Graduation, Commencement, Celebration and Satisfaction

It is that time of year: graduation, commencement, celebration and satisfaction.  At UConn, we find myriad ways to celebrate our students, by engaging graduates, their families and friends, our alumni, our faculty and staff.  As dean, I find I pay attention to what others say in these settings and invariably learn in the process.

This year, Professor Robert Shiller, 2013 Nobel Laureate in Economics and a Professor at Yale, spoke at our undergraduate commencement and received an honorary degree from UConn.  His message was powerful and important and dealt with “Business and the Good Society.”  He chose to remind our business graduates, that while some give business a bad rap, it is an engine of growth and promise.  Good business propels a rising tide that lifts all boats.  He found a nice balance between engaging our thoughts and our emotions.  He challenged all of us to engage with our world and to better it.  His talk is worth a read.

Let me share three other speeches that I consider landmarks: Continue Reading


Pi Sigma Epsilon Happenings

PSE Regionals

Pi Sigma Epsilon Places in National Level Competitions

by Emily Vasington, Co-president of Pi Sigma Epsilon

During the 2014-2015 academic year, Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) involved itself with the local and national community. Pi Sigma Epsilon is a professional, co-ed business fraternity with over 65 chapters at different schools across the country. Locally, members participated in Huskython for the first time, organized a golf tournament with local marketing and sales professionals, and volunteered at elementary schools in the Storrs area.Continue Reading




Power of the Purse

UConn School of Business Supports United Way’s Family Financial Security Efforts

Faculty, staff to attend Power of the Purse

In just a week, UConn School of Business faculty and staff will be attending Power of the Purse, the signature event of United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut’s Women’s Leadership Council. The event raises funds for local women and families on their road to financial security.

Through their partnership with United Way, UConn School of Business and its employees ensure low-income working families have access to free financial literacy resources needed to become financially secure. This includes learning how to make the most of hard-earned dollars, reduce debt and save for the future.

United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council is working with school leaders and nonprofit partners to offer adult financial education services at the family financial centers in Hartford. Clients benefit from financial literacy classes, one-on-one coaching, and access to matched savings accounts to help save for their education, job training, housing, transportation, or to reduce debt.

Partners in United Way’s work include the Hartford Partnership for Student Success and The Village for Families & Children, in addition to the community schools.

For more information about the work of the Women’s Leadership Council and to become involved, visit unitedwayinc.org/women.

United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut

United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut mobilizes people and organizations to give, advocate and volunteer to help children succeed, ensure families are healthy and financially secure, and provide access to basic needs. Since 1924, nearly $900 million has been raised to help people in our 40-town region. For more information, visit unitedwayinc.org.


Shared and Connected: Interpersonal Relationships and Shared Brands

Brands and Brand Relationships (BBR) Conference, May 2015, Boston MA
Selcan Kara and Anna J. Vredeveld

Selcan Kara, doctoral candidate in Marketing, presented her work entitled “Shared and Connected: Interpersonal Relationships and Shared Brands” (Co-author: Anna J. Vredeveld) at Brands and Brand Relationships (BBR) Conference in Boston, MA. Kara and Vredeveld’s research examines how married consumers form relational brand connections. Findings show how shared brand consumption and marital satisfaction influence the nature of the consumer’s connection to the brand and the perceived importance of the brand to the marital relationship.  From a theoretical perspective, Kara and Vredeveld examine the effect of how consumers incorporate brands into their personal relationships (experiential vs. mundane), and resulting shared brand consumption, on consumers’ brand evaluations. From a managerial perspective, the findings address important implications especially in the advertising domain.


CEO Evolution

CEO Evolution

Top CEOs to Share Business Insight, Success Secrets at ‘CEO Evolution’ Program in Stamford

Three exceptional CEOs will reveal the secrets to success at the second annual “CEO Evolution” at 6 p.m. June 15 at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus.

The program is presented by Citrin Cooperman, the University of Connecticut School of Business and the Fairfield County Business Journal.

The panel will include:Continue Reading


Finals, Interviews, and Housing Dilemmas: How I Survived

Finals week has always been the most challenging time during every semester for me especially this one. It was definitely challenging for everyone else, but most people I know only needed to prepare for finals and pack up to go home. However it was about dealing with the multi-tasks for me. After knowing that I am not able to live in the same dorm at Alumni which is where I have lived for both my freshman and sophomore year, I decided to live off-campus during junior year. Finding off-campus housing as well as roommates might sound interesting, but that is true only when you have enough time. Continue Reading


MBA Program Deemed ‘Best Value’

poets&quants-logo

 

The full-time MBA program at the University of Connecticut School of Business is among the “Best MBA Programs for Value” in the country, according to Poets and Quants, a news website specializing in business-school evaluations.

In an article released May 9, the web site highlighted the program after reviewing research by several other studies that evaluate programs using different methodologies. The UConn program ranked No. 13 by Value Colleges and No. 21 by GraduatePrograms.com.Continue Reading


Accelerate UConn Program Launches

UConn Launches Program to Help Students, Faculty Transform Ideas for Technology into Commercialized Products

New Haven Register – The University of Connecticut is launching a program to help students and faculty transform ideas for technology into commercialized products. The school kicked of its Accelerate UConn program with a ceremony Tuesday in Storrs. The program, which builds upon UConn’s existing technology transfer, incubation and commercialization infrastructure, is being funded by a three-year, $300,000 grant by the national science foundation.