Smeal Update: March 17, 2022

Smeal Business Bash included in Creamery’s Flavor Madness

Smeal Business Bash ice cream is competing in Berkey Creamery’s annual Flavor Madness, a bracket competition. Voting is available every week from 10 a.m. Monday through noon Friday. Vote for Smeal Business Bash!

Smeal alumnus to receive Penn State Alumni Achievement Award, speak at Diversity Task Force event

Smeal alumnus Brandon Lyons will be on campus on Friday, March 18 to receive the Penn State Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni 35 years of age and younger for their extraordinary professional accomplishments. Brandon is an assistant director within the Americas Experience Management Center of Excellence of EY and earned two silver medals at the 2019 Parapan American Games, a silver medal at the 2019 Paracycling World Championship, and earned multiple medals at the UCI World Cup and National Championships. In December 2021, Brandon was named to the 2022 U.S. Paracylcing National Team.

Join us 1:30-2:30 p.m. March 18 as Brandon shares his story, in particular about the support he received from his employer after his accident and since that time. Engage in a discussion about how we can all aim to create an inclusive workplace for our colleagues, regardless of different physical abilities. Click here for In-Person Registration. Click here for Zoom Registration (please note, this option will be watching/listening to the event taking place live in 217 in a Zoom webinar format).

Register for START Conference today

Registration for this year’s START Conference, scheduled for March 31 in the HUB-Robeson Center, ends Friday, March 18. Attendees are asked to register online.

Smeal faculty highlight economic impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict

Three Smeal faculty members connected to the Center for Global Business Studies — Terrence Guay, director of CGBS; Lou Gattis, clinical professor of finance; and, Peter Mhando, associate teaching professor of international business and international affairs — highlight the conflict’s growing challenges for international business, the Russian economy, and the global food supply. Read the story.

Panel discussion planned on Russia-Ukraine conflict

The Center for Global Business Studies is planning a panel discussion to discuss the business and economic dimensions of the Ukraine-Russia situation from 3-4:30 p.m. March 23. Panelists will include: Russia expert Donna Bahry, professor emerita of political science; Svetla Vitanova, assistant teaching professor in finance, who will focus on how sanctions affect the currency and central bank; and Dan Cahoy, Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Business Law, who will discuss economic sanctions from an international law perspective. Each panelist will present their main points in 15-20 minutes. A 30-minute question-and-answer session will follow. Registration for in-person and virtual attendance is required.

CSCR welcomes new advisory board members

Steve Tracey, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR®), has announced the recent addition of three new members to its advisory board. Read the story.

Registration open for second Jaffe Lecture

Registration is now open for the second annual Austin J. Jaffe Real Estate Lecture, which is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 25 in 126 Business Building. This year’s guest is Gilles Duranton, Dean’s Chair in Real Estate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Register for this in-person event at: https://bit.ly/JaffeLectureMar2022.

Participate in AC14 review of the dean’s office

Late Wednesday afternoon you should have received an email inviting you to participate in an official review of the dean’s office. Look for an email with the subject line “AC14 Review of the Office of Dean Whiteman.” All members of the Smeal community are invited to contribute to the review through a formal survey and interview procedure, both of which are confidential. Further explanation and a link to an anonymous survey are included in the aforementioned email.

Smeal in the News

Hurvitz featured in WalletHub Q&A

Fred Hurvitz, Kohl’s professor of practice in retail sales, was featured in a WalletHub question-and-answer article about best retail store credit cards. Read the story.

Know someone who rocks? Nominate them!

Each month the Smeal Staff Advisory Committee names a You Rock! Award recipient. You can nominate a co-worker for the You Rock! Award online.

The Smeal Community Weekly Poll

Click this link to participate in this week’s survey. Results will be shared during the next Smeal Community Zoom, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday.