and Stamford, putting the program on secure footing to facilitate approval from the Board of Trustees in 2011. Dr. Fox will continue to foster and develop these initiatives in her ongoing role.
“We minimized the vacancy of the former UConn/GE edgelab space in Stamford to just 4 months. The repurposed facility is now vibrant and thriving as the Stamford Learning Accelerator (SLA),” says Dr. Fox. “Although the funding to build out edgelab came from GE, it was originally conceptualized to be what the SLA now is—a learning accelerator where the triumvirate of students, faculty, and businesses work together on real-life projects.” She adds, “We’re now able to work on several projects for leading corporations and potential entrepreneurial ventures.”
Dr. Fox will help to implement an expansion plan at the Stamford regional campus in the areas of business and digital media. A new major in Financial Management, to begin the fall of 2013, will be considered by the UConn Board of Trustees at its November meeting. Future projects under discussion include offering undergraduate business programs in the areas of risk management and global business; increasing the academic presence of digital media; and expanding certificate programs in business and digital media.
In addition, Dr. Fox will continue to serve as Interim Director of the Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI) program in Stamford, which offers certification or education for both businesses and individuals in business-related technologies or specialties such as project management.
Dr. Fox will work to support academic initiatives in the University’s emerging plan for economic development with Mary Holz-Clause, UConn’s Vice President for Economic Development. She is also working very closely with The Business Council of Fairfield County and the Stamford business community. Dr. Fox concludes that “the issue now is economic development, providing good jobs for everyone in Connecticut so we can get our educated graduates to stay in the state.”
Karla H. Fox
Among her many involvements at the University of Connecticut School of Business, Dr. Karla H. Fox—professor of Business Law with specializations in the Uniform Commercial Code, employment law, and business ethics—has served as Executive Director of the Full-time MBA Program, Associate Dean, and Head of the Business Law program. Dr. Fox most recently led the School of Business through an exciting year of growth as Interim Dean.
Dr. Fox has also served as head of the Music Department in the School of Fine Arts from 2008-2010, Associate Vice President for University Affairs from 1999-2004, and Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. A recipient of the 2010 American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Service Excellence Award, she is also a member of the Connecticut and North Carolina Bar Associations, and is a past president of the University of Connecticut chapter of the American Association of University Professors, as well as a former member of the University Senate and Senate Executive Committee.
Investing in Students
This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1 (Fall 2012)
The Travelers EDGE Program Builds UConn’s Business Leaders of Tomorrow
As Armando Jimenez sees it, his first lucky break coincided with some bad news for his hometown of Hartford. That was the year his high school lost its state accreditation and Jimenez received a scholarship to attend Salisbury School instead.
Located in the Northwest corner of the state, the private school offered Jimenez the chance to participate in his first entrepreneurship program and be exposed to what he describes as a “different world” than the one from which he came. More importantly, though, it gave him a reason to work hard.
“I made Dean’s List every semester,” Jimenez said. “I wanted to make sure they knew their investment in me was good.”
Jimenez has spent the last few years making good on that initial investment as a student in UConn’s Travelers EDGE diversity initiative program. A management major now in his senior year in the UConn School of Business, Jimenez is one of 23 students currently receiving a four-year scholarship, mentoring, and internship opportunities through the program.
Being accepted into Travelers EDGE, Jimenez said, was his second lucky break.
“It’s an amazing program. The interesting thing about Travelers is that this is a company that’s really investing in the career of the student,” said Jimenez, who has completed two summer internships, at Travelers Companies Inc. and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), through the program.
Tara Spain, vice president of the Travelers Foundation, said the program began in 2007 with a directive from the company’s board of directors.
“They w
anted us to do something that was good for the community, but also good for the company,” Spain said. “We feel like we get a lot out of it. It has helped to broaden our pipelines into the company for diverse talents and we’ve been able to strengthen the Travelers’ brand on college campuses. It’s great for the company, great for the brand, and great for our employees.”
The program targets underrepresented groups or first generational college students with the goal of making them more competitive in the business world. Jimenez, who is the first person to attend college in his family and a minority who was raised by a single mother in Hartford, fits both criteria.
“Neither of those factors alone would have gained him entry into the program, however, if Jimenez hadn’t displayed the kind of motivation and commitment to his education that earned him a place on the Dean’s List at Salisbury School,” said Seanice Austin, the director of Diversity Initiatives for the School of Business and manager of the Travelers EDGE program.
“We receive about 30 to 40 applications every year and we take five,” said Austin. “It’s very competitive.”
Students accepted into the program must participate actively and maintain a 3.0 GPA, Austin said. The average GPA of the students currently enrolled is 3.3, she said.
“We want students to be able to tell their own stories,” Austin said. “Once they are accepted, I work very closely with them to make sure they have all the resources and support they need.”
Jimenez agreed, and said he is already trying to give back a little bit of what he’s received. “I grew up in the Boys and Girls Club so I know that a simple “Hi” goes a long way, especially when someone is struggling,” he said.
For that reason, Jimenez started a program his freshman year, called Brothers Reaching Our Society, that provides peer mentoring and help with academics to other male students. “The idea is to do the same for those who come behind you as those who came ahead did for you,” Jimenez said.