UConn Today – As the wife of a serial entrepreneur, alumna Antoinetta “Toni” Boucher ’02 MBA had a front-row seat to the passion, determination, and business challenges her husband experienced.
Henry “Bud” Boucher, a successful management consultant, had invented personal care items, worked with a team to develop an inflatable bed, partnered on novel medical devices, and more. Like many entrepreneurs, he was driven by the allure of building something of his own.
UConn Today – The first time AI Day was offered in Hartford in 2022, it drew a small but enthusiastic group of 68 participants. It was before the release of ChatGPT, and both the capabilities of the technology and its potential impact on business and society were not widely recognized.
This year, some 800 people are expected at AI Day events spread across two days – a kickoff and thought leadership keynote on Tuesday, April 22, and a day-long learning forum on Wednesday, April 23.
UConn Today – The UConn Finance Society hosted its 9th Annual Finance Conference March 28 at Morgan Stanley headquarters in Manhattan. Wall Street leaders joined business students and alumni to discuss trends in equities, dealmaking, and how to start a career in the sector.
UConn Today – It was, perhaps, the most talked-about wedding cake in the history of marriage ceremonies.
In 2012, Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., refused to make a custom wedding cake for the marriage of a same-sex couple. The bakery owner objected, saying that the ceremony conflicted with his religious beliefs.
Although the Colorado Civil Rights Commission found the bakery had discriminated against the couple, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that decision in 2018. The ruling said the Commission failed to maintain religious neutrality, sidestepping questions about anti-discrimination laws and human rights.
UConn Today – CEOs and corporations should integrate legal strategy – an often-overlooked competitive advantage – into the core of their business plans, says Business law professor Robert Bird.
“Legal knowledge is the last great source of untapped competitive advantage in organizations, and the corporations that recognize this can unlock a storehouse of value creation that their rivals might miss,’’ Bird says.
UConn Today – Isabella Escobar and Anwesha Gupta, both juniors at Avon High School, spent a few minutes Monday morning in a friendly competition to see whose robot could scoop up more blocks and get them across a goal line.
They were among 40 students from Avon, Farmington, and Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, who spent part of the day at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center, exploring careers in data analytics. The Data Analytics Day event was organized in partnership with Junior Achievement of Southwest New England.
UConn Today – Professor John Mandyck, the CEO of the Urban Green Council and the former Chief Sustainability Officer at United Technologies, will speak on the topic, “Is Sustainability Dead?’’ next month.
The presentation is part of the Equity Now speaker series and it will be livestreamed at 6 p.m. March 27. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university are welcome to participate. Pre-registration is required.
With the United States again out of the Paris Climate Treaty and the Trump administration favoring fossil fuels, it’s easy to wonder if the sustainability movement is over. It’s definitely not, according to Mandyck.
UConn Today – Finding fulfilling and motivating work is a challenge for many people, but it can be especially difficult for those just starting their careers. And as Generation Z professionals – those born between 1997 and 2012 – increasingly seek personalized career paths, managers are tasked with helping employees find meaning in their roles while also meeting organizational goals.
UConn Today – A fierce work ethic, great research, and many hours of practice helped the Husky Case Competition Club win the top prize at the 32nd Kogod Case Competition at American University earlier this month.
UConn Today – Agroup of first graders from the Annie Fisher Magnet School in Hartford sat cross-legged on the floor at The Stowe Center for Literary Activism in Hartford on a recent Friday morning, eager to explain what the word “freedom’’ means to them.
The Stowe Center is the final home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the acclaimed author of the anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’’ published in 1852, which helped change Americans’ attitudes toward abolitionism.