DOLAN UPDATE Dolan School of Business
Winter 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the Dean
1
Dolan School Fast Facts
2
Introducing Two New Academic Programs
3
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
4
Meet Our New Professors
5
Real Estate Club
6
Dolan School Internships
Spotlight on Accounting Faculty Newsbreakers
7
8
10
New Advisory Board Members New Advisory Board Chair Dolan School Highlights Business Plan Competition
12 13 14
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Ethical Business Leaders For A Global Future Dean Donald E. Gibson, PhD Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Programs Mark Ligas, PhD Assistant Dean and Director of Undergraduate Programs Dawn DeBiase, LCSW WINTER 2016
DOLAN UPDATE Integrated Marketing Manager Alison Wade Designer Roberta Reynolds Send Inquiries to: Dolan School of Business Fairfield University 1073 North Benson Broad Fairfield, CT 06824-5195 203-254-4070 fairfield.edu/dsb
Message from the Dean
Friends, This is my fifth year serving as dean of the Dolan School
While the news on the following pages will give you
of Business, and it has been quite a ride. I began with
insight into some of the activities of our busy school,
a strategic focus on building student career readiness,
you really have to be here to get a feel for what’s going
assuring a caring learning community, and increasing
on. I invite you to see the students in action making
our recognition in the marketplace. This newsletter will
professional-level class presentations and engaging
provide a glimpse of the ways we’ve made progress on
with industry guest speakers; catch a business start-up
all three of these fronts in the last year, and our plans for
idea at our elevator pitch competition, attend a faculty
continuing our upward trajectory.
research presentation or join one of our alumni events
The Fast Facts on the next page capture some of the highlights, illustrating a key aspect of the last four
which bring students and alumni business leaders together.
years: strong growth, especially in our undergraduate
Thanks for being part of our family, and for keeping up
programs. In spring 2012, we had 1,088 business majors;
with our progress. I encourage you to take a moment to
by spring 2015, we had 1,565, a 44% increase. Business
send me a note at dgibson@fairfield.edu – I would enjoy
minors grew from 191 to 328 in the same time period,
hearing from you.
a 72% increase. Why are we growing? There are many factors, but certainly this growth is a reflection of the
Sincerely,
word getting out about the quality of our faculty, our programs, and our students.
Donald E. Gibson, PhD
The Fast Facts also reveal some recent positive rankings
Dean and Professor
and excellent student job-related outcomes, such as the percentage of students completing internships and our coveted 99.5% of students who have full time jobs or are in graduate school six months following graduation. In an environment where the value of college is being questioned, it’s important to demonstrate our ROI, and these strong measures tell a great story.
“Why are
we growing? ...word getting out about the quality of our
”
faculty, our programs, and our students.
1
Dolan School Fast Facts
Undergraduate Enrollment is Growing 2000
+ A
Quality of Teaching grade from
1500
Nationally ranked by 1000
500
Ranked #7
ENROLLED YEAR 2012 2013 2014 2015 Majors
Minors
The average salary of Class of 2015 graduates is
$56,225
93% 2
by LinkedIn, the Best Undergraduate Accounting Programs, 2014.
of graduating seniors completed at least one internship (Class of 2015)
73% of the Class of 2015 Internships are paid
99.5% of DSB graduates have a job or are accepted to graduate or professional school within six months of graduation
Introducing Two New Academic Programs
This year the Dolan School introduced two new academic programs:
DR. MARK LIGAS
The MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) and the Graduate Business
Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Programs
Essentials Certificate. These programs are designed to offer students the cutting-edge skills and professional business knowledge needed in today’s workforce and economy. To learn more about these programs
Q. Dr. Ligas, what influenced the Dolan School to offer a program such as the Graduate Business Essentials Certificate?
we sat down with the professors who have been instrumental in piloting
A. This certificate is a great way to launch a business career. Most
them.
people, regardless of whether their undergraduate major was English or Biology, will end up working in business. In order to succeed, they
DR. JIE TAO
need the language and skills of accounting, organizational behavior,
Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management
marketing management, and finance. That’s what we offer. This
The M.S. in Business Analytics is designed to provide students with
advanced business knowledge but are not yet ready to commit to an
the skillsets, knowledge and confidence to effectively use, and make strategic sense of, a wealth of data. Q. Dr. Tao, are you currently working on any special projects as part of the program? A. I’m working with local businesses to develop course projects
certificate also provides a solid alternative for those who desire MBA program.
“Give us one year, we’ll give you a career ”
from real-world business problems. The idea is to give students first-hand exposure to challenges that real companies face, and have them use analytics to determine a solution. Q. Why would you recommend an MSBA degree?
Q. Who should apply to the Business Essentials Certificate program? A. The certificate is available to anyone with an undergraduate degree. If you believe that having foundational business skills will
A. Data analytics is the most popular and cutting-edge topic in the
enhance your ability to compete for and obtain a desirable position,
business world today. Data has turned out to be at the core of all
or if you would like to gain experience with graduate-level business
business applications for decision making. When students possess
coursework as a way to see if you’re ready for graduate study, then
the analytical skills to use big data they will be better positioned to
this certificate program is an excellent choice.
succeed in the business world.
Q. What can students expect to get out of the program?
Q. What can students expect to get out of the program?
A. Students in the program can expect to gain by increasing their
A. Students will walk away with a comprehensive understanding
understanding of how business works. And a benefit of the program
of data analytics including contexts and techniques. They’ll gain
is that students will be able to take these courses in flexible, conve-
hands-on experiences, critical thinking skills, and problem solving
nient formats, both online and in-class, over a short period of time
capabilities.
—potentially one summer.
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Dynamic Entrepreneur-in-Residence: Chris Hamer
This year the Dolan School of Business welcomed Chris Hamer, a highly experienced digital executive, founder and CEO of CrowdFlik, Inc. as the School’s fourth Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR). “Having Chris here as our EIR is significant for the Dolan School,” said Dr. Don Gibson, dean of the School. “He’s working directly with students and providing a vivid example of how high motivation, clever ideas, and a good business sense can lead to a very successful start-up. Having him here is an amazing opportunity for us.” Hamer will be engaging with students in a variety of ways, including involvement with Dr. Carl Scheraga’s Technology Ventures course, mentoring “StagUp” Business Plan Competition teams, and coaching
for the University and the surrounding community.” Hamer has a background in marketing, entertainment, digital media and technology and has held senior roles with category-leading brands including Sony-BMG Music, Cadillac and OnStar. His company, CrowdFlik, Inc, is a patented and transformational mobile video platform that uniquely harnesses the power of the crowd by synchronizing multiple video feeds to give users the ability to create unique edits from crowd sourced video. The EIR program was made possible from generous seed funding from Robert and Laura Coleman P ’13.
new businesses in the Fairfield University Accelerator and Mentoring Enterprise (FAME). Hamer explained he decided to take the role as EIR because of his experience with students. “When I attended a Business Plan Competition event two years ago I was so impressed with how dialed in the students were. They were there at 9:30 a.m., wearing business attire, eager to network and engage.” In the fall, Hamer spent much of his time working with students in the classroom. He kicked off the school year by pitching real business ideas — he’s prepared to fund — that students could work on during the semester. The idea is to stimulate research, discussion and work that students would be doing if they were employees of CrowdFlik. “The students are working on ideas I’ve brought to them that I’m prepared to take to market. It’s really exciting to be able to offer students the chance to be a part of my business and give them experiences that will set them apart from other candidates when they go on their first job interview,” said Hamer. “To continue the fall semester momentum into spring I’ll be moving my company CrowdFlik into the FAME building in downtown Fairfield,” explained Hamer. “Here I’ll conduct my business and will offer internships to Fairfield University students to continue their work
really exciting to be able to offer students the
from this semester at FAME. Interns will also get the chance to work
chance to be a part of my business and give them
on various CrowdFlik projects. Through these efforts my goal is to es-
experiences that will set them apart ...
tablish the Dolan School as a center of entrepreneurship excellence 4
students are working on ideas I’ve brought “toThe them that I’m prepared to take to market. It’s
Chris Hamer, Entrepreneur-in-Residence
”
Meet Our New Professors
DR. MICHAEL SCIANDRA, Assistant Professor of Marketing Michael Sciandra joined Fairfield University as
Information Technology and Systems (WITS). Dr. Tao is also a member of the AIS technology committee and received the AIS ATLAS award for his services in 2013.
an assistant professor of marketing this fall. Prior to joining Fairfield, Professor Sciandra was a visiting assistant professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business. His teaching interests include Introduction to Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Marketing Research and Brand Management. Professor Sciandra received his MBA from the Boler School of Business, John Carroll University and his PhD in Marketing from the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh in December, 2014. Professor Sciandra’s research focuses on consumer and marketer communications and includes topics such as consumer advice utilization, word-ofmouth, social media and in-store mobile device use. During his free time, Professor Sciandra enjoys traveling, playing guitar, golfing and reading.
DR. PAUL DAULERIO, Visiting Assistant Professor of Management Dr. Daulerio is currently a visiting assistant professor at the Dolan School of Business where he teaches undergraduate business management courses. Dr. Daulerio is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (USNA), where he received a bachelor of science degree in naval science. After graduating from USNA, Dr. Daulerio served 9 years as a naval officer in the United States Navy, with assignments both at sea and ashore. Thereafter, he joined Texaco Inc., where his career spanned some 28 years, including 10 years as President of Texaco Global Aviation Marketing. Professor Daulerio holds a master’s degree in business administration from Drexel University, and two master’s degrees
DR. JIE TAO, Assistant Professor of
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Daulerio recently
Information Systems and Operations
completed his doctoral degree in business management from Pace
Management
University’s Lubin School of Business.
Dr. Jie Tao is an assistant professor of information systems and operations
DR. KATHY DHANDA, Visiting Professor
management at the Dolan School of Business
of Information Systems and Operations
and holds a doctoral degree in information systems from Dakota State University. Dr. Tao’s recent research interests include business process management and business analytics, and he is actively involved in shaping the curriculum for the Dolan School’s new master of science degree in business analytics (MSBA). He has published several papers in prestigious information systems journals and has presented research at premier academic conferences such as Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Hawaii International Conferences on System Sciences (HICSS), International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), and the Workshop on
Management Dr. Kathy Dhanda is a visiting professor at the Dolan School of Business. She is also a professor in the Dreihaus College of Business at DePaul University in Chicago. Her academic scholarship focuses on sustainability issues with an emphasis in the areas of environmental modelling, carbon markets, and sustainable supply chains. She received her doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and resides in Wilton, CT with her husband, Adrian, and her two children, Arman and Ariana.
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Real Estate Club Spends the Day in NYC Learning from Alumni
The newly established Real Estate Club had its first official field trip,
standing of the many potential career paths they will have after they
planned by students with the help of faculty advisors, to New York
graduate from Fairfield. We were especially grateful to the Fairfield
City in November. Members visited four firms: Howard Hughes Corpo-
alumni we met who generously shared their time and knowledge
ration, Thomson Reuters, Related Companies, and Structure Tone.
with us.”
During the early stages of planning, Dr. Katsiaryna Salavei Bardos,
Written by Joseph Pisano ’18, president of the Real Estate Club
associate professor of Finance, introduced John Freel, ’85, to the president and vice president of the Real Estate Club — Joseph Pisano ‘18 and Anthony Crasto ’18. With John’s experience in the real estate industry Pisano and Crasto were able to make connections with many other alumni in the field in order to make the trip a reality. The Club was also able to develop vital relationships through connections that Dr. Walter Hlawitschka, associate professor of Finance, has in the finance world. At Howard Hughes, George Giaquinto, vice president of Development, presented the company’s projected 3-D model of their Seaport District project. Club members were very engaged by the project and the details behind it. At Thomson Reuters, Jaime Fuertes ’88, global head of Portfolio Management and Workplace Strategy, gave an informative presentation on how the company operates its office locations globally. At Related Companies, students learned from vice president Steve Winter about Hudson Yards, one of the biggest and most expensive developments in Manhattan’s history. At Structure Tone, Vice President of Estimating Paul Crilly and Account Executive Lou Ottrando presented an overview of Structure Tone’s mission and work process. A reception followed, hosted by Eugene White ‘96, principal client liaison, and fellow Fairfield alumni working in New York real estate came for a meet and greet with Club members. “The trip to NYC was an excellent opportunity for students to learn firsthand about some of the most exciting real estate projects in the industry,” said Club advisor Dr. Bardos. “It helped translate what students learn in the classroom to a 6
real world experience. And it also broadened their under-
excellent opportunity “for...an students to learn firsthand about some of the most exciting real estate projects in the industry
”
Dr. Bardos, Club advisor and associate professor of Finance
Students Grow Professionally Through Internships
Marketing major Victoria Asmus ’18 worked at Vineyard Vines this
Michelle Russomano ’16, a Business Management major with a
fall as an Outlet Merchandising and Product Development intern.
minor in Human Resources, has been interning at Nestlé Waters
On the job she generated design cards, came up with ideas for on-
North America in Stamford. Michelle has been able to gain hands-
brand outlet styles, and created “LookBooks” and assortment sheets.
on experience and exposure in Human Resources, specifically in
“Working at a company, I was thrown into the ‘real world’ and I
Organizational Development. “I think every day in the office has been
learned a lot about myself in the process,” said Victoria. As a soph-
a valuable experience,” said Michelle. “My advice to students looking
omore Victoria recommends that students start early and get out of
for an internship is to use their resources and network. Get out there
their comfort zone. “I decided to apply, thinking I would never even
and tell people what you want to do; be proactive, and hopefully you
have a shot, and look what happened — you never know until you
will find your dream internship.”
try, and it could turn into something great.”
Hire a Dolan Intern
Post your Internship opportunities on Stags4Hire by contacting Sarah Bollinger, FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY director of internships and professional development, sbollinger@fairfield.edu.
Vineyard Vines: (left to right) Patrick O’Keefe ’09, Alicia Ciancimino ’10, Kelly George ’10, Lizzy Monaghan ’07, Taylor Wilkes ’13, Neil Regan, Dan Williamson ’02 (bottom left to right) Bailey Moran ’15, Kelsey McGettigan ’14, Victoria Asmus ’18, Shannon Flynn ’17, Devan DeLaus ’17 and Lauren Wierzel ’16
Nestlé Waters: Michelle Russomano ’16 and Jessica Cooper ’05 7
Spotlight on Accounting
with professors and classmates, prepares students for success on the
The Accounting Department Receives Recognition
CPA exam and targets the “Big 4 employers” for graduates.
This year the Dolan School’s accounting programs continued to receive recognition from prominent accounting field experts for
“Fairfield’s MSA program uniquely contributes to students’ comple-
both undergraduate and graduate programs. Already named #7 on
tion of the three ‘E’s’ needed for certification as a CPA: Education,
LinkedIn’s national “Best Schools in Accounting” list, that accolade
Exam and Experience,” noted Dr. Dawn Massey, coordinator of
was followed by The Accounting Path naming the Master of Science
Graduate Accounting Programs and professor of Accounting. Stu-
in Accounting as one of the Top 5 AACSB accredited programs in New
dents’ education includes instruction in both technical material and
England. With the program’s small class sizes, The Accounting Path
soft-skills development, delivered by faculty members who have both
recognized Fairfield as a University that allows for close relationships
academic and professional CPA certification.” Additionally, Accounting Degree Review ranked the graduate program #16 nationally among 50 other schools in the country and ranked the undergraduate program #1 on its top 10 list of undergraduate accounting programs in Connecticut. These rankings are testament to the accounting department’s dedication to academic excellence. One of the most important distinguishing factors that sets Dolan’s undergraduate accounting department apart from other programs is the use of Jesuit Ignation pedagogy in the classroom. “Fairfield’s undergraduate Accounting program incorporates Ignatian pedagogy in a challenging program that prepares students to succeed in graduate accounting studies, the accounting profession and beyond,” explained Dr. Joan Lee, chair of the Accounting Department and professor of Accounting. “The program builds on the solid base in the liberal arts the students receive from Fairfield’s core curriculum by developing the students’ competency in technical writing and presentations. The department’s award-winning faculty use active learning and reflection, two hallmarks of Ignatian pedagogy, in
“
We have captured something special that is reflected in the engagement of our professors, their connection with the students, and the success of our graduates. 8
Kathi Mettler, CPA, Instructor of the Practice of Accounting
many of the upper level courses which include options to engage in service learning in the study of individual taxation and accounting for non-profit organizations.”
”
The Dolan School congratulates the Accounting Department for its earned distinctions.
Award-Winning Research This year accounting professors Dr. Ahmed Ebrahim, Dr. Bruce Bradford, and Dr. Rebecca Bloch were the recipients of the 2015 “Best Paper” award at the Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Accounting Association. Their paper, “Market Reaction to ADRs Quarterly Earnings: The GAAP Effect,” was born in the classroom during a discussion with students on some subtle differences between accounting standards in the United States (U.S. GAAP) and international accounting standards (IFRS). A student asked Professor Ebrahim whether these subtle differences have any substantive impact on financial reporting or on ways that financial statement users may interpret the information. This spurred Ebrahim, Bradford and Bloch to dig deeper. The paper examines whether there are any systematic differences in the market reaction to the announcement of quarterly earnings for a sample of ADRs (foreign firms listed and trading on a U.S. stock exchange and filing with the SEC) depending upon whether the firm uses either the integral approach (U.S. GAAP) or the discrete approach (IFRS) for their interim reporting. The paper provides evidence of significantly lower earnings forecast errors for ADRs using the integral approach under the U.S. GAAP compared to those using the discrete approach under IFRS, while also controlling for the analysts’ following factor and other firm-specific and country-specific factors (i.e., the legal system and the level of enforcement). The results provide evidence that the integral approach for interim reporting under the U.S. GAAP helps to smooth out the forecasting process for interim and annual earnings, which, in turn, leads to better market expectations and analysts’ forecasts. These reduce the surprise element of announced earnings and, ultimately, measures of market response coefficients.
#1
on the top 10 list of undergraduate accounting programs in Connecticut. Accounting Degree Review
This work contributes to the current debate in the U.S. market regarding IFRS adoption, and provides a response to a very insightful question from one of Fairfield’s excellent students. 9
Faculty Newsbreakers
DR. NAZLI SILA ALAN, assistant professor of Finance, published “A Liquidity Program to Stabilize Equity Markets” with John S. Mask and Robert A. Schwartz in The Journal of Portfolio Management. In this article, they consider a program that, by bringing additional liquidity to the equity markets, would benefit market participants, listed companies, an exchange, and the broader economy. She also published an invited editorial on this topic in JPM on “Combating Turbulence in the Equity Market: Get the Listed Companies on Board” with Robert A. Schwartz and Tim Mahoney. Dr. Alan was also invited to give talks at the Financial Markets Conference, “Panel: Has NMS-Induced Competition Delivered?” and the Twentieth Annual Global Equity and Derivatives Markets Seminar in London, “Turbulence in the Equity Markets.”
DR. MOUSUMI BOSE GODBOLE, associate professor of Marketing, and Lei Ye, were published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services for their work titled “A Cross-cultural Exploration of Situated Learning and Coping.” This research discusses the link between situated learning or “learning on the go” and coping. Through a cross-cultural exploratory study, they demonstrate that situated learning helps consumers gain knowledge that assists them in coping better when faced with stressful service episodes. Dr. Bose Godbole also co-authored a chapter in the Handbook on Research in Relationship Marketing, titled “Gratitude in Relationship Marketing” with Randle Raggio, Anna Green Walz and Judith Anne Garretson Folse. This book chapter serves as an easy reference to research
Students at the Dolan School learn firsthand from faculty who are industry experts engaged in cutting-edge research.
related to gratitude in the context of managing consumer relationships. Bose Godbole’s work also received attention in The Baltimore Sun and Luxury Daily.
DR. DAWN MASSEY, coordinator of Graduate Accounting Programs and professor of Accounting, was a discussant at the University of Waterloo’s 2nd biennial Symposium on Accounting Ethics, an invitation-only conference bringing together top scholars in the field of
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accounting ethics. Dr. Massey discussed a paper entitled “Recognizing
DR. RAJASREE K. RAJAMMA, associate professor of Marketing,
Ethical Issues: An Examination of Practicing Industry Accountants and
along with Drs. Jeffrey Lewin and Audhesh Paswan, was published in
Accounting Students.”
Journal of Business Research for her work, titled “Customer Loyalty in Entertainment Venues: The Reality TV Genre.“ Her study contributes
DR. SHARLENE MCEVOY, professor of Business Law, published the following works on the anticipated impact that driverless cars will have on the economy and environment: “A Brave New World: The Environmental and Economic Impact of Autonomous Cars,” in Modern Environmental Science and Engineering, and book chapter “The Economic Impact of the Autonomous Car: A Vision of the Future
to a better understanding of the drivers of consumer loyalty in service contexts through investigation of the $750 billion U.S. entertainment industry. Dr. Rajamma also published a research article in the Journal of Service Marketing, co-authored with Derrick D’Souza and Audhesh K. Paswan, which proposes a knowledge-exchange framework for value co-creation in a franchise network.
or Just a Mirage?“ in Global Perspectives on Sustainable Regional Development. She also published an article titled “Creating an Ethical
DR. MICHAEL TUCKER, professor of Finance, participated in Al
Classroom,” in The Business Education Innovation Journal on rules
Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training in Miami in September.
that instructors can put in place to aid in student deportment in the
Coming out of the training, Dr. Tucker presented to Dr. David Down-
classroom.
ie’s politics and environmental classes in November, and also gave a public speech at The Greens at Cannondale in Wilton, CT. Dr. Tucker is
DR. CAMELIA MICU, associate professor of Marketing, was published in Psychology & Marketing for her work titled “What
scheduled to deliver another speech at The Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT on February 1, 2016.
to Get and What to Give Up: How Different Decision Tasks and Product Types Affect the Persuasiveness of Promotion-Focused
DR. YING ZHANG, assistant professor of Finance, recently had a
Versus Prevention-Focused Messages.” This work, co-authored
paper accepted by the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics
with Arjun Chowdhury, Tilottama Ghosh, S. Ratneshwar and Eunjin
(SSCI), titled “An Investigation into the Substitutability of Equity and
(Anna) Kim shows that the effectiveness of these two different
Mortgage REITs in Real Estate Portfolios.” Co-authored with Andrew
promotional messages depends on the type of product being
Hansz and Tingyu (Rhea) Zhou, the study reconciles the controversy
promoted and the consumer’s decision task.
regarding the substitutability between equity REITs (EREITs) and mortgage REITs (MREITs).
JOHN NEAL, visiting instructor of Marketing, was recently interviewed by News 12 Connecticut on the subject of Tesla Motors Company and their desire to penetrate the Connecticut market. Neal spoke about the marketing implications of Tesla offering their cars for sale in Connecticut without going through the traditional dealership format, and how local car dealers see this as a potential change in the way consumers buy cars, as this non-dealer effort might lead to the elimination of car franchises.
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Introducing New Advisory Board Members
The Dolan School Advisory Board convenes a group of business leaders and supporters who serve an essential role by advising the Dean and faculty on current business trends, helping to advance the School’s vision and values in the lives of undergraduate and graduate students and connecting with the business community. Here are the members who have joined in the last year:
LOUIS ALBANESE ‘76 President and Managing Partner, Catamount Lou has over 35 years of investment management experience in the
THOMAS N. KUSHNER ‘86 Managing Director, Senior Relationship Manager Global Institutional Capital Group, Wells Fargo Securities
securities industry. Prior to founding Catamount, Lou was senior vice
As Managing Director, Tom covers key clients in Boston and New
president and founder of Constitution Capital Corp., an investment
York. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Tom was an MD and senior rela-
advisory firm. Prior to founding Constitution, Lou was a senior vice
tionship manager with UBS. Tom was also deputy head of Foreign Ex-
president with Prudential Securities in its Portfolio Management Ser-
change Distribution and a trustee of UBS’ Political Action Board. Prior,
vices Program and a senior vice president with Paine Webber.
Tom was with AIG Financial Products as an MD in Investor Marketing and held positions at Chase Manhattan Bank and TIAA-CREF.
RICHARD CERRONE ‘76 Founding Partner & Senior Advisor, CM Advisors Prior to founding CM Advisors, LLC, Richard was a corporate officer at Xerox Corporation and senior vice president. During his 40 year
SCOTT C. NEVINS ‘80 Senior Investment Advisor, Bernstein Private Wealth Management
tenure with Xerox, he held senior executive management positions
Scott provides asset allocation and wealth planning advice to individ-
in sales, marketing, operations and strategy. Richard led a variety of
uals, families, endowments and foundations and entrepreneurs. He
businesses in North America, Europe and developing markets. He
began his career at GE Capital in their Information Systems Man-
was part of the core leadership team during Xerox’s turnaround in
agement Training Program. For the next nearly 20 years Scott was a
the early 2000s.
successful entrepreneur and CEO, running seven early-to-mid stage angel-backed/VC-backed financial service and technology service
FRANK CHECHILE ‘85 Former Chief Executive Officer, Parallel Infrastructure Frank is a former CEO and business leader who has served in a variety of roles in multiple industries around the world. Most recently, he
companies. TOM SCIAMETTA, ‘96 Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
was the CEO of Parallel Infrastructure, a national leader in right-of-
Tom is an assurance partner with 18 years of auditing, accounting
way real estate management and infrastructure development. Prior,
and business advisory experience. He has served high-growth
Frank served in roles in the information technology services industry,
public and private audit clients, primarily in the media and
with both Hewlett Packard’s Enterprise Services unit and Electronic
entertainment and professional services sectors. Tom has assisted
Data Systems (EDS).
clients in stock and debt offerings and has advised clients on business, accounting and regulatory issues. He has worked with
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start-up and entrepreneurial companies as well as global firms.
Announcing New Advisory Board Chair: Thomas J. Fanning, Sr. ’78, P’10, ’06
In January 2015, Thomas J. Fanning, Sr. ’78, P’10, ’06, founding and
The Advisory Board was actively involved in a range of initiatives in
co-managing partner of Heritage Strategies LLC, agreed to serve as
2015, including refining strategy for the School’s entrepreneurship
Chairman of the Dolan School Advisory Board. In his role as chair,
program and reviewing proposals for a new corporate partners
Tom works with the Dean on setting Board agendas, serving as
program and plans for forming an accounting advisory council. In ad-
facilitator of Board meetings and helping to identify potential new
dition, the Board supported Junior Career Night and a new mentoring
Board members. “It has been terrific working with Tom in his role as
program.
chair of the Advisory Board,” said Dr. Don Gibson, dean of the Dolan School. “Tom brings his highly successful business experience, his
Advisory Board Initiative: Junior Career Night
deep Board expertise and a strong motivation to help move Fair-
In October the Dolan School held an important professional develop-
field University and the Dolan School of Business to new heights of
ment event, Junior Career Night, where students had the opportunity
accomplishment and recognition. I welcome his energy and passion
to speak one-on-one with upper level business professionals in a
as Board chair.”
casual setting. The goal of the evening is to allow students to learn
In addition, in June, Mr. Fanning announced an exciting leadership
firsthand about potential career paths, job and internship search-
gift of $250,000 to the University, to initially be directed to the Dolan School Dean’s Strategic Initiatives fund, a resource for the School to support a range of student and faculty programs. The Dean added, “This is a game-changing gift that will help the School enhance its current programs and explore new ones. The Chair has made a bold investment in the Dolan School, emphasizing our rise in the field of business education.
ing strategies and to practice their networking skills. This year 27 mentors, including Board members and a range of successful alumni, met with students to share industry-specific advice and lessons for success. The evening concluded with a roundtable discussion where students broke into groups by major to gain more insight into specific industries from the mentors.
Advisory Board Mentoring Program Launched An innovative student mentoring program was launched by the Advisory Board in the fall. The program is designed to provide Fairfield undergraduate students the opportunity to develop a mentoring relationship with a business leader to help students achieve greater success in their academic and career pursuits. So far, 11 Board members are each mentoring 1-2 students. “This is a great opportunity to connect our students with active, experienced business leaders,” said Dean Gibson. “Working directly with a student mentee offered a wonderful opportunity to stay connected with the University,” said Hugh Davis ’95, Advisory Board member. “Having the opportunity to share experienc-
Here Mr. Fanning is shown participating in Junior Career Night, just one of the events where Advisory Board members engage with students.
es and provide one-on-one guidance with students during such an influential part of their professional development has been extremely rewarding and productive.”
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Dolan School Highlights
Students Learn from the Leaders at the 2015 Dean’s Lecture Series
Two Visionary Leaders Visit the Dolan School to Participate in the Annual Dolan Lecture
This fall the Dolan School welcomed four business leaders to campus
Marked as one of the Dolan School’s signature events to expose
to participate in the Dean’s Lecture Series, a series of talks from pro-
students to real-world business professionals, the Dolan Lecture is an
fessionals designed for students to learn about relevant topics in the
evening of engaging conversation and questions from the audience
workplace. In October, Maria Martorello, partner at Deloitte Tax
with highly accomplished, internationally recognized business lead-
LLP, spoke on the topic of global diversity. During her presentation
ers. This year Dean Gibson was joined on stage by two distinguished
she discussed the importance of global citizenship, competitiveness,
CEOs: William McDermott, CEO and executive board member of SAP,
workforce preparedness and respecting global perspectives and
and Dinesh Paliwal, chairman, president and CEO of HARMAN.
teamwork. In November, the Dolan School hosted a CEO panel discussion on the topic of entrepreneurial leadership. The panel was composed of three accomplished CEOs: Michael MacDonald, chairman and CEO of Medifast, Inc., Tim Portland, chairman & CEO of Yellowstone Landscape, and Michael Shea, former executive chairman for Global Imaging Systems. Dean Gibson engaged the panel on topics including entrepreneurial leadership skills and attributes, building high-performance management teams, skills required as a new hire and unique challenges each CEO has encountered. The conversation spurred insightful questions from the audience and allowed students to consider their own appetite for entrepreneurship. “The Dean’s Lecture Series this fall featured a group of highly accomplished business leaders from the accounting world to the CEO corner suite,” noted Richard Cerrone ’76, Dolan School Advisory Board member. “It was a great learning opportunity for our students. Feedback from the Dolan School community has been very positive and plans have been finalized for another dynamic executive to speak about sports marketing on March 1st, 2016.”
“The Dean’s Lecture Series this fall featured a group of highly
accomplished business leaders from the accounting world to the CEO corner suite. It was a great learning opportunity for our
”
students.
Richard Cerrone ’76, Adjunct Professor of Management 14
HARMAN CEO, Dinesh Paliwal This fall the Dolan School welcomed Dinesh Paliwal, President and CEO of HARMAN International, the premier connected technologies company for the automotive industry, to discuss the challenges for companies trying to hire the most talented employees, and from there, how to retain them. Paliwal described his approach to staffing as not only finding the best employees in today’s market, but also putting an emphasis on mentoring, employee development and entrepreneurship. Of note was the employee development model he introduced at HARMAN where potential rising stars are identified early on as a way to develop their future at the company, and entrepreneurial ideas are awarded with significant funding from the company. The idea is to ensure that a big company can remain entrepreneurial. “Mr. Paliwal is a great example of how deep international experience and a knowledge of engineering and people can be combined into a leadership strategy for a rapidly growing company,” said Dean Gibson. “The students and faculty really benefited from hearing his intriguing story.” SAP CEO, William McDermott In the spring Bill McDermott took the stage to speak about his journey from working in a small deli on Long Island to his position as global CEO of SAP. The evening focused on conversation around Bill’s road to leadership and success. He spoke about how relentless optimism, hard work and disciplined execution can embolden people and equip organizations to achieve audacious goals. “Bill McDermott is a great example for students of what it takes to succeed in today’s major corporations,” said Dean Gibson. “As his story shows, it’s not what you start out with — he had very little. It’s how you leverage hard work and energy to inspire others that really supercharges achievement in business.”
15
“Fantasy Squared” Wins the 4th Annual Business Plan Competition
Eight teams competed in the 4th annual Dolan School Business Plan Competition last spring, a program designed to offer students the chance to develop and pitch their own business ideas for start-up funding. The event took place in March after six months of preparation that included a semi-final round, an elevator pitch contest and multiple meetings with mentors. “Fantasy Squared,” an innovative idea for a web resource to empower fantasy sports game players, won first place in the competition. The undergraduate students behind the idea — Martin Gallagher ’15, a mechanical engineering major and Eric Lannaccone ’15, a software engineering major — received $12,000 in start-up funding. “This will be a great addition to the fantasy sports market,” said Gallagher,
PLANS ARE AFOOT for the 2016 5th Annual StagUp Entrepreneurship Competition. Make plans to attend the Showcase of student teams, swimming in a “shark tank” of real investors. Be there on April 5th to catch the action.
whose team was mentored by Matt Powers ’03 and Dan Leitao ’12. The prize money served as start-up funds for new businesses. The finalists included an imaginative group of self-starting undergraduate and graduate students from the Dolan School, the School of Engineering and the College of Arts & Sciences who pooled their knowledge and skill sets to develop business plans. Each team had six minutes to pitch their plans. Ideas ranged from a pedicab service described as an “Uber” for college campuses to an idea to help companies use Instagram data analytics for marketing purposes. Each team presented the value proposition, proposed partners, revenue stream and cost structure for the business idea. A panel of five venture capital experts, entrepreneurs and alumni judged the business plans and awarded the teams they believed have the most viable plans. Dean Gibson said the field of proposed companies showed great promise and were all “worthy of investment.” “We hoped we would have ideas for companies that are economically viable and led by students who are going to make them a business, and we got them,” Dr.
Fairfield StagUp - Martin Gallagher ’15 and Eric
Lannaccone ’15 received $12,000 in start-up funding for their business, Fantasy Squared. 16
Gibson told the audience of more than 200. “Each year the student teams get more impressive. You should all be proud of your hard work!”
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The Dolan School of Business is a leader in Jesuit business education, creating a strong learning community, enlivened by a rigorous liberal arts and business core, that develops students’ potential to be ethical business leaders for a global future. The Dolan School enrolls more than 1500 undergraduate students in accounting, finance, information systems & operations management, international business, management and marketing. Approximately 200 graduate students are enrolled in the School’s Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accounting and Master of Science in Finance degrees. A new master’s degree, the Master of Science in Business Analytics, launched in fall 2015. The learning environment is enhanced by the School’s topnotch faculty, building on realworld business experience and accomplishments in their academic disciplines. The School is ranked among the best undergraduate and graduate business programs in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, and Princeton Review. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) has accredited the Dolan School since 1997.