Learn more about recent honors, appointments and publications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in this month's achievements column. The achievements of faculty, staff and students are grouped within the college’s three mission-focused goals of research + discovery, learning + transformation and connection + engagement.

Research + Discovery

• Eight College of Business faculty members earned promotions or tenure in 2024. Receiving promotion to professor of practice is Sue Vagts, actuarial science. Receiving promotion to associate professor and tenure: Amy Bartels, management; Shivam Gupta, supply chain management and analytics; Yingchao Lan, supply chain management and analytics; Samuel Melessa, accountancy; and Daniel Tannenbaum, economics. Receiving promotions to associate professor of practice: Robert Mackalski, marketing; and Kathryn Maresh, accountancy. Read the story.
• Fred Luthans, professor emeritus of management, was ranked 14th in the United States and 27th in the world by Research.com, an academic platform for researchers, in their 2024 list of Ranking of Best Scientists in the Field of Business and Management. He also received their Business and Management Leader Award for 2024. On Google Scholar, Luthans' research has been cited 159,299 times. See the publication's rankings list.
• Plavini Punyatoya, was selected one of three winners of the 2023 Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) Doctoral Support Award Competition with her proposal, "Effect of Organizational Socialization Strategies on Business-to-Business Salesperson Performance," and was named an ISBM Doctoral Fellow.
• Erkut Sönmez, associate professor of supply chain management and analytics, received the College Distinguished Teaching Award from the Executive Vice Chancellor's Office, recognizing faculty with excellence in teaching and who advance the mission of the university through their work. He will officially receive the award at The Laurels award reception in the fall. Read the story.
• Roberto Stein, was featured in a WalletHub article about what to know about low-interest credit cards. Read the article.
• Eric Thompson, department chair, K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics and director of Bureau of Business Research, spoke to KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska, in their segment "Start planning now: Americans struggling to afford retirement." He shared how saving for retirement earlier is key to overcoming challenging times. See the video.

Learning + Transformation

• In the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship's annual New Venture Competition, a business plan pitch event with $65,000 in funding in prizes, 48 teams represented nine colleges and 44 majors at the university. Clifton Builders management and marketing major Eduardo Sicilia Ayala from Cancun, Mexico, took first place and a $15,000 cash prize for his startup 2%Football. Read the story and list of winners.
• Twenty-two teams of students in the Undergraduate Certificate in Sales Excellence Program competed for $6,000 in the Center for Sales Excellence Team Role-Play Competition in April. After three rounds of tournament-style pitching to industry professionals, Tyler Vander Woude, senior management and marketing major from Lincoln, and Marcus Anderson, junior finance major from Lincoln, captured first place and $2,500. Amanda Smolsky, senior marketing major from Omaha, Nebraska, and McKenzie Wager, senior marketing major from Centennial, Colorado, earned second place and $2,000. Bekki Franco, junior pre-health student from Omaha, and Taylor McMurray, sophomore finance major from Hickman, Nebraska, took third place and $1,000. Read the story.
• Aaron Crabtree, associate dean of master's programs and executive development, KPMG Faculty Fellow in Professional Accounting and associate professor of accountancy, and Jennifer Davidson, associate professor of practice in economics, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president and Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow, led a seminar on taxes in Nebraska Athletics' Big Red Wealth Series for student-athletes. They shared about types of taxes and documents as well as overall financial literacy in the athletic department's Life Skills program. Read the article.
• Business students were among the contingent of University of Nebraska–Lincoln students chosen to help provide hospitality and operations services at Augusta National Golf Club for the 2024 Masters Tournament in April in Augusta, Georgia: Abigail Cantrell, sophomore business minor from Malcolm, Nebraska; Lauren Hartman, senior management major from Waverly, Nebraska; and Lydia Tobin, junior marketing major from Waukee, Iowa. Read the story.

Connection + Engagement

• Nine business majors were among the students honored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at the Ivy Day ceremonies that recognized outstanding contributions of students in their junior year selected to serve in the two senior honorary organizations. Innocents Society: Natalie Karrels, supply chain management, Brookfield, Wisconsin; and Nikolas Mainieri Mancio, finance and accounting, Bento Goncalves, Brazil. Mortar Board: Charlie Brockmeier, finance and accounting, Kearney, Nebraska; Madelyn Craft, actuarial science, Wentzville, Missouri; Makenna Henning, management and supply chain management, Kearney; Tenley Katt, finance and biochemistry, Lincoln; Tram Ngo, marketing and management, Crete, Nebraska; Fagan O’Connor, business administration, Chesterfield, Missouri; and Avery Plessel, marketing and management, Beatrice, Nebraska. Read the Nebraska Today article.
• Six business students received awards at the annual Clifton Strengths Institute (CSI) Recognition Ceremony on April 25. Chloe Heller, senior management major from Lincoln, Nebraska, received the Mark Pogue Award, honoring the former CSI executive director. The Outstanding Builder Awards presented to Aaryan Naik, senior economics major from Elkhorn, Nebraska, and Lindsay Rickers, sophomore marketing major from Waverly, Nebraska, honors students in the Clifton Builders Program who take on challenges to create change when others may back away. Hannah Coldiron, senior psychology major from Lincoln, and Sarah Leach, senior marketing major from Medina, Ohio, earned Outstanding Coach Awards for exceeding expectations in their work to advance strengths. Nebraska Women's Basketball and Nebraska College Preparatory Academy received Strengths Partnership Awards. This award honors departments on campus that have made an intentional effort and commitment to applying strengths within their work. Ellie Schaardt, sophomore accounting major from Steinauer, Nebraska, received the Royal Star Coach award for getting a perfect score on feedback from those he coached, going above and beyond for students and making a positive impact.
• The Association of Students at the University of Nebraska (ASUN) student government elected senators and leaders who will represent the College of Business including executive officer Luke McDermott, sophomore economics, political science and history major from Omaha, who will lead the Government Liaison Committee. Senators include: Jack Burchess, freshman economics major from Gillette, Wyoming; Carlie Davis sophomore management major from Scottsdale, Arizona; Emily Frech, freshman marketing major from Erie, Colorado; John Jacobson, freshman marketing and data science major from Overland Park, Kansas; Naree Philavanh, sophomore management and marketing major from Lincoln; and Karson Walters, freshman management major from Kearney. Read the Daily Nebraskan story.
• Three students earned $2,500 Husker Hustle Scholarships by sharing their entrepreneurial dreams with Janna Ronert, '87, founder of IMAGE Skincare and Hush and Hush, and founder of the scholarship program. Chosen for the scholarship were: Cindy Tran, sophomore marketing major from Lincoln; Samantha Weeder, junior agribusiness major from Genoa, Nebraska; and Mitchell West, sophomore advertising and public relations major from Lincoln.
• Senior Clifton Builders management and marketing major from Cancún, Mexico, Eduardo Sicilia Ayala received the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship's Student Entrepreneur Award for contributing to the engagement and community of the center. The award goes to a student who displays hard work in and out of the classroom and advocates for entrepreneurship on campus, embodies innovation and collaboration and energizes other students to do the same. Read the article. 
• Business students were among those recognized at Husker Athletics' Night at the Lied awards. Business and law major Bergen Reilly from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, received Female Freshman Athlete of the Year for her achievements in volleyball during her first year at Nebraska. Read the Huskers story.

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 Proposal Form at the bottom of https://business.unl.edu webpage. On the form, select Recognize Achievement and fill out the related questions.