College of Business students, faculty, and staff recognized for recent achievements include: Oluwafisayo Adeniyan, Rik Barrera, Jennifer Bernard, Allison Black, Sullivan Bortner, Paula Caldwell, Jennifer Davidson, Dr. Nikos Dimotakis, Aditya Gupta, Dr. Shivam Gupta, Krista Hoover, Sheri Irwin-Gish, Kalana Jayanetti, Samantha Kaus, Dr. Alok Kumar, Taylor Lofdahl, Kathryn Maresh J.D., Trevor Maus, Laura Niles, Dr. J. Kalu Osiri, Timothy Paschal, Dr. Donde Plowman, Dr. Blake Runnalls, Dr. S. Sajeesh, Aaron Scholl, Katie Sewell, Andrew Sorsen, Beth Strogoff, Jill Trucke, Tamayo Zhou, the Business Career Center and students in MNGT 490 Strive to Thrive Lincoln class. The achievements are grouped within the college’s three mission-focused goals of research + discovery, learning + transformation and connection + engagement.
Research + Discovery
- Oluwafisayo Adeniyan, a master’s student studying survey research and methodology, presented "Profiling Schools in Nebraska using Census and School Level Attributes: A Model-Based Clustering Approach" to the campus community during the Spring Research Fair. Recognized as a top poster presenter, Adeniyan received a graduate award that included a travel grant toward presenting research at a regional or national conference.
- Jennifer Bernard, a Ph.D. student in economics, received the McConnell Distinguished Research Award from the Department of Economics.
- Dr. Nikos Dimotakis, assistant professor of management, was interviewed for an article on workplace feedback with German broadcasting company Deutsche Welle. Managers should offer specific feedback that employees can improve upon, Dimotakis said. Read more at: https://go.unl.edu/workplacefeedback.
- Aditya Gupta, a Ph.D. student in marketing, received the Department of Marketing Award for Research by a Graduate Student. Criteria for this award include the number of publications in journals and research presentations at national and international conferences.
- Matt Hall, a Ph.D. student in marketing, received the Department of Marketing Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. Selected by marketing faculty, the award considers teaching evaluations, course structure and overall contributions to students. Hall also received the department’s Baker Award for Excellence in Service by a Graduate Student. The service award honors the graduate student who is the best "departmental citizen," who supports their fellow students, participates actively in hosting the Nebraska Doctoral Symposium and participates actively in the doctoral student group.
- Kalana Jayanetti, a senior actuarial science major, presented "Unemployment Biases in Worklife Expectancy" at the Spring Research Fair. A Bureau of Business Research (BBR) scholar, Paschal was selected as a top poster presenter for his work under the direction of Dr. David Rosenbaum, associate director of the BBR and a professor of economics.
- Dr. Alok Kumar, associate professor of marketing and W.W. Marshall College Professor, was honored with the Department of Marketing Research Award. This award recognizes significant achievements in research through publications in journals and research presentations at national and international conferences.
- Kathryn Maresh J.D., assistant professor of practice of accountancy and executive in residence, received the School of Accountancy Graduate Educator of the Year. Voted by graduating Master of Professional Accountancy students, she was recognized at the Accounting Graduation Celebration.
- Timothy Paschal, a senior economics and finance major, presented "Statistical Matching for Benchmarking Analysis" at the Spring Research Fair. A Bureau of Business Research scholar, Paschal was selected as a top poster presenter for his work under the direction of Dr. Mitch Herian, research associate.
- Dr. Blake Runnalls, assistant professor in marketing, received the Department of Marketing Faculty Teaching Award and Faculty Mentoring Award. The Faculty Teaching Award honors someone with outstanding teaching evaluations, course structure and contributions to students. The Faculty Mentoring Award is selected by doctoral students in marketing.
- Aaron Scholl and Andrew Sorsen, both Ph.D. students in economics, were honored by the Department of Economics with their departmental Distinguished Teaching Awards.
- Katie Sewell, assistant director of the Business Career Center, and Paula Caldwell, a career coach, presented research and best practices for working with introverted students at a national conference, NASPA, in Los Angeles in March. Their presentation, “Quiet Bystanders: Empowering Introverted Students on a Campus That Can’t Stop Talking,” gathered 80 attendees from across the country.
- Jill Trucke, assistant professor of practice of accountancy, received the School of Accountancy Undergraduate Educator of the Year award. Voted by graduating accounting majors, Trucke was recognized at the Accounting Graduation Celebration.
- Three College of Business faculty shared insight at the 2019 Water for Food Global Conference hosted at Innovation Campus. Speakers included Dr. Shivam Gupta, assistant professor of supply chain management and analytics; Dr. J. Kalu Osiri, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute Faculty Fellow, director of international business and associate professor of practice in management; and Dr. S. Sajeesh, assistant professor of marketing. Collectively, speakers explored the cutting-edge work being done to address one of the most urgent global issues of our time – ensuring we have enough nutritious food and clean water to sustainably support nearly 10 billion people in the next 30 years.
Learning + Transformation
- Allison Black, an economics, political science and sociology triple major, earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant position to teach in Slovakia. Read more about her selection at: https://go.unl.edu/fulbrightblack.
- Sullivan Bortner, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in Business with a Specialization in Intercollegiate Athletics Administration, won the MAIAA 110 Percent Award. The honor recognizes a graduating MAIAA student who consistently went above and beyond for their service to the university and embodies the values of Nebraska Athletics.
- Business Career Center became a finalist for The Career Leadership Collective Career Innovation Showcase. The group recognized the staff’s efforts in leveraging peer coaches in career curriculum as one of the most innovative career initiatives in higher education.
- Samantha Kaus, a junior accounting major, received the 2018-19 Student of the Year Award and a $500 scholarship. Chosen by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board for the award, she helped hundreds of students as a tutor at the Teaching and Learning Center and as a Clifton Strengths coach.
- Taylor Lofdahl, program coordinator for the Clifton Strengths Institute, received a Dean’s Coin. This year she helped plan and facilitate the inaugural Future Builders internship and helped successfully organize the Investing in Strengths (BSAD 111) class with 760 students and 80 student strengths coaches.
- Trevor Maus, a sophomore finance major, became Student of the Month for April for his success in identifying solutions to help the students he coaches to navigate college. The student of the month is selected by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board.
- Beth Strogoff, an academic advisor in Business Advising and Student Engagement, received a Dean’s Coin. Daily, she has an impact on supporting students’ academic success and regularly showing creativity and ideation to solve problems.
- Students in the College of Business’ Leading People and Projects (MNGT 411) class recently awarded $7,500 to the Center for Legal Immigration Assistance and $2,500 to the Food Fort Bus as part of the Strive to Thrive Lincoln program. The program was featured in KOLN/KGIN’s Lance’s Journal segment on April 22. Watch the video at: https://go.unl.edu/strivetothrivelancesjournal.
- Tamayo Zhou, a senior finance major, received the Student Leadership Award at the 2019 Student Impact Awards. The award honors his work as president for the Husker International Business Club.
Connection + Engagement
- Rik Barrera, associate dean of student services and chief operating officer, was selected to receive the 2019 Nancy Kenny Academic Business Leader Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty or staff members at the university who demonstrates exceptional collaborative leadership in academic business matters at the university. He will be honored at The Laurels award reception in September.
- Jennifer Davidson, assistant professor of practice economics and president of the Nebraska Council of Economic Education, shared how using bingo cards will help teach kids about finances on 10/11 News. Watch the video at: https://go.unl.edu/davidsonbingo.
- Krista Hoover, personnel associate in the Office of the Dean, received a Dean’s Coin. The honor recognized how she went above and beyond in her role in payroll and training employees and student employees in a new system.
- Dr. Kathy Farrell, James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean, served as a panelist discussing “Leading through Change.” She joined Ava Thomas of the Lincoln Journal Star and Christie Hinrichs of Tabitha in sharing how they navigated change in their own organizations to attendees of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Women in Business half-day conference.
- Sheri Irwin-Gish, executive director of Communications, Marketing and External Relations, coordinated the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Women in Business half-day conference. Additionally, she presented “Communicating through Change,” which explored how to send clear, effective messages to avoid confusion during change.
- Laura Niles, director of external relations, was named conference chair for the 2020 Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VI Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Dr. Donde Plowman, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer and professor of management, presented “The Reason for Change” as the keynote address of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Women in Business conference on embracing change.
- Students in Sales Practicum (MRKT 371) raised more than $8,000 in support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a nonprofit organization that works to fund treatments for childhood cancer, in the 2019 Northwestern Mutual UNL Charitable Champions. The opportunity provided students with a real-life sales project that strengthens their goal-setting, planning, selling and communication skills. The class partnered with the Lincoln office of Northwestern Mutual, and the associates served as their coaches and cheerleaders.
This column is a monthly feature of the College of Business. Faculty, staff, and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via the News Submission Form at the bottom of
https://business.unl.edu webpage. On the form, select Recognize achievement and fill out the related questions.
Published: May 10, 2019