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Faculty and Staff Recognized for Excellence

The 2014 Faculty and Staff Awards Reception for the College of Business Administration was held May 1 at the Van Brunt Visitors Center. Dr. Donde Plowman, the James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean, presented the awards to the 10 award recipients and recognized five retiring faculty.

Retiring faculty members recognized were Dr. Gordon Karels, associate dean of research and graduate programs and Nebraska Bankers Association College Professor of Banking; Dr. Janice Lawrence, associate professor of accounting; Warren Luckner, David P. Hayes Memorial Chair in Actuarial Science and professor of practice; Dr. Manferd Peterson, Interim Department Chair of Finance, W.W. Marshall College Professor of Banking and V.J. Skutt Professor of Insurance; and Dr. Terry Sebora, associate professor of management.

The award recipients are featured below with Plowman’s comments from the event:

Pavel Jeutang

Pavel Jeutang and Dean Plowman

Graduate Student Teaching Award
Pavel Jeutang, Ph.D. student in finance
 
Pavel Jeutang’s personal objective as a teacher is to develop lifelong learners through a learner-centered classroom experience. His nominator was impressed how Pavel closely and deliberately integrated the teaching course conceptions and structures into his class. He also noted the thought he put into what creates a productive learning environment: “He saw the benefits of creating a community in the classroom in which all students have a sense of belonging and was successful in creating that sense of community. He provides a dynamic teaching environment which blends lectures and student interaction in order to connect with his students.”
 

Jessica Mikeska

Jessica Mikeska and Dean Plowman

Graduate Student Research Award
Jessica Mikeska, Ph.D. student in marketing
 
A fourth-year doctoral student, Jessica Mikeska received numerous recognitions at CBA including the Marketing Department’s Outstanding Research Award for Graduate Students and the Baker Award for Excellence in Service by a Graduate Student. Due to her marketing background as a senior research analyst prior to coming to CBA, she brought both real-world and academic perspectives to marketing research problems and the resolutions of those problems. Jessica conducted two research studies regarding childhood obesity and proposed soda tax initiatives that have profound public policy implications. Mikeska’s interest in public policy and marketing led her to investigate how corporations react to policy initiatives for her dissertation. She has a published book chapter and five conference proceedings.
 

Erin Burnette

Erin Burnette and Dean Plowman

Distinguished Service Award (two recipients)
Erin Burnette – Assistant Director of the CBA Honors Academy
 
Erin Burnette has played a key role in the success of the new CBA Honors Academy. She created the application, interview and selection process and spearheads recruiting efforts. She also teaches the Honors Academy sections of the BSAD 111 Business Leadership Development class, plans Honors Academy trips and develops leadership skills workshops. She provides service and support above the call of duty, often working after hours or traveling with students overnight and on weekends. Recently she went with academy students to compete at the Leadership Challenge Event where our freshmen won the McGivern, Inc. Award for Team Communication. Her strong relationships with the students has enabled the academy students to become a cohesive, close-knit group. Positioning the program and its students for success, Burnette has also cultivated relationships with the UNL Admissions Office, the Raikes program, Career Services and adviser groups on campus.
 

Suzanne Reinke

Suzanne Reinke and Dean Plowman

Suzanne Reinke – Administrative Coordinator for the Department of Economics
 
In her role as administrative coordinator, Suzanne Reinke demonstrates the skills and talents of an outstanding staff member, leader and contribution to the success of CBA and the Economics department. Department Chair Dr. Scott Fuess said, “Suzanne’s accountability, ‘know how’ and integrity have distinguished her as a respected, ‘go to’ person both in the department and the college,” an impressive accomplishment for someone who joined CBA in 2012. Other staff members said Reinke is extremely organized, shows great initiative and is a fast learner. She has also made a significant impact through her budgeting and accounting knowledge. Fuess said, “The entire department is able to function at a higher level because of her leadership and multi-faceted efforts.”
 

Sue Vagts

Sue Vagts and Dean Plowman

Excellence in Teaching Award (Non Tenure Track)
Sue Vagts – Interim Director of the Actuarial Science Program and Ameritas Faculty Fellow
 
Sue Vagts has impacted students through her teaching and service to the Finance Department and the Actuarial Science Program for more than 15 years. She continually receives exceptional evaluations from large 100-200 student sections of Finance 207 for her intuitive explanations of complex mathematical concepts, and clear and concise presentation of course topics. Vagts assists in the continuing enhancement of the actuarial science capstone course and has served as co-adviser of the Actuarial Science Club where she assisted in the development of the Actuarial Science Career Fair. One student noted her advising “has made me feel so much better about the path I have chosen.” Another student nominator said, “She truly cares about her students as is evident by her teaching style. She challenges us, but at the same time ensures we will understand the material.”
 

Emre Unlu

Emre Unlu and Dean Plowman

MBA Distance Teaching Award
Emre Unlu, Associate Professor of Finance
 
Dr. Emre Unlu is now a four-time recipient of this award. He started at CBA in August 2007, and his research expertise is corporate finance. His students report he gets them to not only learn the information, but also critically think through why financial principles work and how they are interconnected. This is challenging to do in any online course, but the students said he asked the key questions that get them interested in the subject. His students appreciate the effort he puts into his courses to engage students. One student noted, “Dr. Unlu spent a massive amount of his time helping his students to thoroughly understand his material through weekly conference calls.”
 

Scott Friend

Scott Friend and Dean Plowman

Distinguished Teaching Award (Tenure Track/Tenured Faculty)
Dr. Scott Friend – Assistant Professor of Marketing
 
In his four years at CBA, Dr. Scott Friend has established an outstanding reputation among students as an exceptional teacher in professional sales. He instills not only the ability to sell but also confidence that is invaluable to his students as they begin their careers. Friend has structured his upper level marketing sales courses to include the use of innovative role-plays to engage students through experiential learning, and brings an enthusiasm to his classes that helps engage both student interest and achievement. One student nominator said, “Dr. Friend was by far the best instructor I have had in college. He was enthusiastic and made the course interactive. He inspired students to do their best and enjoy sales. Because of him I want to go into sales.” Friend has been instrumental in planning and developing our new Professional Sales Center, and in pitching the idea to our donor.
 

Terry Sebora

Terry Sebora and Dean Plowman

Faculty Service Award
Dr. Terrence Sebora – Associate Professor of Management
 
Over the past 23 years, Dr. Terry Sebora has participated actively and at all levels in the university. He was an early contributor to the college’s efforts around entrepreneurship, helping build what was one of the first Entrepreneurship Centers in a college of business. Sebora served for six years as the director of the Entrepreneurship Center. In the Department of Management, where he has been the backbone of our strategy faculty, he has played a pivotal leadership role in coordinating the department’s examination of instructional environments and delivery design. Sebora has impacted the college and the university by serving on numerous committees including the Assessment Committee, the General Committee and the College Teaching and Learning Task Force. He has taught management courses on-campus and online to a wide variety of students including undergraduates, Raikes students and MBA students. Sebora is an enthusiastic and conscientious mentor and advisor, served on numerous doctoral committees and supervised over 150 honors theses.
 

Alok Kumar

Alok Kumar and Dean Plowman

Distinguished Research Award
Dr. Alok Kumar – Assistant Professor of Marketing
 
Dr. Alok Kumar joined CBA in the fall of 2013 and has already made a significant impact through the quality of research. In the last three years, three of his papers appeared in top journals – all are on the UT Dallas journal list – including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and Strategic Management Journal. His research on subsidiaries of multinational corporations was also featured in the fall CBA Online Research Newsletter. Kumar is well respected in the marketing channels sub-discipline, is a reviewer for two of the most prominent journals in the field – the Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research – and has been invited to serve as track chairs for upcoming American Marketing Association conferences.
 

Stas Nikolova

Stas Nikolova and Dean Plowman

Best Paper Award
Dr. Stanislava Nikolova – Assistant Professor of Finance
 
Dr. Stanislava Nikolova joined CBA this fall and brought with her a strong reputation for research. In 2013, her research paper titled, “Momentum in Corporate Bond Returns,” was published in the May issue of The Review of Financial Studies and was featured in the CFA Digest in November. The paper, which has quickly proven an important contribution in the world of asset management, critically examines momentum-based trading strategies. The research for the article is central to the question of whether such strategies are profitable when implemented with corporate bonds. The paper’s abstract has already been viewed more than 2,000 times, and the article downloaded 422 times through the Social Science Research Network. Though published last year, the paper has already been cited by numerous times in other research studies.
 

Chris Tuggle

Christopher Tuggle and Dean Plowman

Distinguished Teaching, Research and Service Award
Dr. Christopher Tuggle – Assistant Professor of Management
 
Since joining CBA in 2012, Dr. Christopher Tuggle has actively contributed to CBA in a variety of ways. He is widely recognized as an exceptional scholar both within the college and the management field at large. In the last four years, three of his papers were published in top journals including the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Journal. Beyond research, his excellence in teaching has made him in demand across a multitude of CBA programs including the MBA program, the Ph.D. program and the CBA Honors Academy. Tuggle has also served the college in his involvement in the redesigning of MBA curriculum and by serving on multiple dissertation committees. He has also advised case competition teams, is on the MBA committee, and has served on faculty search committees. 
Published: May 15, 2014