Reaching Higher - Fall 2020

Binghamton

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Reaching Higher U N I V E R S I T Y

M AG A Z I N E

FALL 2020

Creating a network of support

WOMENIN

BUSINESS

COVID-19 School of Management reacts to pandemic

Star players Students succeed outside the classroom

Be yourself Alumnus doubles down on passions

| FROM THE DEAN

|

Working together to move forward

I

t’s not an exaggeration to say that 2020 has been a challenging year. As we are

confronted by a global pandemic and the realities of systemic inequalities,

we, like so many, have used this time to listen, to learn, and to be responsive

and adaptive.

We started this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Binghamton Univer-

sity School of Management. As we reflected on our past, we planned for our future, developing initiatives that both reflect the business and technology needs of the new economy and promote accessibility and inclusiveness.

The pandemic has accelerated our timeline. The need for diverse, innovative educational experiences is even greater than it was before, and I’m optimistic about the changes that are underway. As the post-COVID world begins to take shape, our students and alumni will be building the foundation of a new normal. I trust that they will construct something better than what came before.

This edition of Reaching Higher highlights a number of women from our commu-

nity who have become leaders, both on campus and in industry. We have learned so much from them, and we hope you find inspiration in their stories. They and so many others are helping us reach our vision of becoming an elite public business school. We will only get there by working together.

I saw this firsthand as our community came together to help our students during the spring shutdown. I take great pride in this collaboration and have confidence that we will continue to help one another on the road ahead.

On behalf of the School of Management, may you, your family and loved ones stay safe and healthy.

Warm regards,

Upinder Dhillon

JONATHAN COHEN

Dean and Koffman Scholar

REACHING HIGHER

Contents

Volume 11 FALL 2020

“As the post-COVID world begins to take shape, our students and alumni will be building the foundation of a new normal.”

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— Upinder Dhillon

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT DEAN

Upinder Dhillon ASSOCIATE DEANS

George Bobinski Shelley Dionne, MBA ’94, PhD ’98

REACHING HIGHER MAGAZINE EDITOR

Allen Wengert ART DIRECTOR

David Skyrca ’85 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jonathan Cohen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Michal Katz ’87 Chris Kocher Jennifer Micale Steve Seepersaud

2 SOM News 4 Unprecedented

8 Resiliency required

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES

Gerald Hovancik Jr.

Michal Katz ’87 shares words of wisdom with the Class of 2020

9 Familiar face

Dina Layish looks back on SOM memories

10 Slam dunk

Kai Moon ’20 becomes a leader on the court and in class

14 An environment of success

SOM organization creates network of support for women

16 Opening up

VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Greg Delviscio

SOM reacts to the COVID-19 pandemic

Alumnus develops self-confidence to overcome challenges

20 “Data is like a puzzle”

Stephanie Giammarco ’94 on the bridge between business and tech

COPY EDITORS

Eric Coker Katie Ellis Lori Fuller On the cover: SOM seniors Lillian Marks and Tatiana Rivera help lead the Binghamton Women in Business Club.

22 What’s next?

Faculty predictions on what the new normal will look like

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“The flexible nature of the program allows students to earn their degree without pausing their career.”

SOM launches Executive MBA program in NYC

— George Bobinski

The Executive MBA (EMBA) program, beginning in fall 2021, will allow students to continue working full time while earning an MBA in only 15 months.

The program’s courses will be taught in a hybrid structure, utilizing a combination of in-person and online class sessions. Class sessions will be held on Saturdays, and students will only need to attend in-person class sessions in NYC once a month, on average.

2020 SOM FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS Three SOM faculty members were honored for their teaching and research accomplishments for the 2019-20 academic year. A reception is planned to celebrate their achievements in the spring.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING: Daniel McKeever, assistant professor

AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE: Scott Bentley, assistant professor

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING, ADJUNCT: Cynthia Schroeder, adjunct lecturer

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“The flexible nature of the program allows students to earn their degree without pausing their career,” SOM Associate Dean George Bobinski says. “And because students only meet in New York City once a month, we encourage students from outside the area to consider the program as well.”

The program costs roughly half that of comparable New York City programs (on average), and takes much less time to complete.

“As a public business school, we are focused on accessibility,” Bobinski says. “We want to make sure we’re helping motivated and hard-working students earn a top-notch education without breaking the bank.”

In addition to the savings, students will be able to customize their curriculum with a variety of electives, and will be assigned career coaches to help craft a roadmap to success. Students are expected to have at least five years of work experience, meaning the cohort will be made up of professionals from a wide range of industries.

“Students will relate the curriculum to their experiences, leading to invaluable open discussions and idea sharing,” Bobinski says. “We’re excited to bring motivated students together to create an environment where they can learn not only from our faculty, but also from one another.”

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? Visit go.binghamton.edu/emba or contact Dina C. Skeffrey at skeffrey@binghamton.edu.

ISTOCK

B

uilding on the success of its previous MBA programs in the New York City region, the School of Management is launching a new MBA program designed for seasoned professionals.

| SOM NEWS |

Master of Science in Data Analytics program begins After years of planning, Binghamton University’s new Master of Science in Data Analytics launched with the start of the new school year.

The new graduate degree program is the result of a collaboration between the School of Management, Harpur College of Arts and Sciences and the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science.

“The best approach to data is a cross-disciplinary approach,” says Manoj Agarwal, program director and professor of marketing. “Students are working with the best data faculty from across the University. We’re knocking down the silos between fields.”

The 30-credit program takes 10 months to complete, and qualifies as a STEM program due to the highly quantitative nature of the curriculum.

Students will have the opportunity to work on team-based projects in collaboration with real-world organizations in practicum courses.

“The hands-on approach allows students to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-life scenarios,” Agarwal says. “We want to set students up with the skills needed to be successful in this growing field.”

Alexander Lai ’20

Erik Zhao ’20

SOM students win national case competition Continuing the School of Management’s reputation of success on the national stage, two SOM students won the 11th Annual Media Scholars Case Competition.

Alexander Lai and Erik Zhao (named Team Bearcat Consulting) took home the title in June after presenting their media plan in the final round of the competition. Originally scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., Lai and Zhao presented their plan virtually due to the global pandemic.

Both Lai and Zhao received $5,000 in scholarships as part of their winnings and were able to network with leaders from major media and public affairs firms.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? Visit binghamton.edu/data-analytics or contact Manoj Agarwal at msda@binghamton.edu.

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 2020 STUDENT SPEAKER While spring festivities did not happen as originally planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karan “Ron” Kataria ’20 was selected to be the student speaker at the 2020 School of Management Commencement ceremony.

Kataria, from East Meadow, N.Y., graduated with a degree in accounting, with concentrations in finance and management information systems. He was heavily involved in Alpha Kappa Psi, was a mentor for transfer students, and worked with Lazarus Rising to help homeless people prepare for the job hunt with résumé reviews and interview practices.

Karan “Ron” Kataria ’20

Organizers hope Kataria will have an opportunity to give his speech as they develop plans to celebrate the Class of 2020, in person, at a later date. In the meantime, a digital version of the Commencement program was produced, including the text of his speech. It can be found at binghamton.edu/commencement.

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COVID-19

Thinking outside the box The School of Management reacts to COVID-19 pandemic

By Allen Wengert

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JONATHAN COHEN

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lex Reksten ’20 realized during an early-March phone call that her senior year at Binghamton University was not going to end the way she originally anticipated.

The president of the School of Management’s PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Scholars, she was discussing what to do about the group’s upcoming spring events with fellow members and firm relationship partners.

“I started that call looking at a completely packed calendar on my wall and by the end, nearly all of my obligations through May were crossed off,” says the business administration major. “I was devastated.”

It was the moment that the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic was about to cause became fully real to her. She wasn’t alone in beginning to prepare for the worst.

“By mid-February, I was pretty certain it was going to impact us in a major way,” says School of Management (SOM) Dean Upinder Dhillon.

“It was just a matter of when.”

“No matter how difficult it was for faculty, it was so much more difficult for students.”

— Subimal Chatterjee

The School of Management student lounge, typically one of the busiest areas in Academic A, is completely empty after classes went virtual in March.

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COVID-19

By the time the University officially announced on March 16 that in-person classes were over, SOM was ready to go virtual.

“We went into action pretty fast,” says Shelley Dionne, associate dean of SOM. “Once we got a handle on the top concerns of our faculty and students, the rest started to fall into place.”

With many instructors concerned about course continuance in light of a medical emergency, a “buddy system” was created. Each course had a backup instructor ready to step in at a moment’s notice.

Dionne says faculty were also sharing advice on what was and wasn’t working in the virtual teaching space.

Subimal Chatterjee, SUNY distinguished “This was new territory for most of us, but teaching professor of marketing, teaches seeing everyone work together made me feel very an online class from his office in April. comfortable as we transitioned into the virtual portion of the spring semester,” she says. “I’m so proud of the teamwork our school showed.”

While Subimal Chatterjee, SUNY distinguished laptop to take classes on or a home environment teaching professor of marketing, had taught asynthat’s suitable for learning.” chronous online courses before, he admits that the Reksten says it was the faculty’s understanding sudden virtual transition took some getting used to. of student struggles that helped make the spring “One day, there were 40 students sitting in front semester much better than it could’ve been. of me in a classroom. And just a couple of days “We no longer sat with our friends in class, later, I’m looking at a computer screen with 40 studied in the library, played intramural sports or Zoom boxes that now represent these students,” went to the gym. We lost a lot of things,” she says. says Chatterjee. “It was an adjustment.”

“They were incredibly understanding of this, and But after a few classes, Chatterjee began seeing for that, I am grateful.” advantages.

“With everyone’s name on the screen, I was able to easily ask targeted discussion questions directly to individuals,” he says. “Students who once stayed — Upinder Dhillon With in-person events now canceled, the quiet in class were now asking questions within SOM Career Services office got to work making the chat feature in Zoom, meaning there was a new sure students still had access to professional level of comfort that enabled them to participate in development opportunities. the discussion.”

“Students often swing by our office in between Chatterjee says the feedback he was getting from classes. Those impromptu visits have been his students was eye-opening. important for us to make sure students know how “No matter how difficult it was for faculty, it we can help,” says Olivia Pasquale ’12, MPA ’17, was so much more difficult for students,” he says. director of internal operations. “We wanted to “It was sobering to realize that not everyone had provide that same level of accessibility.” access to a high-speed internet connection or a With everything from employer visits to

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JONATHAN COHEN

“It’s a community where we help each other, and everyone ultimately benefits.”

networking events to office hours now taking place on videoconferencing platforms, Pasquale says she was surprised at how well things worked out.

“The world flipped upside down so quickly, but not much changed for our office in terms of the services and opportunities we provide to our students, who really made the most of it,” she says.

Pasquale feels optimistic about the longterm impacts the shift to virtual will have on recruitment.

“This made us really think outside the box to develop new opportunities that will benefit both our students and the employers that hire them,” she says.

With placement of graduates a major priority, alumni were asked to assist in finding jobs and internships for SOM students.

“We’ve worked hard to create a community mindset for the School of Management,” says Dhillon. “We want our students and alumni to feel part of this community long after they’ve left Binghamton. It’s a community where we help each other, and everyone ultimately benefits.”

“This made us really think outside the box to develop new opportunities that will benefit both our students and the employers that hire them.”

— Olivia Pasquale

With so much still unknown about the full impact of the pandemic, Chatterjee sees this as an opportunity to innovate.

“It’s an exciting time to be a teacher in the sense that we, too, are learning so much,” he says.

“I think the long-term adoption of some level of virtual education improves accessibility. Education is easier to share now. There will be bumps in the road, but we’ll adapt and make this a good learning environment.”

Dhillon says the School of Management will ultimately become a better school because of this experience.

“This has brought about an acceleration of our strategic vision. We’ve been heading toward more technology adoption and an analytics curriculum, but this has given us a sense of urgency to get there faster,” he says.

Dhillon says that while the pandemic is unlike anything he’s ever dealt with as dean, the strength of the SOM family gave him confidence throughout.

“I’ve heard so many people say in recent months ‘I understand this is a difficult time, and I’m here to help.’ Our network is strong. We were there for each other and are still there for each other,” he says.

And while she graduated from college away from her friends, Reksten says the experience has made her feel even more connected to the Binghamton community.

Citing examples like younger siblings of classmates making appearances during Zoom classes, instructors wielding large cups of coffee and teaching assistants hosting late-night review sessions to accommodate time zone differences, Reksten says she feels a common bond with everyone who went through this experience.

“I believe the necessity of empathy was the greatest area of growth for me,” she says.

“Despite there existing greater distance between us than ever, I felt as though I could see my peers and professors more clearly than ever.” binghamton.edu/som

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ADVICE TO THE CLASS OF 2020

Michal Katz ’87 “Resilience is a required quality in the best of times, and more so at this moment.”

Michal Katz ’87 is head of the Investment and Corporate Banking division at Mizuho Americas. She is an accomplished leader in the financial services industry, having been recognized as one of the Most Powerful Women in Finance by American Banker in 2019, and one of Crain’s Notable Women in Finance in NYC for the past two years.

Katz was scheduled to speak at the School of Management’s spring Commencement, but the University’s graduation celebrations were not held due to the global pandemic.

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Dear graduates, We live in unprecedented times. After all, you are reading this letter rather than listening to a speech at your Commencement. But this moment of upheaval can be an opportunity if you keep a few things in mind.

First, achievement is not linear.

For years, there was an acknowledged formula for success: study hard, get good grades and get into the right school. Do that, and your future was fairly defined.

No longer. While academic prowess is still rewarded, other attributes have risen in prominence. Think of your career not as an equation you solve, but a journey you take.

My career is a great example.

I studied political science at Binghamton University, went on to get my JD at NYU and joined a large law firm.

That was supposed to be the endgame. But as I worked with clients, I quickly found myself drawn to the strategic and creative aspect of the business, rather than the legal. This was not the plan, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

All of this is to say, don’t be

afraid if you are taken off of your intended route.

Which brings us to my second piece of advice: Resilience is a required quality in the best of times, and more so at this moment.

Most of you had an idea of the company or industry you wanted to work in after graduation. Many of you had jobs lined up. Just five months ago, your careful planning would have paid off. Now you are taking flight amidst a perfect storm.

In your career, you will encounter turbulence, crises and the unexpected. If you stay true to yourself and are prepared to reorient yourself when you encounter challenges, you will come out the other side better for it.

As pilots say, “No matter what else happens, keep flying the airplane.”

Third: Prioritize the problems you are solving for rather than the title you want.

Don’t ask yourself, “What do I want to be?” but instead, “What am I solving for?” This question will likely lead you to certain skills or experiences that can be gained across a varied set of jobs rather

than a checklist of positions, ultimately making you more flexible when you have to fall back on plan B. And timing is everything.

I had my kids early in my career and I needed fewer commitments at the office, as I had plenty at home.

But as I was able to achieve a semblance of work/life balance, I began looking for bigger roles and challenges at work and beyond. I joined the boards of Nuance Communications and The GRAMMY Foundation, and recently took on the leadership of an investment bank.

Fourth: Know that success demands passion.

I have worked with innovators who upend industries. They are smart, have incredible drive, can-do attitudes and take risks. But none would achieve what they have without loving what they do.

Life is too short. Find a way to derive joy from your work.

It will make all the hard work, sweat and tears worth your while.

Congratulations, Class of 2020. I wish you my very best.

FAMILIAR FACE: Dina Layish

“I feel I have a small impact on who they become as a person.”

A

fter teaching for nearly 20

years in the School of

Management (SOM), Dina Layish ’92, MBA ’94, says the most meaningful aspect of her time in the classroom is her relationships with current and former students.

Layish, visiting assistant professor of finance, finds it special to be part of the students’ lives during a formative period.

“They come in as almost high school students,” Layish says.

“They’re learning who they are and what they want to be. I feel I have a small impact on who they become as a person.”

JONATHAN COHEN

Those relationships create lifechanging opportunities for SOM students that would be difficult to obtain on their own. Layish frequently reaches out to alumni to connect them with students seeking career advice and the alumni are happy to answer their former instructor’s call.

For nearly 10 years, SOM undergraduates have been able to participate in an equity research externship, a program usually reserved for MBA students from top schools, that started when Glenn Schorr ’89, working at UBS at the time, approached Dean Upinder Dhillon with the idea.

Layish organizes the program, which has moved on to the Jefferies and Zion Research groups. SOM students work directly with equity research analysts at both firms.

“It was one of the first experiential learning classes offered in SOM,” Layish says. “This is one of the most sought-after programs by our students, and I’m really proud we can offer them an opportunity like this.”

Layish is not only popular with students, but is proficient in the classroom as evidenced by her 2014 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and twice being named SOM’s Faculty Member of the Year.

“I teach one of the hardest classes in SOM [Financial Management],” Layish says. “Students say they don’t know why the class is so hard. But, a lot of them tell me afterward that they became a finance major because of my course.”

Layish also leads the PwC Scholars program. Each year, the group conducts a service project, engaging with a nonprofit organization, identifying a need, raising funds for the project and providing manual labor. Examples of past projects include upgrades at Kali’s Klubhouse and creating a new, indoor library for the Binghamton Housing Authority.

“Former students always ask me about their projects,” Layish says.

“It means a lot to them. When students interact with a nonprofit organization and see they can make a difference in the community, it completely changes their perspective of Binghamton. They see it as a place where real people live and want things to be better.”

— Steve Seepersaud

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UCCESS ON AND OFF THE COURT Kai Moon ’20 balanced an exceptional basketball career with earning a marketing degree

By Chris Kocher

D

uring her time at Binghamton University, Kai Moon ’20 earned plenty of accolades as part of the Bearcats women’s basketball team.

Before the 2019-20 season prematurely ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moon led her teammates to a 22-win season, the Bearcats’ biggest success since joining Division I in 2001. As a guard, she also had the best-scoring season of her career, averaging 19.6 points per game — the highest in the America East. It’s no wonder the conference named her Player of the Year.

Off the court, Moon also found success as a marketing major at the School of Management (SOM) — a path inspired by her experience as a top-tier athlete.

“I saw the ways in which they were marketing me and other players on the team, especially once I started to become the face of the program,” she says. “I wanted to understand how they were using me or players on other sports teams to drive attendance and increase awareness.”

Moon grew up in Michigan and Chicago, but her father is a Queens native. So when schools recruited her for a basketball scholarship and Binghamton University was among them, she had some familiarity with “the Ivy of the SUNYs.” binghamton.edu/som

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“I had to bet on myself a little bit. I knew that I could become a better student.” first year at Binghamton. The schedule for one or the other is hectic, but doing them together meant “my mind was literally in two different worlds constantly.”

Rather than switch her major to something less demanding, though, she met the challenge head on.

She often sacrificed both sleep and social time with friends to make sure she could excel.

“I had to bet on myself a little bit. I knew that I could become a better student,” she says. “It just took me understanding that the work that everybody else might have to put into their classes is different than the work that I’d have to put into my classes.”

Moon found a solid support system at SOM, with classmates and faculty willing to offer extra help as needed. She appreciates all the notes from lectures missed because of game schedules, as well as the time that her professors made for her during their office hours.

Her favorite courses at SOM? Business Law, which allowed students “to talk through different legal scenarios to think through the decisions the

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way that we thought logically they should be made.”

She also learned about the business models for success in her Information Systems class, and she loved Managerial Accounting.

One of Moon’s biggest regrets about her time at Binghamton — apart from not winning an America East championship — is that leaving campus due to the pandemic curtailed her chance to be a “regular” student at the end of her final semester.

With a slightly lighter course load and free from her basketball obligations, she had hoped to enjoy her final weeks without worrying about keeping in shape for the next season.

During President Harvey Stenger’s virtual champagne sendoff for the class of 2020, Moon joined a who’s who of notable Binghamton alumni, faculty and students. Her encouraging message — which reminded graduates that “while the coronavirus was not a part of our plans, it is now a part of our story” — was slotted between singer/ songwriter Ingrid Michaelson ’01 and film director Marc Lawrence ’81, LittD ’16. The video has since received tens of thousands of views on YouTube and Facebook.

“I’ve never thought of myself as a person who gave speeches,” she says, “but I thought it was really cool to be able to speak to the graduating class as well as their families.”

Moon has returned to Chicago to work as an analyst for a startup venture capital firm — a connection she made through a SOM alumna who met with her when games against Notre Dame and Marquette took her to the Midwest.

In her heart, Moon knows she’ll always be a Bearcat: “Binghamton was my first monumental decision as a young adult, not knowing how it was going to work out really far from home. I created another family with my teammates and the community.”

JONATHAN COHEN

Online research and a campus visit cemented her decision to become a Bearcat, with SOM’s reputation helping to tip the scales.

“A lot of the schools that recruited me had really good academics and didn’t have a great athletics program, or their business school was subpar and their athletics were pretty good,” she says.

“I thought Binghamton gave me the best of both worlds.”

She followed advice from her mother, too, who also studied marketing in college and told her “a business degree could take me a bunch of different places.”

Moon admits that she underestimated the workload of both classwork and Division I basketball, so she struggled to find the right balance during her

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The future is

FEMALE

Women in Business Club empowers leaders in SOM and beyond

By Jennifer Micale

“We’re creating an environment where you can be successful.”

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— Lillian Marks

administration major who is the club’s president for the 2020-21 school year.

The club draws around 75 members, and not just from the School of Management (SOM); Harpur College — home to the Economics Department — is also well-represented.

It’s a highly active group, with events scheduled once or twice a week — and up to 10 for Career Week, which is the busiest time of the year. Workshops teach the basics of professionalism, such

Network of support Women in Business Club hosts a wide variety of events (pre-pandemic events below)

Yoga with KPMG

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Pumpkin painting social event

Challah for hunger

Horizon Media tour, NYC trip

JONATHAN COHEN

magine a typical boardroom: the broad expanse of a shining table, surrounded by the serious faces of corporate decision-makers.

Those decision-makers are largely male.

While women make up nearly 47% of the nation’s workforce, they comprise slightly over a third of managers, according to research statistics compiled by the nonprofit Catalyst.

Founded in 2011 by then-undergraduate Tiffany Choi ’14, Binghamton University’s Women in Business Club seeks to level the playing field by providing a supportive environment for women, as well as opportunities for networking and professional development.

“We’re creating an environment where you can be successful. Ultimately, our impact is creating really strong women who are part of the business world,” explains Lillian Marks, a senior business

as how to dress for “business casual.” Companies such as Goldman Sachs, KPMG International and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) send recruiters, often alumnae themselves, to meet with the club and network.

“There are opportunities to meet one another and build your professional skills,” says Tatiana Rivera, a senior business administration major and the club’s president for 2019-20. “You can meet the right people to get internships and job offers.”

There are purely social get-togethers, too: making gingerbread, painting pumpkins, and yoga.

A mentorship program connects underclasswomen with their junior and senior counterparts, some of whom remain connected after graduation. The club also co-hosts many SOM events, including the Women’s Leadership Panel every winter, which features up to a half-dozen women from different companies.

Their scheduled events for the 2019-20 year were cut short due to the pandemic, but the club has developed plans for virtual events for the fall.

This wouldn’t be the first time; the club has hosted virtual networking events with recruiters from PwC and Goldman Sachs in previous semesters when logistics ruled out face-to-face visits.

The connections, skills and spirit of mutual support the club fosters have real-life impact on its members. For Marks, Women in Business led to her first internship with PwC, which in turn led to her current internship in management consulting. She also recommended Rivera for a PwC internship — which she landed.

Rivera joined in her freshman year, ran for a position during her second semester and made it the focus of her extracurricular experience. She initially changed her mind several times when it came to majors, and speaking to upperclasswomen

Equal pay workshop with SIA

Halloween social event

in the club about their experiences “We’re just and fields helped all here for her find her path.

“I’ve had a each other.” network of so many resources since I — Tatiana Rivera joined,” she says.

“We’re just all here for each other.”

Promoting female success isn’t just a benefit for the graduates themselves; diversification lies at the core of any successful enterprise — including the workforce. Individuals of different backgrounds, experiences and mindsets, whether in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, or state or country of origin, bring new ideas to the table and open new doors.

“You’re bringing different backgrounds and different mindsets. It’s what successful companies are built upon,” Rivera says.

The club’s focus on building leadership skills, developing professional networks with each other, alumni and faculty, and their service orientation places its members in an excellent position to be successful in their careers, notes School of Management Associate Dean and Professor Shelley Dionne.

Members have made a difference in SOM as well, with several taking leadership roles in other SOM and University clubs.

It’s more than a club; it’s a community centered on creating an environment that is supportive of women and drawing more into business fields, Marks and Rivera conclude.

“Women in Business is an impressive organization,” Dionne says. “And with a glass ceiling still in place, I’m certain these are the women to smash through.”

Eisner Amper tour, NYC trip

Protiviti case workshop

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JONATHAN COHEN

“You start living for YOURSELF instead of trying to please everyone else.”

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FINDING your

GROOVE Alumnus Julio Reyes doubles down on passions to forge a path forward

By Allen Wengert

J

ulio Reyes ’18, MS ’19, has a lot of hobbies.

He dances. He plays chess. He loves Sudoku.

He works out. He reads comic books.

“Batman and Archie — those are my go-tos. It’s an odd combination, I know,” he says with a laugh.

Reyes, an alumnus of the School of Management’s undergraduate and graduate accounting programs, is constantly exploring new interests.

This, coupled with a number of difficult situations he had to overcome growing up, has propelled him to grow into the person he is today.

“I have a master’s degree. I have my own apartment. I have a good job with a steady income coming in,” he says, with pride.

The road to this point was not easy for the New York City native, who experienced most of his adolescence in foster care. And despite the successes and milestones, he is in no way ready to rest on his laurels.

“The world’s a big place. For you to be happy, you have to be willing to keep ripping off Band-Aids,” he says. “If you keep second guessing, you’ll never get anywhere.”

“I grew up bouncing around,” Reyes says.

After moving multiple times from borough to borough, Reyes was placed into foster care at the age of 13. Beyond the emotional challenges, foster care presented a number of logistical challenges as well, as he lived an hour away from his high school.

“It was hard to hang out with friends or take part in after-school activities. My foster parents only spoke Spanish, so there were some language barriers as well,” he says. “Dealing with this while also dealing with the normal pressures that come from being in high school wasn’t easy.”

Reyes described himself as an “awkward geek” during that time. He played a lot of puzzle games, an interest he picked up from his mother, and he took part in chess tournaments and spelling bee challenges at school.

Reyes says he had a constant worry about what people thought of him, afraid of the stigmas binghamton.edu/som

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Julio Reyes performs with the Quimbamba Latina Dance Team at Binghamton University.

Credit: Quimbamba

associated with living in foster care and his interest in “geeky” activities.

“One day, something just snapped. I woke up and just didn’t want to be the person I thought everyone assumed I was. I wanted to be myself and not have to worry about hiding my hobbies from other people’s judgment,” he says.

Reyes believes it was the best decision he could’ve made.

“What surprised me most is that people were more open and accepting of me than I had anticipated,” he says. “It showed me the good colors of the world.”

With a newfound confidence, Reyes began doubling down on doing things that made him happy.

“You start living for yourself instead of trying to please everyone else,” he says. “I was very grateful I learned this early on, because it made it easier to integrate into new communities as I got older.”

Originally starting at a community college, Reyes made a last-minute decision to attend Binghamton University.

“Binghamton was not always in the plan. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I wanted to get out of the city, I needed a change and I wanted a college experience,” he says.

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Reyes jumped right in, getting involved in his Newing College residential community, the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and the Quimbamba Latina Dance Team.

“I learned how to dance when I was 13,” Reyes says. “I started paying more attention to it and joined a dance club in high school, but really took a higher interest in it during college. I was learning more dance styles and progressing with the team.”

His first performance with the group remains one of his favorite college memories.

“I was so nervous. It was my first time performing to a crowd that was bigger than a high school auditorium. After all of this practice you’re about to actually perform it,” he says. “And then there is that relief you feel right after. It doesn’t really compare to a lot of other things. I cherish that moment.”

Reyes also acclimated himself within the School of Management, deciding to major in accounting.

“I’ve always been big on math. I love math so much,” he says. “I originally thought I’d be a math major, but that eventually developed into an interest in accounting.”

Now working as an auditor at Ernst & Young (EY), Reyes believes Binghamton’s accounting program left him ahead of his peers.

“It taught me much more than just accounting. I learned a lot about business applications, methods, analytics and even some coding,” he says.

He decided to stay in Binghamton for an extra year to earn his Master of Science in Accounting, leaving Binghamton in 2019 with two degrees and the confidence to take on a career.

“I credit a lot to the School of Management.

Being able to work efficiently, building the stamina to work, networking skills — SOM hands down helped me with this,” he says.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

“Being able to work efficiently, building the stamina to work, networking skills — SOM hands down helped me with this.”

Reyes, who moved back to the city after graduating, says his first year out of college was an adjustment.

“I was trying to replicate my Binghamton environment here, but I realized that’s where I started messing up and feeling out of place,” he says.

So he resorted to a lesson he learned back in high school.

“I started focusing on the things that made me happy. I started dancing again. I started focusing more on exercise. I started boxing and putting myself in these different communities,” he says. “I realized life is like college, just on a bigger scale. As long as you surround yourself with a community that you want to be a part of, you’ll always have someone there to talk to.”

In November 2019, Reyes passed the last exam needed for his CPA licensure.

“I was so excited that I was literally screaming and hopping in the office. It felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders,” he laughs.

While proud of this accomplishment, Reyes admits he’s not sure what the future will hold. On

his desk is a Rubik’s Cube he’s been working on for some time. While most of it is solved, he still has a bit more to go.

“I still have the top to solve, but the rest is pretty good to go. I’m working on it,” he says.

Like the Rubik’s Cube, Reyes says he hasn’t gotten everything figured out just yet, but his strategy to solve life’s puzzles has remained the same.

“Don’t sacrifice your integrity for anything or anyone,” he says. “Be true to yourself, continue doing what you’re doing and eventually you’ll get to where you want to be.”

Julio Reyes with loved ones after the School of Management Commencement ceremony in May 2018.

The New York Times recognition

T

he New York Times has featured Julio Reyes twice.

Reyes says the Times took notice of him after he became an advocate for

foster-care causes, speaking at a number of events in Albany. He also received

support for textbooks from the Times’ Neediest Cases Fund organization.

The first piece, written by John Otis in January 2017, features Reyes while attending Binghamton University. The second piece, also written by Otis, was published in November 2019, and catches up with Reyes as he is preparing for his final CPA exam.

Both stories detail the many struggles Reyes had to overcome and he says the decision to allow such personal access wasn’t an easy one to make.

“I didn’t want people knowing what was going on with that part of my life. But I was encouraged to take part because people believed my story could have an impact on a broader scale,” he says.

“I realized this could be an opportunity to help people see there is hope.” binghamton.edu/som

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Adding Value A Q&A with Stephanie Giammarco ’94 Stephanie Giammarco serves as partner and national co-leader of BDO Digital and is currently serving her second term on BDO’s Board of Directors. With over 25 years of experience in accounting and information technology, Giammarco is particularly interested in forensic technology and data analytics, and helps clients implement digital solutions to improve performance and revenue growth.

Giammarco has been featured on Crain’s 2019 list of Notable Women in Accounting & Consulting and Consulting Magazine’s 2020 list of The Women Leaders in Technology.

Q

How did you end up studying accounting at Binghamton University?

I grew up on Long Island, and while I had worked really hard in high school, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go to college and what exactly I wanted to do. My sister had been a School of Management student, and she got a great education and had a good job lined up, so it seemed like a good fit at the time. I love numbers, and that’s what ultimately drove me to study accounting.

Q

You were at the ground floor of BDO’s digital services. What has it been like watching these fields grow over the course of your career?

Presently, you won’t find any business that doesn’t use technology to analyze data — and that certainly

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includes the CFO organization. But 20 years ago, accountants weren’t coming in with the capability, propensity and interest to analyze large volumes of information. I had been lucky to work on a few cases early in my career where we had to figure out how to analyze large amounts of data. I read some books to learn and found it fascinating, and ultimately kind of fell into this data space. We soon recognized this was the future of the profession, so we invested in people and technology to develop a strong practice. After 20 years, we have approximately 500 professionals at BDO providing digital services.

Q

What advice would you give to students interested in data analytics?

Take a class. It is a skill that needs to be honed and

“If you add value, you will be in high demand in any economy.”

— Stephanie Giammarco

developed. A business degree can help in almost any industry, and I feel the same way about a data skillset. Your data is at the foundation of your business. It’s a massive asset. Regardless of what you want to do in your future, being able to understand and gain insight from that data is absolutely foundational.

Q

If you could teach a data course, what would it focus on?

It would focus on effective presentation of data.

You can’t just present an Excel spreadsheet with rows of data — that says nothing. Being able to understand and interpret the data, and then being able to visualize it for others — that’s where the value lies.

Data is like a puzzle. You can ask all of these questions from this information, and depending on how you slice it and dice it, you can tell a completely different story. One thing I often tell people is that one data point doesn’t tell a story.

One data point is an input. Your job is to understand multiple data points and qualitative inputs, and then you develop the narrative.

I think one of the reasons I’ve found success in this technology field, without being a technologist, is that I’ve always been able to be a bridge between the business and technology areas. I’m like an interpreter. To understand both of those areas enables you to have conversations that many others cannot.

Q

What is something that makes you proud?

When I started in this business, there were not a lot of women in the “important” meetings. I was more often than not the only woman sitting at the table.

But over the years, I’ve seen this change. Now, I’m having many meetings where the attendees are mostly women. I see that as progress, and it’s

something that makes me proud. Is there room to continue to grow? Yes, but we’ve come a long way.

Q

What advice would you give to SOM graduates entering an economy that will be shaped by the major events of this past year?

One thing I’ve learned is that people who are motivated and focused are always in high demand.

If you add value, you will be in high demand in any economy.

Q

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t underestimate the people-side of business.

I think the human element of business and the importance of relationship building can go unrecognized when you’re just starting out. Beyond that, it can be hard to teach the importance of good presentation skills and the importance of listening.

I think some people are fortunate to have some of those abilities naturally, but you can develop these skills. Focus on the soft skills, because the people who can combine soft skills with intellect are going to be the most successful. binghamton.edu/som

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COVID-19

What’s next?

Dan McKeever, assistant professor of finance I don’t think we’re going to be in a post-COVID world for a while because we are still very much in the middle of this. The United States has found itself in a position where it’ll take years to recover due to inaction and indecision in the spring.

However, the pandemic has accelerated technological changes that we were already slowly headed toward. Things like remote work, distance learning and virtual doctor appointments were already happening on a smaller scale, but they are all now mainstream. Long-term adoption will be tough, and investments will be needed to make sure families and individuals are being supported.

While the stock market has recovered many of its losses, the “real” economy, which includes unemployment, is in shambles. We are still seeing ripple effects from the 2008 economic crisis, which tells me we’ll be seeing ripple effects from this for many years to come. Rebuilding is going to be brutal and it’s going to be costly.

My hope is that we look back on this and learn from it. Another pandemic will eventually hit, even if decades from now, and hopefully we’ll be much better prepared.

Saeideh Mirghorbani, assistant professor of business analytics and operations The pandemic will force changes in our healthcare system to make it more flexible and versatile.

Hospitals will need to be easier to repurpose to deal with the most pressing issues, and we should look at ways to move “mini” hospitals to where patients actually are.

Whether this is setting up a hospital in a nearby facility, or finding ways to move into a patient’s home, we need to be able to move healthcare systems to where the problems are.

People have been postponing regular check-ups for months now as a result of the pandemic. To encourage patients to start coming back again, and to ensure revenue is still flowing in, more clinics should consider adopting virtual appointments or healthcare apps, and then adjust prices accordingly.

As virtual healthcare continues to take hold, the labor market will change as well.

We’ll need the software and technologies to accommodate this shift, and that will create new opportunities.

Many in healthcare have felt the need for these kinds of changes for a long time, but it’s a very hard system to change. However, the external pressure of the pandemic is now forcing the system to respond. I believe a lot of positive changes can happen.

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(clockwise from top left) Dan McKeever, Surinder Kahai, Cynthia Maupin and Saeideh Mirghorbani share predictions on the long-term impacts of COVID-19.

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The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are just beginning to be realized. Many agree that there is no going back to the way things were before, which begs the question: What’s next?

We asked Binghamton University School of Management faculty to weigh in with their predictions.

Surinder Kahai, associate professor of management information systems While there’s been an embrace for working from home out of necessity, I don’t think it’s sustainable in the long run. Innovation happens in spontaneous conversations in face-to-face settings, not in scheduled Zoom meetings. But there are benefits to working from home, so I believe organizations will try to find the ideal blend of virtual and in-office work.

Investments in artificial intelligence are being sped up, especially in manufacturing, due to outbreaks in high-density workforces. But it won’t just be affecting blue collar jobs — it’ll affect white collar professions as well. Will this lead to job displacement?

Most likely, although how much is still unknown.

Many universities have been resistant to online learning, but are now waking up to the benefits. While there is value in the on-campus experience, there will be more demand for virtual options for those who can’t justify the cost of it. Colleges will have to improve their online education to compete not only with other colleges, but with options like Coursera and online certification programs.

I believe this pandemic has given people the time for introspection. I do think you’ll see people transition toward jobs that give them purpose and allow them to meaningfully contribute to the world around them.

Cynthia Maupin, assistant professor of leadership When people say we need to return to normal, my reaction is that there is no normal anymore. A lot of what was normal is going to change.

I think it’s clear that working remotely is going to stick around. Organizations once hesitant to try it are now seeing benefits, and I don’t think employees are eager to go back to an office full time if they feel they can do their job from home.

Companies will have to accommodate. I think you’ll see advancements in virtual teamwork since teams are now spread out across the globe. Better work management processes and programs will be critical, especially since team members may never be in the same room together.

Organizations will need to make a concerted effort to build social bonds between people, now that it’s less likely you’ll see coworkers in the hallway or at the coffee machine. Without these informal conversations, which are very important, there will be a need for meaningful virtual networking, especially for people new to an organization.

I also think organizations will be more cognizant of hygiene going forward. Those plexiglass barriers are here to stay, even after the pandemic is over.

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Thank you

to all the alumni and friends of the School of

Management who have invested in our future. Because of you, we’re able to

provide cutting-edge programs and experiences that help shape the leaders of tomorrow. We look forward to continuing this collaboration in the years ahead.

Mr. Dean P. Schuckman ’73 Mrs. Ilyse N. Schuckman ’73 Schwab Charitable ^ Mr. Ehtisham U. Siddiqui ^ Mr. Marc F. Thewes ’88 Ms. Susan Wu ’93 ^

$1,000 to $2,499 $250,000 to $499,999

Mr. Stuart R. Kovensky ’89 KPMG Foundation ^ Mr. Martin Luskin ’77 Ms. Jenny Mark Mr. Anthony J. Nappo ’94 ^ Mrs. Jennifer Nappo ^ The Newman Family Foundation, Inc. ^ Mr. Mark S. Newman ’71 ^ Mrs. Sharon M. Newman ^ Mrs. Laurel A. Parrilli ’82 Mr. Matthew Parrilli ’82 Pfizer, Inc. Ms. Ali Porcelli Mr. Thomas J. Porcelli Jr. ’96 Mrs. Debra Rappoport‑Bigman ’88 Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc. ^ Mrs. Carolyn Schapiro + ^ Mr. Jeffrey Schapiro ^ Schorr Family Foundation ^ Ms. Jennifer Brink Schorr, MBA ’81 + ^ Dr. Lawrence J. Schorr ’75, MA ’77, LLD ’09 ^ Mr. Jay A. Schwartz ’85 Mrs. Cristin M. Singer ’96 Mr. Matthew R. Singer ’96 The Sloan Family Foundation Mrs. Francine Sloan Mr. Fred P. Sloan ’78 Vanguard Charitable ^ Walt Disney Company Mrs. Alison Gould Yablonowitz ’96 Mr. Allen S. Zwickler ’79

YS Kim Foundation, Inc. Mr. Charles M. Kim ’98 Ms. Jean Su Maeng‑Kim

$100,000 to $249,999

Mrs. Ruth Bass Fidelity Charitable ^ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ^ Mrs. Caryn Unger Mr. Howard D. Unger ’82, LHD ’19 The Mark Zurack & Kathy Ferguson Foundation Dr. Mark A. Zurack ’78, LHD ’03

$50,000 to $99,999

Anonymous (2) EY ^ Mrs. Lenore M. Goldstein ’90 Mr. Mitchell S. Goldstein ’89 The Barry and Alison Goodman Foundation Mrs. Alison Goodman Mr. Barry A. Goodman ’79 Mr. David J. Penski ’97 Publicis Media, Inc. United Way Worldwide ^

$25,000 to $49,999

Ayco Charitable Foundation Mr. Mark L. Deutsch ’81 Mr. Marc S. Dieli ’89 Ms. Susan D. Edwards ’80 Mrs. Joan Marie Schildkraut ’94 ^ Mr. Russell I. Schildkraut ’94 ^ Mr. Brian J. Zakrocki ’99 Mr. Ian V. Ziskin ’80

$5,000 to $9,999

Mrs. Beth Akel ^ Mr. Ronald Akel ^ Ms. Stacey Ann Balkman ’94 ^ Mr. Daniel R. Black ’94 Mrs. Lisa J. Black ’95 Mr. Seth H. Blackman ’95 Mr. Peter E. Breckling ’92 ^ Channel Factory, LLC Mr. Brian S. Chase ’99 The Community Foundation for South Central New York Mr. Eishpal Singh Dhillon Mrs. Sadev K. Dhillon ’92, ’95 Mrs. Simi Dhillon Dr. Upinder S. Dhillon + Mr. Joseph M. Dunn ’10 ^ Mrs. Mary Dunn ^ Ms. Elsa Eng ’92 ^ Mr. David A. Farber ’96 Mrs. Judith J. Galarneau‑Kaplan ’89 ^ Mr. Jerry Gruner ’99 Dr. Jodi Guttenberg‑Lipkin ’81 Ms. Corrie Hu ’06 Mr. Eric Hu ’06 Mr. Adeel H. Jivraj ’93 Mrs. Rozina Jivraj

$10,000 to $24,999

Active Media Services, Inc. Mr. Scott A. Bigman BlackRock ^ Mr. Chris Chang Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. Cross Mediaworks Mr. George W. Curth Jr. ’90 Ms. Jacqueline Cyran Mr. Michael E. Cyran ’87 Mr. Daniel J. Damon ’88 Mr. Vincent Daniel ’94 Mrs. Lauren Eicher ^ Mr. Robert D. Eicher ’81 ^ Goldman, Sachs & Co. ^ Ms. Rebecca Guilbert ’90 HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Mr. Todd D. Jacobson ’88 Ms. Maggie Chan Jones ’96 Dr. Karen E. Fuhrman Kerner ’86 Mr. Michael G. Kerner ’86 Stuart and Nicole Kovensky Family Foundation

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REACHING HIGHER

Ms. Jaime Kahan‑Kipnes ’00 Mr. David J. Kaplan ’89 ^ Mr. Adam Kipnes Ms. Mini P. Krishnan ’90 Mr. Scott H. Lipkin ’81 Ms. Carolyn Makuen, MS ’91 Mr. Gary C. Meltzer ’85 Mrs. Rina R. Meltzer ’85 Mr. Eugene E. Peckham Mrs. Judith C. Peckham Mrs. Linsy Kochupaul Puthiyamadam Mr. Thomas J. Puthiyamadam ’97 Mrs. Marnie Raymond Mr. Stephen Spencer Raymond, MBA ’78 Mr. Jim Ruoff + Mr. Michael L. Sheptin ’91 Mr. Marc D. Silverman ’85 Mr. Howard T. Spilko ’89 ^ Mr. Gary M. Stehr ’81, MBA ’83 ^ Mr. Lawrence Unger ^ Mrs. Suzette M. Unger ’86 ^ Ms. Ellen A. Vellensky ’99 Mr. David S. Yass ’83 ^

$2,500 to $4,999

Ms. Lisa M. Abbott, MBA ’93 ^ Mrs. Louise W. Akel ^ AllianceBernstein LP Altman Foundation ^ American International Group Bank of America ^ Ms. Bridget Gavahan Buchholtz Mr. David P. Buchholtz ’73 Ms. Jocelyn S. Chen ’90 ^ Dr. Peter J. Dionne ’88 Dr. Shelley Denise Dionne, MBA ’94, PhD ’98 + Mr. Sean G. Doherty ’89 Mr. Seth G. Drucker ’06 Mr. Stephen P. Feehan, MBA ’90 Mrs. Lori Goldman ^ Mr. Richard A. Goldman ’79 ^ Mr. Michael Isikow ’87 ^ Mrs. Shari P. Isikow ’88 ^ Mr. Christopher R. Jacobson ’07 Mr. Jeffrey W. Jaenicke ’89 Mrs. Kathryn A. Jaenicke Ms. Gayle Kraden ’90 Mr. Steven B. Kreinik ’97 ^ Dr. Allan R. Lyons ’62, LHD ’07 ^ Mr. Gregory J. McGahan ’89 Ms. Patricia McGahan ’90 Ms. Alison N. McNerney ’96 Mr. Albert K. Ng ’90, MS ’92 ^ Mr. Robert Okin ’77 ^ Mrs. Susan Goodman Okin ’78 ^ Mr. James W. Orband ’81 ^ Mrs. Theresa A. Orband ^ Mr. Scott M. Porter ’96

Dr. Manoj K. Agarwal + ^ American Online Giving Foundation ^ Ms. Suzanne A. Arinsburg ’00 ^ Mr. Jason M. Baker ’99, MS ’00 The Bank of New York Mellon ^ Mr. John J. Bellardini, MS ’94 ^ Mr. Jonathan C. Berger ’90 ^ Mr. Andrew G. Bernstein ’96 Mr. George D. Bianco, MBA ’79 ^ Ms. Anindita Biswas, MS ’04, MBA ’06 Mr. Milton Biswas, MS ’03, MBA ’06 Ms. Lucy Bonilla‑Berger ^ Ms. Anita J. Borkenstein ’86 Mr. Randall L. Borkenstein ’87 Mr. Cyrus Borzooyeh ’93 ^ Ms. Monica E. Casey Mr. David J. Chambers ’98, MBA ’03 ^ Mrs. Laureen M. Chambers ^ Mr. Alan L. Chan ’97 Mrs. Colleen Chan Charities Aid Foundation of America ^ Mr. Paul L. Charles ’81 ^ Ms. Sharon Chen ^ Mrs. Linda P. Chiao‑Kwan ’94 ^ Mr. Mario D. Cibelli ’90 ^ Ms. Ilene F. Cook ’77 ^ Ms. Stacey H. Cooper ’92 ^ Mr. Stephen D. Cooper ’92 ^ Mr. Lawrence Cyrlin Ms. Nicole J. Cyrlin ’00 Davidson Fox & Company, LLP Mr. Robert Davis Ms. Amy DeAngelis ’00 ^ Mr. Philip M. DeAngelis ’99 ^ Deloitte ^ Ms. Kei Downey ’94 ^ Mr. David Dubinsky ’95 ^ Mr. Jay Duseau ’98, MBA ’11 + Exxon Mobil Corporation ^ Mr. Christopher J. Flannery ’86 ^ Mr. Eric Freedgood ’03 Mrs. Rachael Hahn Freedgood ’00 Ms. Wendi Gallagher ’92, ’94 + ^ Mr. Ben F. Garfunkel ’83 Dr. Marilyn I. Geller ’71, MA ’76, PhD ’80 ^ Mr. Christopher L. Giamanco ’13 ^ Mr. Elliott M. Glass ’77 ^ Mr. Cody J. Grant ’09, MS ’10 Ms. Michelle E. Grossman ’06 ^ Mr. Henry G. Hilbert ’90 Mr. Shane B. Hurley ’04 ^ Mrs. Stephanie Jason‑Glace ’90 ^ Mr. David L. Kahan ’04 Mrs. Nancy K. Kelly Dr. Thomas F. Kelly + Mr. Gary A. Kibel ’90, MBA ’92 Haksoo Kim Mr. John Kong, MBA ’88 Mr. Scott M. Krug ’96 ^ Mr. William Kwan ’92 ^ Mr. Elias H. Lambros ’97

Mrs. Elaine Z. Leinung Mr. John M. Leinung Mr. Steven A. Levy ’88 ^ Ms. Susan Michelle Levy ’88 ^ Mr. Thomas D. Leyden ’98 ^ Dr. Lishin Lin Ms. Iris M. Littwitz ’80 ^ Mr. David F. Lorden ’84 ^ Mrs. Jessica E. Lorden ’83 ^ Mr. Thomas P. Majewski ’95 ^ Dr. Meghan A. McGuinness ’98, MA ’00 Ms. Pamela Mock ^ Nomura Holding America Inc. ^ Northwestern Mutual Foundation Mr. Andrew S. Oh ’15 Mr. Deep R. Parekh ’01 ^ Mr. Robert R. Pim ’17 ^ PIMCO ^ Mrs. Beatrice Press ^ Mr. Eric M. Press ’78 ^ Ms. Lauren Renna ’06 Mr. Evan Roth ’10, MS ’11 Mrs. Laura J. Roth ’10 Ms. Susan A. Ruderman ’93 ^ Mrs. Bonnie Russolillo ’80 ^ Mr. Raymond G. Russolillo ’80 ^ The Sakhai Family Foundation, Inc. ^ Mr. David Sakhai ’95 ^ Mr. Robert A. Sass ’78 ^ Mr. Daniel E. Schain ’10, MS ’11 Mr. Ernest J. Schirmer, MBA ’87 Mr. Sam Schwartz ’85 Mr. Matthew J. Siegel ’86 Mr. David S. Silberman ’05 ^ Mr. David Scott Sloan ’82 ^ Mr. Jonathan Sloan ’94, MS ’96 ^ Mr. Cornell V. Staeger ’01 Mr. Brian M. Steinhardt ^ Mr. Anthony J. Suau ’92 Mr. Ryan Swedalla ’05 ^ Mrs. Amber Thomas ^ Mr. Brett D. Thomas ’03 ^ Dr. Paul R. Turovsky ’73, LHD ’12 UBS ^ Mr. Jason E. Vann ’95 ^ Mrs. Sara Grace Vann ^ Mr. John W. Walker ’78 Ms. Karen Miller Warshay ’06 Mr. Michael B. Weinberg ’92 Mr. Peter L. Weiner Mrs. Sheila C. Weiner Mr. Adam Weisman ’77 ^ Westchester Collision & Recovery Corp.

Mr. Sean C. White ’93 ^ Mr. David Wong ’95, MS ’96 ^ Mrs. Linda Zhi Wong ’96 ^ Mr. Patrick Wong ’07, MBA ’10 ^ Mr. Howard M. Wurzel ’92 ^ Mrs. Cathy A. Yammarino Dr. Francis J. Yammarino + Mr. Eddie Mingxue Zhang ’05 ^ Ms. Lisa F. Zomback ’90 ^ Mr. Russell C. Zomback ’91 ^ + Faculty/Staff/Retiree * Deceased ^ Binghamton Fund Donor

SOM celebrates

50 YEARS S

tudents, alumni, faculty, staff, friends and supporters gathered last November in New York City to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the School of Management (SOM).

Held at the Grand Hyatt New York, the school’s third fundraising gala honored five decades of success for SOM and charted a course for what’s next.

The festivities included a 40-foot timeline featuring major milestones of the school (now on display in the lobby of Academic A), a video highlighting the history of SOM and a special performance by Neil Berg ’86 and Company. Their set, called “50 Years of Broadway,” featured music from each decade of SOM’s existence and concluded with an ensemble of Binghamton alumni performing “Seasons of Love” from the popular musical Rent.

“Even as we look back to celebrate our achievements, we are looking ahead,” said Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger during his remarks.

“The next 50 years will really be something to see.”

The gala supported the School of Management Dean’s Excellence Fund, which helps the school recruit outstanding students, retain exceptional faculty and fund globally recognized research initiatives.

TABLE SPONSORS:

Active International Inc. Binghamton University Foundation BlackRock Cadent Channel Factory Clear Channel Christina and Vincent ’94 Daniel Mark Deutsch ’81 Disney Advertising/Sales Lauren and Robert ’81 Eicher EY Goldman Sachs Lenore ’90 and Mitchell ’89 Goldstein Karen Fuhrman ’86 and Michael ’86 Kerner Jean Su Maeng and Charles ’98 Kim Tracy and David ’97 Penski PwC Carolyn and Jeffrey Schapiro Sodexo Caryn and Howard ’82, LHD ’19, Unger

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Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Binghamton, NY Permit No. 61 School of Management PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

RESTARTING BINGHAMTON

JONATHAN COHEN

Remington Curtis, assistant professor of accounting, teaches a Bingflex course in September. The format allows remote learners and in-person students, who are socially distanced throughout the lecture hall, to participate in the class simultaneously and in real time.

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