Happy Holidays and Good-bye, 2021

As we bid farewell to another year, we've compiled highlights from an accomplished year in this 2021 Year in Review. It's also the time of year when college communicators get creative and release the annual holiday greetings video. Happy holidays from all of us at the USF Muma College of Business.

A study by Muma College of Business researchers shows USF's economic impact at $6.02 billion and details how the university is a catalyst for growth across Florida.

Congratulations to the USF Muma College of Business Fall 2021 graduates! We've compiled a highlight reel with memorable moments from the 125th Commencement.

Watch a slide show →

USF student Sam Hoo is helping the Tampa Bay Lightning boost its Student Rush ticket program. It's a way students can watch the Bolts up close at a discount.

USF Muma College of Business students Aishwarya Kulkarni and Raunak Ghosh took first place in the Amgen Strategy Competition.

Carlos Taguchi Godoi Bueno is a former high school tennis star from Brazil who dropped the grueling sport to pursue a career in finance and economics.

The USF Muma College of Business launched a mentoring program on the Sarasota-Manatee campus that matches business students with executives.

Seckin Ozkul, director of the Supply Chain Innovation Lab, was featured in a story on how some companies are charging consumers a supply chain fee.

Associate professor Faizan Ali was the keynote speaker to a delegation from Pakistan for the U.S. Dept. of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.

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The Bacchus on the Beach Food and Wine Event held Nov. 19 raised more than $10,000 to support School of Hospitality and Tourism Management students.

New Rankings Released

Rankings released by Fortune, The Princeton Review, and Entrepreneur place the part-time MBA program at No. 41 and the graduate entrepreneurship program at No. 19 in the country.

Business Students Named Daveler Fellows

Six USF students, including three from the Muma College of Business, won awards at the Frank & Ellen Daveler Entrepreneurship Program pitch competition.

Box showing Daveler Entrepreneurship program

Online MBA Hosts New Residency Program

Starting in January, the USF Muma College of Business's online MBA program will debut its newly designed residency program. The residency will strengthen the curriculum and its impact on students.

Alumni Spotlight: Lauren Henry

Lauren Henry and her sister Candice co-founded Aretios, a leadership consulting company. They have a leadership brand built on bravery and climbing mountains and are on a mission to simplify your life.

Student Spotlight: Meghana Nelluri

Meghana Nelluri had her pick of universities to attend, but she chose USF for its interdisciplinary studies. A 25 Under 25 honoree with the Muma College of Business, she is on track to graduate early with a job.

Student Managed Investment Funds Soar

The Student Managed Investment Fund reached a milestone when their combined total exceeded $1.5 million. The two funds give students experience managing stocks.

Case Publication Awards

Three Muma College of Business DBA students won awards at the ICMC International Case Management Conference. Jason Cherubini won the Bimtech Dr. G.D. Sardana Young Scholar Award for "Red Sky at Morning for Dawns Light Movies?" Matthew Grace won first place in The Case Centre Best Cases Award for "Crowdfunding When The Crowd Makes Demands." Vince Hafeli, took second place in The Case Centre Best Cases Award for "Front-Line Leadership in the Asphalt Industry."

Headshots of DBA publication award winners

From left to right, Jason Cherubini, Matthew Grace, and Vince Hafeli

Students Score Winning Pitches

Three USF Muma College of Business students won prizes in the 2021 USF St. Petersburg Open Mic Pitch Event held at the Kate Tiedemann College of Business and Finance on Nov. 13. Nina Sajdak won $1,000 for Ninaz Neekrz. Trevor Graves won $750 for The Daydreamers Adventure Club. Freeman Ulrich Talla Wouoto won $250 for SOLAccess.

Faculty Spotlights

Tony Kong, an associate professor in the School of Information Systems, joined St. Anthony's Hospital Board of Trustees.

Leo Chen, director of the Student Managed Investment Fund, was selected to the Financial Advisor IQ Leadership Council.

Irwin Jay Katz received the 2020 Journal of Legal Tax Research Best Paper Award for "Instilling Subpart F with Horizontal Equity." The award will be presented at the 2022 American Taxation Association Midyear Meeting in February.

Giti Javidi, professor in the School of Information Systems and Management, was chosen by the Sarasota-Manatee student body to receive the Fall 2021 Outstanding Professor Award.

Dahlia Robinson and Mike Sinclair received the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy Advisory Council Outstanding Teaching Award for Fall 2021.

View more faculty notes

Alumni Updates

Erin Potter Melnyk (’12, BA) co-founder of Underground Goods, was featured in District Fray Magazine’s trailblazer issue. Melnyk is a former Muma College of Business 25 under 25 honoree.

Ann (Wilkins) Duncan (‘87, BS, Finance) was promoted to chief strategy officer and chief diversity equity and inclusion officer at Savills North America.

Shilo Shalosky (‘10, BA) is the new assistant coach of women’s rugby at Queens University of Charlotte. Shalosky is also the program manager of Girls Rugby, Inc.

Randell Nairn (‘13, BS) is a former Muma College of Business 25 under 25 honoree and started a new position as a senior finance analyst at Honeywell.

Beatriz “Betty” Viamontes (’03, MBA) is the chief financial officer for Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research and was named a Tampa Bay Business Journal CFO of the Year honoree for 2021.

View more alumni notes

In Other News

Students in the Executive MBA program had a successful holiday toy drive. Many thanks to all who helped make a child's holiday brighter this year!

In other news, congrats go to Associate Dean Jackie Reck, who has been appointed to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Reck's five-year term runs through 2027.

Upcoming Calendar

December

• Dec. 20-31, Winter break, USF closed

January

• Jan. 10, spring classes begin

• Jan. 17, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, USF closed

• Jan. 21, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., the fifth annual State of the Region will be held in the University Student Center Ballroom on the USF St. Petersburg campus

4202 E. Fowler Avenue

Tampa, FL 33620

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