H. WAYNE HUIZENGA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Dear Friends and Fellow Sharks,

As we come close to the end of the Winter semester, I want to extend my thanks to our faculty, staff, alumni, students, and the business leaders who continuously contribute to our collective success. While much of 2025 still lies ahead, this moment offers us an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable achievements we've already accomplished. Notably, for the second consecutive year, HCBE has risen in the national rankings—a testament to the excellence and dedication that defines our institution.

HCBE Climbs Again in U.S. News Rankings and Princeton Review

From 44th to 42nd Nationally and from 9^th to 8th in the South for Graduate Entrepreneurship

Rise in the US News Rankings:

From 201^st to 190^th in Best Online Master’s in Business Programs

From 134^th to 122^nd in Best Online Master’s in Business Programs (excluding MBA) for our MACC and MS degree programs

Ricardo Russi has been e appointed as the Associa® Director of NSU’s James Donnelly Bachelor of Science in Property Management and Real Estate Program, which was funded by a $1 million gift from founder and CEO John Carona. Russi has over 31 years of experience in real estate, property management, and entrepreneurship.

Russi is a licensed real estate broker, real estate instructor, and community association manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in legal studies, master's degrees in business administration and personal financial planning, and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in business administration. Russi’s vision for the program is to expand its reputation as a leading destination for property management education, innovation, and research. He is committed to student success by incorporating professional certification education in the curricula, encouraging industry innovation, and providing students with the essential resources to shape the future of the field.

NSU Palm Beach 1-Year MBA Attracts Municipality and Nextera Energy Students

Attracting professionals from every discipline like Human Resources, accounting, and engineering, the One Year M.B.A. Program is designed for highly motivated professionals. This fast-track program is designed to be completed in only 11 months. Courses will focus on core business principles, covering topics such as accounting, project management, entrepreneurship and more. Students learn from Fortune 500 business executives and other industry leaders, who can provide insights and leadership while students do hands-on work on real-world projects. Our curriculum will prepare students for today’s and tomorrow’s marketplace, so they’ll be ready to handle a variety of business challenges.

Expanding our Work in Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality with The Glimpse Group

The Glimpse Group, Inc, a diversified Immersive Technology platform company providing enterprise-focused Extended Reality and Spatial Computing software and services, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary company – Foretell Reality – entered into a six-figure development and commercialization partnership extension with Nova Southeastern University to collaboratively develop a simulation and assessment platform that enables learners to practice various professional skills through conversation and interaction with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered characters in immersive settings leveraging Virtual Reality and AI technologies.

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Distinguished Lecture Series

Successful entrepreneurs and business leaders have a lot to share about our complex business world. The series provides students, faculty, and interested members of the business community with the opportunity to get a glimpse into the minds of our distinguished lecturers and an opportunity to ask questions with well-respected business professionals.

"Live Passionately, Learn Enthusiastically, Succeed Humbly & Give Generously”

Don Campion's lecture to students to use what they love to make an impact.

"Attitude and Action: A Strategic Approach to Business Success"

Mario Murgado met with students to talk about the importance of attitude, perseverance, and unbreakable conviction.

Leadership Across Generations

The Intersection of Psychology and Leadership

NSU Alvin Sherman Library - Cotilla Gallery for an insightful panel discussion on evolving leadership styles across generations. Film Commissioner Sandy Lighterman was a featured panelist alongside other powerhouse women in business as they explored how generational differences influence management, communication, and innovation in the workplace.

Entrepreneurs Among Us - They Embrace Uncertainty and Pioneer Our Future

How did they do it? What were their biggest learnings? And what were the critical success factors? Keith Koenig, Lucas Mardis, Bob Venero, and Angelica and Alexandra Zadak discussed navigating leadership amidst uncertainty. It explored how leaders can remain compassionate and effective when faced with unpredictable challenges and volatile environments. Audience had a chance to interact with the panel and learned a framework for embracing uncertainty while successfully implementing new ideas.

Leadership Values and Societal Civility

Author Bob DeKoch and Dr. George Hanbury explored the connection of leadership values and civility in our organizations and our society. Hanbury and DeKoch discussed how leaders follow core values such as integrity, honesty, and trust to guide their actions and decisions. Attendees learned about the importance of creating ethical and civil organizational cultures that inspire trust and loyalty - even in the face of adversity.

Seed Grant Proposals Funded

Thank you to the RSC (Suri Weisfeld-Spolter, Tim Page, Adam Williams, Rebecca Abraham, Tais Barreto, Yuliya Yurova, and Renu Desai) for their hard work in reviewing and selecting these top proposals.

Can Artificial Intelligence Assist in Minimizing Auditor Going Concern Opinion Errors?

Jiao Li, Joung Kim and Vik Desai

Leveraging AI in External Auditors' Evaluations of The Internal Audit Function

Julia Davidyan and Vik Desai

Chit-ChatGPT: The Use of Discourse by Organizations in Evolving and Emerging Industries

Katelynn Sell and Etka Topaloglu

Management in Healthcare: Understanding the usage of AI to optimize maternal health equity in urban and/or low resource settings

Will Hawks and

Jayson Forbes (NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine)

The Impact of AI-Powered Government Innovations on Public Trust and Budget Support

Kuang-king Tai and Ivan P. Lee (Arizona State)

Leveraging the Power of Julius.AI to Examine the Nature and Consequences of SCA Litigations and Design AI-Assisted Data Analyses Assignments for Our Classrooms

Kershen Huang

Does Artificial Intelligence Impact Trust in Robo-Financial-Advisors?

Daniel Benjamin, Florence Neymotin, and Young Baek

RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Chair - Accounting and Taxation/Professor Linda Kidwell, Ph.D., and colleagues published, "Why Families and Their Firms Behave Badly," with over 250k readers.

Professor of Finance Pankaj Maskara, Ph.D. coauthored "Health-related non-financial costs of financial debt on Asian Americans: Evidence from Consumer Finance Monthly survey", published in Review of Behavioral Economics.

Soon to be published book, The Ethics and Philosophy of Taxation, will include a chapter written by Adjunct Professor Wm. Dennis Huber, "Wealth, Wealth Tax, and Wealth-y Tax,"

Chair - Finance /Associate Professor Albert Williams, first author of "Is Credit Card Usage for Entertainment Related to Demographic, Psychological, and Financial Characteristics of Credit Card Owners?" also contributed to "Amazon is about to pass Walmart in revenue for the first time ever." Dr. Williams has also been the go-to academic to provide insights on the impact of tariffs: The Morning Show| April 2, 2025; CBS News (two sessions); NBC News; and Dollar General Warns on QZ.com

Chair/Associate Professor of Marketing Fabienne Cadet-Laborde Ph.D. and Professor of Marketing Selima Mrad Ph.D. et al recently published "Overcoming obstacles: the future of French Gen-Z in the metaverse. Does familiarity with current metaverse platforms paly a key role?" in the Journal of Marketing Analytics.

Associate Professor of Management Tais Barreto Ph.D. and Professor of Management Randi Sims Ph.D. have been accepted to present "Economic Strain and Cultural Cognition: A Cross-Country Examination of Employee Engagement," at the 85th annual meeting of the Academy of Management taking place July 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Last year, Associate Professor of Public Administration Pallavi Awasthi Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences & Public Administration Kuang-Ting Tai Ph.D. were awarded the prestigious IBM Center for the Business of Government grant in which IBM applies "scholarship to real world issues and decisions for government." This should have been announced in 2024. Congratulations to Pallavi and Quang-Ting.

Professor of Finance Rebecca Abraham, D.B.A, has had several publications recently in collaboration with other collogues. "The impact of board of directors' characteristics on the financial performance of the banking sector in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: The moderation role of bank size", Journal of Risk and Financial Management. Green employee engagement as a mediator of high-performance work practices, virtues, leadership, and job performance. Journal of Academy of Business and Economics. The impact of audit oversight on price ratios, stock returns, and institutional ownership, International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting. Mathematical models for a carbon emission responsible retailer, Journal of Academy of Business and Economics. Green awareness as a predictor of green finance? What are their roles in predicting environmental sustainability? Journal of International Finance and Economics. A mathematical formulation of the valuation of options on real estate, Theoretical Economics Letters, Harzings. Dr. Abraham also has a book under contract with Palgrave MacMillan, Green HR in Developing Countries: Organizational Perspectives in Sri Lanka.

Along with collogues, Dr. Abraham will also present "The impact of internet infrastructure and financial inclusion on economic growth," on July 31st at the annual meeting of Multinational Finance Society, Crete, Greece.

Professor/Chair of Decision Sciences Kimberly Deranek Ph.D. paper "Tooth Preparation Assessment Criteria for All-Ceramic CAD/AM Posterior Crowns: An Evidence Map" is making an impact on dental professionals.

Professor of Finance Florence Neymotin Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Management William Hawks Ed.D will present "Foster Care in Florida: Latest Research and Crucial Implications for Minimizing Disruption" at the Daniel Memorial Foster Care Conference this May in Tampa, FL

Associate Professor of Management Tais Barreto Ph.D. with Faculty Member Dario Bonaretti Ph.D. have been accepted to present "Using Semantic Similarity to Approximate Items Loadings and Cross-Loadings in Scale Validation," at the 85th annual meeting of the Academy of Management taking place July 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Later in the summer, they will also present "Using Synthetic Responders for Scale Development in Information Systems," at the 33rd European Conference on Information Systems in Amman, Jordan.

Cherilyn G. Murer, CEO of Murer Group, Named Chair of Business Board of Governors at NSU

Cherilyn G. Murer, J.D., CRA, founder, president, and chief executive officer of the Murer Group, as the new chair of the college’s Board of Governors. “Cherilyn’s understanding of the regulatory, strategic, and financial issues facing health care and higher education will serve the college and its students well during these transformational times,” said Dean Andrew Rosman. “I look forward to working with her, and I would like to thank outgoing Chair Paul Sallarulo for his strong leadership and meaningful contributions to the success of our students and community.

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Student-Managed Investment Fund

At NSU, students aren’t just learning about investing—they’re doing it. Led by Dr. Antonio Figueiredo, the Student-Managed Investment Fund gives students real-world experience managing a live investment fund.

Launched in 2023 with a $100,000 seed investment from NSU, the fund had grown to over $130,000 by end of 2024. While it trailed the S&P 500 in 2024, it still produced a double-digit return and during the tumultuous first quarter of 2025 for U.S. stocks, it has outperformed the index. In support of the fund, The Jerry Taylor and Nancy Bryant Trading Floor opened in 2024 thanks to a donation from the husband-wife philanthropists. Dr. Figueiredo has an ambitious vision for the fund: scaling it to over $1 million.

Open to undergraduate and graduate students, the program is open to all non-business majors as well. The program operates as a high-level experiential learning opportunity. Weekly meetings, held on The Trading Floor, include discussions about current stock market and economic events, company and sector news, and potential new investment ideas. Their proposals face a final test before the fund’s elite Advisory Board—industry leaders like Barbara Landry of BXT Corporation and Adam Taback of Wells Fargo—who give the final approval.

Beyond bragging rights on the financial success of the fund, students gain invaluable experience presenting to professionals, refining their financial skills, and building career-changing connections. More than an extracurricular, this program is shaping the next generation of investment leaders.