Featured Stories May 2021
Conversation with a CEO is set for June 3 and features Richard Kopelman, chief executive officer and managing partner at Aprio, a CPA-led advisory service. The event is free to the public, but registration is required. Kopelman has spent nearly three decades with the firm that has offices in 11 U.S. cities. For more information and to register, click here.
Twenty-five of the best and brightest under 25 years old at the Muma College of Business emerged from a field of more than 100 this year. They represent those with excellent grades, engagement with the communities inside and outside the university and leadership skills. To read more about some of the remarkable students who made the list, click here.
Renowned experts of artificial intelligence and machine learning will speak at the Florida Business Analytics Forum, hosted by the USF Muma College of Business this month. Health care will be a big focus this year, with speakers addressing the future of AI in medicine and ways of identifying racial bias and issues related to dyslexia. Read more.
Two University of South Florida students, including one enrolled in the Zimmerman Advertising Program, won scholarships at the annual Frank and Ellen Daveler Pitch Competition held on a virtual format last month. In all, 18 students from a dozen universities and colleges across the state earned $85,000 in scholarships. Read more.
The Women and Leadership Initiative’s Graduate Business Mentorship Forward Program has two focuses this year. The first is to help address the inequities that women of color face in overcoming workplace discrimination every day and the second is to equip students with the skills needed for career advancement. Read more.
Donna Davis, professor, former chair of the School of Marketing and Innovation and academic director of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability, retired this month to pursue a career in ... well, retirement. She is turning away from meetings, classes and email, (well maybe she will continue to read emails). Read more.
Delroy Hunter and Wolfgang Jank will head out of the country next year as recipients of Fulbright research awards. Hunter, a finance professor, will conduct research in Jamaica and Jank, who teaches management and data mining, will head to Austria. They are the latest to join a long list of USF business professors to earn Fulbright scholarships.
The USF Esports Virtual Camp, sponsored by the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program, takes place next month. The camp teaches gamers and parents to see beyond their controllers for game-play strategies and about careers in the esports industry. Campers as young as 8 are eligible. Gamers, read more. Interested parents, click here.
Alumnus Spotlight: Jonathan Ebberhart graduated in May 2020 with a degree in finance with a concentration in asset management. Since then, he has worked with J.P.Morgan Private Bank as a wealth management analyst creating personalized wealth plans for individuals, families, endowments and foundations. Read more.
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Sri Sundaram Reflects on his Time as Dean of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance

Sri Sundaram, the Tiedemann-Cotton Dean of the USF Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, has accepted a position as the dean of the College of Business and Economics at California State University Fullerton starting July 15. Here are excerpts from a letter Sundaram sent to faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters:

First, I want to offer my congratulations to all of our spring 2021 graduates who are receiving their bachelor’s degrees in finance, master’s degrees in finance and doctorates in finance. After a year of virtual graduations, our students this semester were able to attend their graduation in person at Tropicana Field and able to celebrate with their peers. Given the challenges they faced during this past year we are very proud of their accomplishments. On behalf of all the faculty and staff at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, I want to wish all our graduates the best in their future endeavors and their careers.  

It is with mixed emotions I write this ...

Over the past five years, we have achieved much success in raising the profile of the college/school in the region with the support of our faculty, staff, students, donors and the community. We successfully navigated USF consolidation working closely with Dean Moez Limayem and the USF/Muma College of Business leadership team. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to lead the college/school during the past half decade and thankful to my colleagues and the USF leadership team for their support and guidance.

Lastly, I am in debt to the St. Petersburg community, especially the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, which welcomed me as a partner to work on various initiatives that made our community a better place to live, work and play.  
Business Research Paves a Way to Improve the Quality of Life in Tampa

The city of Tampa is moving forward with a plan to improve the quality of life for its citizens by promoting inclusion, economic growth, poverty reduction and racial equality commitments and emphasizing educational opportunity.

The data and recommendations on how to go about achieving these goals came from a committee that was co-chaired by Moez Limayem, the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the USF Muma College of Business. The college’s faculty and graduate students played a big part in collecting, reviewing and interpreting the data on which the city will implement policies to move forward. Much of the data was based on insights developed by Shivendu Shivendu, a professor in the college’s School of Information Systems and Management, and a handful of graduate students who contributed to the annual State of the Region report issued by the Tampa Bay Partnership.

“I am thrilled to see how this data can be used,” Limayem said. “There is an old saying, ‘What gets measured gets done." Read more.
Sales Academy Kicks Off Summer with Sales Courses

The Muma College of Business Sales Academy begins offering classes this summer. Rob Hammond, the director of the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation, and Ed Hoeppner, a marketing instructor, each will teach two courses in July and August.

Students who complete a course will receive a digital certificate that is registered with the world’s largest digital credential network, Credly. Each course consists of four, three-hour sessions and will be delivered online.

"The Muma College of Business Sales Academy is an important element of the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation's mission to be an engine for economic development in the region," Hammond said. "The academy provides both individuals and companies proven content for enhancing sales skills.”

"Content used in these courses leverage today's most effective approaches for sales," Hoeppner said. "Sales is selling value. The courses we teach add value to the current selling process used by your organization."

For more information about the courses and to register, click here. Pricing is $1,500. Use the promo code “LAUNCH” for $500 off. For group sales, contact [email protected] 
Business Students earn the Golden Bull Award

Two exceptional Muma College of Business students, one of whom graduated this month, were honored with the Golden Bull Award, recognizing not only academic excellence, but also leadership qualities and meaningful engagement with the community both within USF and beyond. A third award recipient is a communications major who interned in the business college in 2019.

Mary Beth Williams, who graduated this month with a bachelor's degree in finance, and Jessica Senatus, who is studying for a bachelor's degree in business analytics and information systems, were both named to the prestigious 25 Under 25 list, too. Leda Alvim, who is currently is the editor-in-chief of The Oracle, interned for the Muma College of Business' communications office two years ago. Read more.
Faculty Spotlights
Alumni Careers
Sharon Segrest, professor of management and organizational behavior, was interviewed by WTVT about a recent survey that found one in four workers plans to switch jobs once the health crisis subsides. Read more.

Phil Trocchia, marketing professor, was recently featured in a Tampa Bay Times column discussing the future of malls. Read more.

Seckin Ozkul was interviewed by WFTS about reasons for current product shortages. Read more.
Kiyoung Chang, finance professor, is now president of the Korean American Finance Association.

Bei Dong and Ildiko Toth received the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy Advisory Council's Outstanding Teaching Award for the spring of 2021.

Loren Jarrett, marketing instructor, was named 2020 Educator of the Year by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the AMA.

Denny Yin, assistant IS professor, received the 2021 William A. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award from the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Debbie Sinclair, accounting professor, was elected president of the AAA Forensic Accounting Section.

Rick Kelso, marketing professor, was the recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award by USF.
Elizabeth Menendez (’84, Finance) was named vice president of finance for the Florida Certified Commercial Investment Member Chapter. She is a senior associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group – Commercial Division in Tampa.
Kristin Darby (’96, Accounting) has been elected to the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati. She is the chief information officer for Envision Health Care National Medical Group.

Alan M. West (’96, General Business Administration; ’05, Accounting) was appointed university assistant vice president and treasurer at the University of Florida.

Jason Bartz (‘02, Finance) was promoted to executive vice president of NDC Asset Management with offices in Pittsburgh and Bradenton. Bartz was previously a vice president of the firm.

Ryan Clausen (’17, Finance) has joined Englewood Bank & Trust in Englewood, Florida, as a commercial lender. He previously worked for Crews Banking in Sarasota.

Sophia Eden (’16, Accounting) joined St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce’s St. Pete Young Professionals 2021 Executive Board as leading chair. She works as a manager of global office administration and meetings with the Women’s Tennis Association in St. Petersburg.
In Other News ...
The QS World University Rankings recently placed the Muma College of Business online MBA program at No. 42 among public and private institutions in 10 nations. In the United States, the program ranked No. 18 and No. 11 among public universities.

The University of Texas Dallas recognized the Muma College of Business as a "big upward mover," climbing 13 positions to No. 86 on its list of Top 100 Business School Research Rankings. Read more.
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The 2021 Fast 56 nominations for Bull-led businesses are being accepted. Click here to view eligibility criteria. Click here to nominate a Bull business.
The Muma College of Business held its elevator pitch competition this year on a virtual format. Please congratulate our winners: Robert Camejo, first place; Paula Souto Stefani, second place; and Sean Schrader, third place. Read more.
Dates to Remember
Most in-person events have been canceled or postponed because of the threat of spreading COVID-19. The university will soon resume some in-person events. Here are some virtual events scheduled in the near future:

  • May 20-21, the Accounting Circle CPE Conference will take place in a virtual format. The line-up of presenters, including keynote speaker Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO of Deloitte US. The conference offers 12 CPE credits, subject to approval by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. For more information and to register, click here.

  • June 3, noon, Conversation with a CEO featuring Richard Kopelman, CEO and managing partner of Aprio, a nationally recognized CPA-led business advisory firm. The virtual event is free, but registration is required. To register, click here.

  • Sept. 9, noon, Conversation with a CEO, featuring Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco counties. The event is free, but registration is required. To register, click here.