Smeal Update: February 4, 2022
Erikka Runkle serving as Smeal’s interim HRSP
Erikka Runkle, a human resources strategic partner for the College of Agricultural Sciences, is serving as Smeal’s interim HRSP, while we search for a successor to Tamara Giluk. Erikka is only handling high-level, leadership-type duties for the college. Employees’ first human resources contact should be Stephanie Plummer or Vince Gray. They will be reaching out soon to each department to discuss who is assisting each area, as college HR responsibilities have been split between Stephanie and Vince.
Liu, Kumar recognized for research papers
Siyuan Liu, assistant professor of supply chain and information systems, and Akhil Kumar, professor of supply chain and information systems, were both recognized recently for their contributions to research papers. Liu received the INFORMS Data Science Best Paper Award for a paper he co-authored titled “Responsible IS by Design: A Psychology-Informed Social Connection Recommender System for Mental Health.” Kumar was the winner of the Top Citation Award from the Decision Science Journal for the article “Is Blockchain a Silver Bullet for Supply Chain Management? Technical Challenges and Research Opportunities.”
February staff years of service milestones
Four Smeal staff members will be celebrating five years of service to Smeal during the month of February:
- Kate Emmick, director of donor relations, Development and Alumni Relations
- Michelle Rockower, managing director, Office of Professional Graduate Programs
- Jessie Sorensen, IT support specialist, RIIT group
- James Tebary, IT support specialist, RIIT group
Recendes co-authors article about diversity hiring strategies
Tessa Recendes, assistant professor of management and organization, co-authored an article for Fast Company magazine titled “A 4-point strategy to grow your company’s diverse talent pipeline.” Read the story.
Luciano writes article for Harvard Business Review
Margaret Luciano, associate professor of management and organization and a BNY Mellon Faculty Fellow, wrote an article for Harvard Busines Review titled “4 Ways Managers Can Increase Flexibility Without Losing Productivity.” Read the story.
Save the Date: Executive Insights with Mohammed Mijindadi
Mohammed Mijindadi, the president of GE Nigeria, will be the first Executive Insights guest of the spring semester. Mijindadi, a Smeal MBA graduate, will engage in a moderated discussion via Zoom at noon Feb. 25. He was featured on the cover of the fall 2021 issue of Smeal Magazine. Check your inbox soon for an email with a registration link.
Know someone who rocks? Nominate them!
Each month the Smeal Staff Advisory Committee names a You Rock! Award recipient. The recipients for January include the following group for their contributions to Smeal’s GivingTuesday campaign: Felisa Higgins, associate dean for undergraduate education; Chad Fuller and Matthew Ross, multimedia specialists in the RIIT Group; Heather Baruch-Bueter, marketing communications specialist, and Andy Elder, public relations specialist, both in the Office of Marketing and Strategic Communications; and, Jeremy Bauman, business analyst on the Constituent Relationship Management team. All of you rock! You can nominate a co-worker for the You Rock! Award online.
Next Smeal Community Zoom set for Monday
A reminder that the next Smeal Community Zoom is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday. If you are able to attend, connect via this link. Previous recordings are located on the Smeal Intranet: https://intranet.smeal.psu.edu/deansoffice.