The University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business welcomed five new faculty for the 2024-25 academic year. The new hires in economics, finance and management will help drive discovery, create opportunity and empower individuals to lead the future of business.

“I’m thrilled to welcome our new faculty who bring expertise in their fields and a wide variety of valuable experiences to our college. We continue to build a faculty of exceptional scholars who engage in cutting-edge research, create and deliver innovative curriculum, and engage in meaningful ways within the university and the broader community,” said Kathy Farrell, James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean and professor of finance.

Shatil Anaholy, assistant professor of practice of economics, joins Nebraska Business after earning a Ph.D. and Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Kansas. He also holds a Master of Social Sciences in Economics from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. He also taught Industrial Organization, International Finance, Intermediate Microeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics.

His research interests include applied microeconomics and labor economics. His job market paper, “The Effects of Recent Right-to-Work Laws on Union Coverage, Employment and Earnings,” analyzed the causal effect of right-to-work laws on labor market outcomes. He also co-authored "The Effect of Attending Community College on Various Outcomes" for the 2023 Kansas Data Science Conference per request of the Kansas Board of Regents and "A Comparative Analysis of the Efficiency and Productivity of Selected Food Processing Industries in Malaysia" for the Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture in 2018.

He also served as the president of the Bangladeshi Students Association, the Graduate Students Representative for the Department of Economics and treasurer of the Economics Graduate Students Organization at the University of Kansas. He was also one of the founding members of the Shahjalal University Career Club.

"Dr. Anaholy’s teaching and research expertise in applied microeconomics and labor economics are an excellent match for the Department of Economics. His experience and excellence in teaching principles of economics and industrial organization are critical for undergraduate education. His research on labor supply, retirement and union coverage fits within a cluster of faculty studying labor market topics," said Eric Thompson, department chair, K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics and director of Bureau of Business Research. 

Pedro Agüero, assistant professor of practice of management, joins Nebraska Business after working as a lecturer in the Nebraska College of Architecture and as a business owner and practitioner in the architecture, engineering and construction industry for 14 years. Earning a Master of Business Administration in 2017 and a Master of Architecture in 2019 from Nebraska, he has experience teaching management and architecture courses including Regulatory Environment: Employment and Labor Law, Organizational Behavior, Leading People and Projects, Introduction to Management as well as Architecture History and Theory I, Design Thinking, Design Making and Architectural Design Studio.

He published the paper "Investing in Bicycle Infrastructure to Spur Statewide Economic Growth through Bicycle Tourism," with support from the Nebraska Department of Transportation. Recognized by the International Finance Corporation for promoting sustainability in Central America, he and his team designed "Linda Vista," a social housing project that provided homes for 50 families living in extreme poverty in an informal settlement in Costa Rica. He also exhibited "Core House" in the New Attainable House Exhibition at the Nebraska History Museum.

He served as a Spanish interpreter for Clinic with a Heart in Lincoln and a member of the Ambassador's Council for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Named to the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, he also formerly served as a Community Fellow.

"Pedro brings a wealth of teaching and entrepreneurial experience to the classroom that will benefit our students as they learn the foundations of management and entrepreneurship. Pedro has been a dedicated and engaged instructor in the architecture program and he will undoubtedly add relevance and enthusiasm to the classroom in the College of Business. He is also committed to being a creative professor and I’m confident that he will be successful in preparing our undergraduates for their future careers," said Jake Messersmith, department chair and associate professor of management.

Nam Le, assistant professor of practice of finance, joins Nebraska Business after working at the University of Nebraska at Kearney as an assistant professor of finance since 2021. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Nebraska, a M.S. in Financial Risk Management from Colorado State University and is earning an M.S. in Analytics in the Machine Learning Track from Georgia Tech.

A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Le has industry experience in investment analytics and taught Investments, Portfolio Management, Fixed-Income Investment and Principles of Finance. In 2023, he served as the faculty advisor in the Nebraska CFA Research Challenge, bringing together UNK's first team to participate in the competition.

Le's research focus is corporate finance, including liquidity policies and innovation. He has published in the Journal of Banking & Finance and the International Journal of Managerial Finance. His recent paper, “Competition, Peer Firm Effects, and Cash Composition,” was published in the Journal of Banking & Finance in 2024. 

Named Beta Gamma Sigma's Outstanding Faculty Member at Kearney in 2022, he also served on the Faculty Development Committee for two years and received the UNL Parents' Recognition for Contributions to Students, now called the Friends and Family Award in 2020.

"Dr. Le holds both the CFA and CFP designations, and he will bring a wealth of teaching experience for our students interested in pursuing careers as financial analysts or financial planners. Nam will be teaching classes in both graduate and undergraduate programs. At the graduate level, Nam will teach our class in Quantitative Finance; at the undergraduate level he will teach introductory corporate finance along with our undergraduate capstone course. We are thrilled to have Nam join us as an assistant professor of finance," said Richard DeFusco, department chair and professor of finance.

Andrew Hanna, assistant professor of management, first joined the College of Business as an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Management in 2021. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Business in 2021 and a Master of Business Administration from Nebraska in 2016, as well as his undergraduate degree in 2009. He also earned a Harvard Business School Case Teaching Certificate in 2024 and became a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach in 2023. His teaching interests include organizational behavior and entrepreneurship, and he has taught a variety of courses in the areas of organizational behavior, human resource management, business strategy and entrepreneurship.

Hanna’s research interests include topics in the areas of informal leadership, teams, and research methodology, and his research has been published in outlets such as Journal of Management, Personnel Psychology, Group & Organization Management, and Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. His dedication to teaching also motivates his research in the management education space. Named a Seacrest Teaching Fellow at Nebraska in 2023, he is currently studying how student perceptions of AI as a tool in the classroom impact the learning experience.

Actively involved in the larger field of management, Hanna has aided the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA) with research methods education training through organizations like the Academy of Management and Southern Management Association. Due to his involvement, he was selected as the 2025 Research Methods and Innovative Teaching track chair. He and his colleagues recently won the 2024 Academy of Management’s Management Education Division’s Global Forum Best Symposium award, and Hanna received the College of Business Excellence in Teaching Award at Nebraska in 2023.

"We’re excited to transition Dr. Hanna from a primary teaching role as a professor of practice to a research role as an assistant professor. Andrew has kept an active research profile, despite teaching numerous classes each year. His knowledge as a methodologist will enhance our department’s toolkit and his work in organizational behavior will help to further develop our research profile. At the same time, Andrew will continue to bring his personality and commitment to the classroom," Messersmith said.

Matt Hughey, assistant professor of management, came to Nebraska Business after earning a Ph.D. in management and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Utah. A former firefighter and Air Force pilot, Hughey brings over 10 years of industry experience to his research and teaching.

His research interests include identity and identification, social evaluations and attributions (e.g., stigma and expertise), as well as burnout, wellbeing, and work-life boundaries. His most recent article, "Dirty Heroes? Healthcare Workers’ Experience of Mixed Social Evaluations During the Pandemic," explores the paradoxical stigmatization and valorization of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Published in the Academy of Management Journal in 2024, it was named a finalist for the 2024 Responsible Research in Management Award. His previous paper, "Boundary Work as a Buffer Against Burnout: Evidence from Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic," published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in 2021, illuminates the exacerbation of healthcare worker burnout during the pandemic. Both papers have been recognized by Responsible Research in Business and Management as research that exemplifies methodological rigor and societal impact. At present, Dr. Hughey is researching farmers and entrepreneurs to understand how these populations manage burnout and work-life boundaries in the presence of intense seasonal workloads.

"As a skilled qualitative researcher, Dr. Hughey adds a new capability to the department. His work on entrepreneurs and farmers will complement our existing research competencies and bring a new level of depth to our department. Matt is also an energetic instructor with an interesting and varied background. Our students will appreciate learning from his academic and professional experience," Messersmith said.