Manning News, Commencement Coverage, and more!

7.19.24

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Dear Manning School of Business community,

I hope everyone is enjoying this very HOT summer season. Whether you are traveling, spending time with loved ones, or simply enjoying a well-deserved break, I hope you find moments of joy. Summer is the best time to rest, reflect, and recharge so we can all start the fall with renewed energy and inspiration for the new year ahead.

In this edition of our newsletter, I would like to highlight a few worthy accomplishments within the Manning Business School. I'm thrilled to announce that we have successfully achieved re-accreditation with the American Association of College Schools of Business (AACSB). This significant milestone is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and excellence of our entire community. It underscores our commitment to providing top-tier education and maintaining the highest standards of academic and professional excellence. Thus, reaffirming our commitment to continuous improvement. (Manning School of Business Extends AACSB Accreditation).

I would also like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the graduating Class of 2024. Your resilience, determination, and achievements over the past few years have been nothing short of inspiring. As you embark on your new journeys, whether in further education, entering the workforce, or entrepreneurial ventures, remember that you are now and always will be a valued part of our business school family. We look forward to seeing the incredible impact you will undoubtedly make in the world.

In addition to celebrating our students, I want to honor the exceptional contributions of our faculty and staff. The end-of-the-year awards recognize those who have gone above and beyond in their roles demonstrating staff excellence, and outstanding commitment to teaching, research, and service. Additionally, we celebrate student service, innovation, external engagement, and collegiality.

I also want to recognize our own Lorna Boucher '86, Chair of the Manning School of Business Advisory Board, for receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University.

Congratulations to all award recipients; your dedication is the backbone of the Manning School's success. You inspire us all.

2024 Department Teaching Excellence Awards: Cody Lu (Accounting), Hieu Phan (Finance), Jose Mauricio Geleilate (Management), Ying Huang (Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation), and Wen Zhu (Operations & Information Systems)

2024 Research Excellence Awards: Khondkar Karim (Accounting), Hieu Phan (Finance), Jose Mauricio Geleilate (Management), Berk Talay (Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation), and JM Song (Operations & Information Systems)

2024 Dean's Faculty Awards: Collegiality: Tamara Montag-Smit (Management), Innovation: Chi Zhang (Finance), and External Engagement: Denise Dunlap (Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation)

2024 Staff Excellence Awards: Patty Donald (Senior Assistant to the Dean), Mary Lou Kelly (Business Manager), Susanne Ferrara (Department Assistant, Finance and Management), and Becky Lawrence (Department Assistant, Accounting and Operations & Information Systems)

2024 Excellence Serving Students Award: Jessica Busiek (Student Activities Coordinator)

I invite you to join me in celebrating these and the many newsworthy achievements you will read in this newsletter. Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our business school. Together, we have accomplished great things, and I am excited to see what the future holds for our vibrant community. Go River Hawks!

Warm regards,

Bertie M. Greer

Dean, Manning School of Business

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2024!

On May 10 and 11, the University of Massachusetts Lowell celebrated Commencement 2024, including over 600 undergraduate and 550 graduate students from the Manning School of Business.

Lorna Boucher '86, Chair of the Manning School of Business Advisory Board, received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the university. Lorna has made a lasting impact on UMass Lowell in many ways, including the establishment of the Lorna Boucher ’86 Endowed Scholarship for women business majors.

Lorna Boucher '86

Chair, Manning Advisory Board

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Imperative Execution

Manning Graduates Honored with University Awards

Congratulations to the following Manning School of Business undergraduate students who were recognized with university-wide awards at the 2024 Commencement exercises:

Chancellor’s Medal for Community Service

Awarded to university students who have made significant contributions to the public good (volunteer efforts which benefit the Greater Lowell Community, other communities, or other organizations).

Sarah Curley

Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Academic Achievement

Presented to students who have attained the highest cumulative average for baccalaureate study.

Agrata Jignesh Patel

Annika Lauren Williams

Dennis James Sykes

Jennifer Elizabeth Lerman

Thuy Nha Uyen Mai

Timothy Xuan Nguyen

Valeriia Chaika

Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service

Recognizes students who have made outstanding contributions to the university (clubs and organizations, campus programs, leadership position, or other activities that improve the quality of life for students at UMass Lowell).

Andrew Whitcomb

Medhanit Woldemichael

Trustees Keys - the highest recognition accorded to baccalaureate graduates. Awarded to students who have completed all four years of baccalaureate study at the University with academic records of 4.0.

Valeriia Chaika

Timothy Xuan Nguyen

Agrata Jignesh Patel

University Scholar-Athlete Award - this award recognizes the graduating varsity athlete with the highest cumulative average. The 2024 recipient of the University Scholar-Athlete Award is Manning School of Business student Loucas Costeas (men’s soccer). Loucas graduated with a 3.983 cumulative GPA with concentrations in Finance & Entrepreneurship.

Undergraduate Departmental Awards

In addition to university honors, college departments also recognize graduating students for outstanding achievement in their areas of concentration:

Accounting

Sarah Curley

Isabelle Giles

Timothy Xuan Nguyen

Jessica Lynn Stevens

Sophia Minhthuy Tran

Analytics & Operations Management

Thuy Nha Uyen Mai

Kevin James Siefken

Mansi Ashwin Thakkar

Business Administration - General

Shaunna Mary Peters

Natalie Zeltser

Entrepreneurship

Loucas Paul Costeas

Jennifer Elizabeth Lerman

Finance

Loucas Paul Costeas

Mark Francisco

Cameron Vincent Keiley

Timothy Xuan Nguyen

Kevin James Siefken

Mansi Ashwin Thakkar

Nicole Renee Wilson

International Business

Valeriia Chaika

Management

Jean-Francois Lamarche

Agrata Jignesh Patel

Nancy Channda Sok

Dennis James Sykes

Nicole Renee Wilson

Management Information Systems

Thuy Nha Uyen Mai

Usama Khalid Mirza

Marketing

Valeriia Chaika

Agrata Jignesh Patel

Annika Lauren Williams

Hooding Ceremony Celebrates Graduate Students

More than 300 guests (including graduates, their supporters, faculty and staff) attended this year's graduate hooding ceremony, which took place on May 9 at University Crossing. Manning School of Business alumna Nandana Penukonda '16, '19, a business systems analyst at MFS Investment Management in Boston, was the keynote speaker at the event (From Siloed to Success: MBA Alumna Inspires Grads at Hooding Ceremony, 5/20/24).

The graduate hooding ceremony is an annual tradition at the Manning School of Business to recognize and celebrate students who have completed advanced degrees. Of the approximately 150 students who attended this year, 68 were MBA students from the Manning School’s Abitus partnership in Japan, who traveled to campus to take part in the hooding ceremony and Commencement.

The following graduate students were the recipients of Outstanding Student Awards for their respective graduate programs:

Master of Business Administration

Bilal Chaudhry

Rahul Das

James DiMaio

Joshua Ryan Farrand

Phyo Htet Hein

Raphael Itah

Jae Chul Kim

Christopher Lyons

Timothy McCann

Luis Angel Mejias

Alexander Michals

Lynne Marie O'Mara

Riti Piyush Patel

Saomenea Phorn

Carson Magwire Tully

Benjamin Ethan Tunick

Master of Business Administration, Abitus

Shozo Fukuda

Risako Hagio

Michio Kanno

Taiki Kida

Yohei Nakamichi

Yusuke Terao

Master of Science in Accounting

Jessica Caredeo

Weijie Zhang

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Harshit Chandrol

Sakshi Jeena

Master of Science in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Lisa King-Schiappa

Master of Science in Finance

Matthew Capel

Ashley Lloyd

Gordon Freeman

Three 2024 Ph.D. students were recognized at the hooding ceremony for completing the Manning doctoral program:

Holly Lalos (Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership and Organization Studies). Holly was the Director of the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute at UMass Lowell for the last 12 years, and plans to focus on publishing her dissertation this summer and transition into a teaching-focused career.

Yiping Li (Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing). Yiping will join Indiana University-Kokomo as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Marketing in Fall 2024.

Cuibing Wu (Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems). After defending his dissertation this summer, Cuibing will join Framingham State University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Business and Information Technology for Fall 2024.

MANNING NEWS

Rist Families Endowed Scholarship Fund Luncheon

In April, Manning School of Business students gathered at Alumni Hall to express their gratitude to the Rist family, benefactors of the Rist Families Endowed Scholarship Fund. Established with a generous $3 million gift in 2022, the fund has supported seventy-eight undergraduate and graduate students. During a luncheon hosted by Brian Rist '77, his wife Kim Rist, and sister Diane Rist, students had the opportunity to personally thank the Rists and share their stories of how the scholarships have positively impacted their lives. ('It Took a Weight Off My Shoulders' - Business Students Grateful for Rist Families Endowed Scholarship Fund Support, 4/11/24)

Brian Rist '77 (center) and Kim Rist (right) talk with one of the Rist Families Endowed Scholarship recipients.

Accounting Scholarship Awards - MassCPAs

Six Manning School of Business accounting students were recipients of this year's MassCPAs scholarship awards. Each scholarship winner demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, leadership qualities, and a drive to make a positive impact on the accounting profession. A reception for all scholarship winners was held in Boston, with Dean Bertie Greer and Accounting faculty Khondkar Karim, Laura Christianson, and Annie Li in attendance to celebrate our students. Congratulations to scholarship recipients Sarah Curley, Lily Hammar, Makayla Hoffman, Litzi Loja, Benjamin Packard, and Gavin Robillard.

Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society

Adjunct faculty John (Jack) McAvoy (Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation) received the 2024 Haskell Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching from UMass Lowell. The award honors faculty members whose online instruction helps to create significant opportunities for UMass Lowell students. Haskell Award winners are nominated each year by students taking courses through the Division of Graduate, Online & Professional Studies. The award was announced at the 2024 Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society induction event.

This year, the UMass Chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda welcomed many online students from the Manning School of Business. The GPA range for students inducted was between 3.835 and 4.00. Congratulations to the following Manning inductees:

Megan Beatty

Melissa Carmine

Caroline Chakar

Joy Ficke

Christopher Forsythe

Shujuan Huang

Kalib Laughran

Lorraine Martinez

Scott O'Connell

Sarah Pedersen

Steve Rada

Joshua Robinson

Kelly Say

Feeroj Shams

Nancy Sok

Erick Vlassidis

Career Milestone for Adjunct Professor Michelle Veilleux

Michelle Veilleux

Adjunct Professor, Management and Director of Legal Studies, College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Michelle Veilleux, J.D., Director of Legal Studies at the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and adjunct professor in Management (Business Law), was sworn into the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. Michelle is planning a "Seminar in the Law" course this fall that will examine cases on the docket in future Supreme Court sessions, with plans to travel to DC with students so that they may witness oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FROM THE MANNING COMMUNITY

Manning Faculty Publications

First Quarter 2024 (January-March)

Accounting

Autore, D., Chen, Huimin (Amy), Clarke, N., & Lin, J. (2024). Blockchain and earnings management: Evidence from the supply chain. The British Accounting Review.

Chen, Huimin (Amy), Francis, B. B., Shen, Y. V., & Wu, Q. (2024). The impact of hedge fund activism on audit pricing. The British Accounting Review, 56(2).

Choi, H., Gan, Huiqi & Suh, SangHyun (2024). Managerial overconfidence and classification shifting. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 43, January–February.

Management

Witt, A., Khalik, M., & Godinez, Jose. (2024). The internationalization of hidden champions from Germany and the UK: An extension to the Born-Again Global path. Journal of International Management, 30(2).

Humberd, Beth & Latham, Scott. “How to Delegate More Effectively: Four Approaches.” MIT Sloan Management Review. Online, February 29, 2024.

Yoon, H., Tashman, Peter, Benischke, M. H., Doh, J., & Kim, N. (2024). Climate impact, institutional context, and national climate change adaptation IP protection rates. Journal of Business Venturing, 39(1), (FT50).

Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Howard-Wilson, S., Wang, Z., Orwig, T., Dunlap, Denise, Hafer, N., Buchholz, B.O., Sutaria, S., McManus, D.D., & Lilly, C. (2024). Point-of-Care Testing Preferences 2020-2022: Trends Over the Years. Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal.

Orwig, T., Sutaria, S., Wang, Z., Howard-Wilson, S., Dunlap, Denise, Lilly, C., Buchholz, B.O., McManus, D.D., & Hafer, N. (2024). Sampling of Healthcare Professionals’ Perspective on Point-of-Care Technologies from 2019-2021: a survey of benefits, concerns, and development. PLOS ONE.

Sun, Sunny Li, & Jia, P. (2024). Scaling Social Ventures under Institutional Fragility. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1–28.

Chen, X., Yang, Yi, & Wei, J. (2024). How do New Ventures Thrive in Ecosystem Venturing: The Impacts of Alliance Strategy and Technology Interdependence. Journal of Management Studies (FT 50).

Operations & Information Systems

Liu, X. & Li, Xiao-Bai (Bob) (2024). Cost-Effective Acquisition of First-Party Data for Business Analytics. INFORMS Journal on Computing (UTD 24).

Nasir, M., Summerfield, Nichalin, Carreiro, S., Berlowitz, D., Oztekin, Asil (2024). A machine learning approach for diagnostic and prognostic predictions, key risk factors and interactions. Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology.

Ahmed, A., Deokar, Amit., Lee, H., & Summerfield, Nichalin. (2024). The role of commitment in online reputation systems: An empirical study of express delivery promise in an e-commerce platform. Decision Support Systems, 176, 114061.

Michael Obal Recipient of Innovation Research Exchange Best Paper Award

Dr. Michael Obal

Associate Professor

Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Dr. Michael Obal and the co-authors of “Is ‘Cutting-Edge’ Good? Assessing Product Newness Factors in Technologically Turbulent Environments,” were awarded the Innovation Research Interchange’s 2023 Maurice Holland Award. This annual award recognizes papers which exemplify a commitment to significant work in research and development and innovation management.

Dr. Obal was also recently named to the editorial review board of the Journal of Business Research (JBR) and the board of editors at Research-Technology Management (RTM), and served as a judge for the Innovation Research Interchange's (IRI) Innovation Excellence Awards held in Boston this past May.

Sunny Li Sun Recipient of Best Reviewer Award from IBR

Dr. Sunny Li Sun

Associate Professor

Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Dr. Sunny Li Sun, Associate Professor in the Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation department, received a 2023 Best Reviewer Award from the International Business Review (IBR), the official journal of the European International Business Academy. The award recognized Dr. Sun for providing multiple constructive, insightful, and timely reviews for IBR.