UConn Today – Freshman Barbara Hawke Lopez was the captain of her high school robotics team and enjoys coding and emerging technology.
When she discovered that Innovate Labs was opening a facility on the UConn Stamford campus, with hands-on learning opportunities in emerging technology, she was intrigued.
Today, Hawke Lopez is employed as a lab assistant there, teaching her peers how to experiment with new technology, and helping them develop their confidence in the automation of the future.
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.
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.
UConn Today – No light show preceded his entrance, no pyrotechnics exploded, and no theatrical smoke poured into the air, but to the group of UConn Stamford students who met U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, he still was a rock star.
UConn Today – As the former Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology at IBM, Nicholas Donofrio had plenty of insight to share on technology, leadership qualities, and how people wrongly address their workplace challenges.
Donofrio spoke to 100 people—professionals, faculty and staff, and students–during the annual Rosenberg-McVay Business Leadership Series event on Tuesday night at UConn Stamford.
UConn Today – With almost six decades of experience in technology and innovation, including as an Executive Vice President ushering an era of dramatic change at IBM, Nicholas M. Donofrio knows a great deal about transformation and strategy.
Donofrio, a scientist and engineer, is also the author of a 2022 book titled, “If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes: The Nick Donofrio Story,’’ which offers a combination of personal anecdotes, business insight, and wisdom, woven in with the advice and guidance from 37 other, extraordinary business leaders.
CT Insider – STAMFORD — WWE founder Vince McMahon has stepped down from the company, in the wake of a lawsuit filed last week by a former employee who accused him of sexual abuse. If that scenario sounds familiar, it is because McMahon announced his retirement a year-and-a-half ago amid a company investigation into alleged misconduct.
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.
With Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) exploding in growth and professional intrigue, the School of Business offered a financial conference to explore the business model, its advantages, and challenges.
Some 275 people participated in the UConn SPAC Conference, believed to be the first university-sponsored conference of its kind in the nation.Continue Reading