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Farrell Presents Business Faculty, Staff Awards

Farrell Presents Business Faculty, Staff Awards
Ten faculty and staff members from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business received honors at the 2017 Faculty and Staff Awards Reception on April 27. Dr. Kathy Farrell, interim dean, presented the awards at the Van Brunt Visitors Center.
 
“I am awed at the support for and talent of this college. When I talk about the next phase of our transformation as a world-class business college, many look to the new building. However, the people going inside the physical building embody the quality we need to make great things happen,” Farrell said.
 
Retiring faculty members recognized at the reception included Dr. A. Dwayne Ball, department chair and associate professor of marketing, and Dr. Paul A. Shoemaker, senior associate dean for research and faculty engagement and BKP, LLP Professor of Accountancy.
 
The award recipients are featured below.
 
Kimberly Smith
Kimberly Smith
Distinguished Service Award – Kimberly Smith
 
Kimberly Smith, communications and marketing coordinator, received the Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes a staff member who consistently shows outstanding job performance, provides service or support above and beyond the call of duty, exemplifies or inspires a teamwork attitude, makes contributions and is committed to excellence.
 
Joining the College of Business in 2013, Smith serves as a social media manager for the college. While not only creating content and maintaining an active social media presence, Smith also provides guidance for all departments communicating with social media. In addition, she designs publications and graphics, edits and writes stories, supervises interns, creates and curates digital signage for the college, provides oversight for web content, and stays on top of college related events, all while staying up to date with Nebraska standards and practices. Smith’s coworkers commend her commitment to quality, dedication and the positivity she brings to the workplace.
 
“Her abilities stretch further and make a greater impact than just about anyone I have seen in all my years working at Nebraska (more than 25). All the work she does and her great attitude has a reflection on a better experience for Nebraska Business students, whether it is making them aware of an event they otherwise wouldn’t have seen, promoting their accomplishments, or giving them information on college programs to help them in their career choices,” one nominator said.
 
Dr. Marijane Hancock
Dr. Marijane Hancock
Excellence in Teaching Award (Non Tenure Track) – Dr. Marijane Hancock
 
Dr. Marijane Hancock, associate professor of practice of management, was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award. Presented to a professor of practice, lecturer, or adjunct faculty member, the award recognizes an individual who has made a positive impact on his or her student’s educational experience.
 
Hancock taught in the Department of Management at Nebraska from 2000 to 2006 and received the Excellence in Teaching Award in both 2004 and 2006. After serving as assistant vice president for academic affairs and director of institutional research at Nebraska from 2006 to 2008 and dean of administration for the Bryan College of Health Sciences, she returned to teaching in 2011.
 
Her nominator said, “She dedicates herself 100 percent to each individual student and shows such genuine commitment to helping us succeed. She is knowledgeable in her teaching and uses discussions we can relate to during lectures, which increases the amount of material we leave knowing.”
 
Dr. Emre Unlu
Dr. Emre Unlu
MBA Distance Teaching Award – Dr. Emre Unlu
 
Dr. Emru Unlu, executive director of executive education, associate professor of finance and Paul C. Burmeister Professor of Investments, received the MBA Distance Teaching Award. Selected by online MBA students, the award recognizes a faculty member who has made the most positive impact on the MBA students’ educational experience.
 
Unlu joined the Department of Finance at the College of Business in 2007 and has been a CFA charterholder since 2011. He brings research expertise in corporate finance, payout policy, international finance and analysts to the classroom, and took on the role of leading the executive education program in March of 2017. His students describe his enthusiasm as infectious and said his passion for teaching is evident.
 
One nominator said, “Dr. Unlu characterizes the spirit of teaching, in that his passion for students extends beyond the traditional classroom. He holds extensive classroom sessions in which he has genuine concern for each students, making sure those who attend his class are comfortable with material.”
 
Dr. Troy Smith
Dr. Troy Smith
Distinguished Teaching Award (Tenure Track/Tenured Faculty) – Dr. Troy Smith
 
Dr. Troy Smith, assistant professor of management, received the Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes a tenured or tenure-track professor who made the most positive impact on his or her students’ educational experience.
 
Smith joined Nebraska Business in June of 2016 and quickly began impacting students. Noted for creating an engaging class environment, students acknowledged his commitment to Nebraska Business’s ideals, standards and vision.
 
One of his nominators said, “Troy has exemplified what I believe an amazing professor should be. Productive class discussions that contain relatable real-world examples, relevant class speakers, embracing a true positive attitude and investing a genuine intention to get to know his students are just a few key aspects that contribute to this nomination.”
 
Dr. David Olson
Dr. David Olson
Faculty Service Award – Dr. David Olson
 
Dr. David Olson, James and H.K. Stuart Chancellors Distinguished Chair and professor of supply chain management and analytics, received the Faculty Service Award. The award recognizes a distinguished faculty member who has shown a commitment and dedication to service, making a contribution through service to the university, college, department, community or profession. The award is based upon a record of sustained performance that has significantly contributed to the college’s service mission.
 
Olson rejoined the Nebraska Business faculty in 2001 after teaching in the Department of Management during his Ph.D. program from 1979 to 1981. He played a crucial role in the development of the supply chain management major, the Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics, the minor in business analytics, and the master of science in business analytics (MSBA). During this time, he helped form an industrial advisory board which provides valuable input on the design of the new program. In addition, Olson served in leadership roles for the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) including vice president and conference program chair for its annual conference and was named a fellow of the organization for his outstanding service.
 
His nominator said, “David worked with faculty from many Nebraska Business departments, as well as administrators in the Dean’s Office, to develop these important programs which provide degrees in an area that is of high demand among both students and the industry.”
 
Dr. Biyu Wu
Dr. Biyu Wu
Distinguished Research Award – Dr. Biyu Wu
 
Dr. Biyu Wu, assistant professor of accountancy, was honored with the Distinguished Research Award. The award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member who has shown a distinguished record in research over a three-year period.
 
Just two years after finishing her Ph.D., Wu published two papers in top journals. One article was published in The Accounting Review and cited in the business press including Market Watch and Accounting Web. Her second article was published in the Journal of Accounting Research. In 2012, Wu was named an American Accounting Association, Deloitte Foundation, J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium Fellow.
 
“These articles are of interest to regulators, investors, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as they want regulations they should incorporate as well as what information is needed by the public,” her nominator said.
 
Dr. Christina Carnes and Dr. Troy Smith
Dr. Troy Smith and Dr. Christina Carnes
Emerging Scholar Research Award – Dr. Christina Carnes and Dr. Troy Smith
 
Dr. Christina Carnes, assistant professor of management, and Dr. Troy Smith, assistant professor of management, received the Emerging Scholar Research Award. Presented to a tenure-track assistant professor who is in the first three years of his/her academic career, the award recognizes a faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution to academic literature.
 
Carnes’s research interests include competitive dynamics, governance and family influence, resource-based logic, innovation, organizational decline and distress, and strategic entrepreneurship. The Strategic Management Journal, which is considered the highest-ranking strategy-focused journal in management and recognized universally as an A-level journal, published two of her papers. She has also been published in the Journal of Operations Management and one paper she coauthored was named best paper finalist in 2014 for the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.
 
Since joining the College of Business in 2015, five of her six peer-reviewed journal publications have been printed.
 
Next, Smith brought research interests in intersection of leadership and motivation across levels of analysis, job attitudes and employee engagement, and spillover effects of work and non-work factors when he joined the College of Business in June 2016.
 
With seven works published in two top management journals, the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Applied Psychology, Smith has a manuscript under review with the top management journal and a number of working manuscripts.
 
Skylar Rolf
Skylar Rolf
Graduate Teaching Assistant Award – Skylar Rolf
 
Skylar Rolf was awarded the Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. The honor recognizes a graduate student with teaching responsibilities.
 
Rolf is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Management at the College of Business and completed three semesters of teaching at Nebraska. An instructor for the capstone class in strategic management, Rolf is entrusted to teach students in their final semester before graduation representing all majors within Nebraska Business. Rolf regularly receives quality evaluations and uses different forms and methods to engage students.
 
“Skylar’s student evaluation numbers indicate that students appreciate his skill in the classroom and the effort he puts forward in preparing for class discussions and lectures. He does an excellent job engaging students in class discussion,” his nominator said.
 
Lynn Matthews
Lynn Matthews
Graduate Research Assistant Award – Lynn Matthews
 
Lynn Matthews received the Graduate Research Assistant Award. The award is presented to a graduate student with the most impressive research record.
 
A doctoral candidate in the Department of Marketing, Matthews joined the College of Business in 2013 with research interests including brand management and research methodology. Her work includes several projects including a forthcoming book chapter and a project on controversiality which is currently under review at the Journal of Business Research.
 
Her nominator said, “As a published author of a novel, she has no problems taking a vague concept, researching it, and communicating it to others in writing. I am confident that she will be a productive scholar publishing in top-notch journals and making an impact in the marketing area after she graduates from Nebraska.”
Published: April 28, 2017