Smeal Update: Monday, April 26, 2021

Cahoy receives Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching

Dan Cahoy, professor of business law, Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Business Law, and research director for the Center for the Business of Sustainability, was one of two recipients of Penn State’s 2021 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Read the Penn State News story.

Limoges honored with 2021 McCoy Award

Alex Limoges, a senior majoring in supply chain management and a forward on the Penn State men’s hockey team, has been selected as a 2021 recipient of Penn State’s Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award. The McCoy Award is presented annually to one senior student-athlete who has combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. Read the Penn State News story. 

Gatto gift to fund Global Social Impact Fund at Smeal

Penn State Smeal College of Business alumnus Lou Gatto and his wife, Kathy, have made a $1.1 million commitment as part of their estate plans to create the Gatto Global Social Impact Fund at Smeal. The fund will provide financing, resources, and mentorship for socially minded student entrepreneurs, drawing on the strengths  of the college and the university, including the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Penn State’s Small Business Development Center, and Invent Penn State. Read the story.

Penn State chapter of AMA named International Chapter of the Year

The Penn State Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) was named International Chapter of the Year from a pool of more than 290 schools at the recent AMA International Collegiate Conference Awards Ceremony, which was held virtually. PSAMA is led by President Jackie Tucker, a senior marketing major, and faculy adviser Franklin Carter, the William A. Donan Clinical Professor of Marketing. This marks the second time in PSAMA’s 49-year history that it has received the honor. The last time was in the 2017-18 academic year.

Smeal students win multiple placings at International Business Ethics Case Competition

A team of Smeal undergraduate students — Katherine Groves (supply chain and information systems), Anna Simek (management information systems), and Annika Sernyak (supply chain and information systems) — combined to place in the three competitions that were part of the recent International Business Ethics Case Competition, the oldest and most distinguished intercollegiate business ethics competition of its kind. Each team selects a topic, prepares a presentation describing the problem, and proposes a solution. Smeal’s team developed a case study on “Google is Bringing Back the Corporate Town.” Smeal took first place in the 90-second presentation, first place in the 10-minute presentation and second place in the full (25-minute) presentation.

Smeal Ph.D. students sweep awards at Haring Symposium

Two Smeal marketing Ph.D. students swept top honors at the recent Albert Haring Symposium for Doctoral Research in Marketing, hosted by the Indiana Kelley School of Business. Fourteen universities (12 Big Ten schools plus Columbia and the University of Chicago) were represented by pairs of students in presenter and discussant roles. Felix Xu was named Best Presenter, while Ben Beck shared Best Discussant honors with Qihui Chen, a University of Maryland student who is auditing Lisa Bolton’s Ph.D. seminar in advanced consumer behavior. Bolton was Smeal’s faculty representative at the symposium. Duncan Fong is the Ph.D. coordinator for the Department of Marketing.

Encourage graduating seniors to fill out exit survey

Faculty and staff who teach or engage with graduating seniors are asked to strongly encourage them to fill out the Smeal Senior Exit Survey. Feel free to share the following link: http://bit.ly/SP2021PostGrad

Smeal in the News

Brian Cameron featured in Forbes Q&A

Brian Cameron, associate dean for Professional Graduate Programs, is the focus of a question-and-answer article in Forbes titled “How Universities Can Adjust To Changing Gen-Z And Millennial Preferences With Brian Cameron, Smeal College Of Business At Penn State.” Read the story.

Ask the Dean open for your questions

Send your questions to AskTheDean@smeal.psu.edu. We’ll do our best to provide answers in a video to be included in an upcoming Smeal Update.

Do you 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

This week's survey presents a twisted question to answer. Click this link to participate. Results will be shared during next week's Smeal Community Zoom.

Next week at Smeal

Staff performance H&I Goal information session (1 p.m. Monday)

Join Tamara Giluk, human resources strategic partner, Tami Barnes Confer, Smeal Staff Advisory Committee honor and integrity representative, and Michelle Darnell, Smeal director of honor and integrity, for an informal discussion about the unit-wide honor and integrity staff performance goal. All staff are invited and welcome to offer suggestions and ask questions. Join the session at https://psu.zoom.us/j/96312038626

Alumni Career Services Lifelong Learning Webinar (Noon Wednesday)

Join Brian Cameron, associate dean for Professional Graduate Programs, for “Exploring Lifelong Learning Options for the Business Architecture Professional.” He will discuss degree and non-degree options for different possible career paths for today’s business architecture professional. Attendees are asked to register online.

Questions from faculty

How can I provide input about the upcoming presidential search?

Penn State community members across every campus location are invited to participate in a survey about the upcoming search for the University’s 19th president. As part of the Next Gen Penn State listening process, the survey will seek feedback from students, faculty, staff and alumni as well as other community stakeholders on characteristics, priorities and goals for the institution’s next leader.

Is international travel still suspended?

During the pandemic, all University-affiliated international travel has been suspended until further notice. Faculty requests for essential travel must be made to the Provost’s office. If the purpose of travel is deemed essential, then Penn State’s Global Safety Office will further evaluate the request. All faculty traveling for University purposes must register in Penn State’s Travel Safety Network. Requests for essential travel must be made at least 30 days in advance of the departure date. More information is available here. Similarly, all university-affiliated international travel for students is suspended, but an exception process exists for travel deemed academically essential. You may guide students here to determine the appropriate process for an exception, which must receive all required endorsements and be submitted to the Global Safety Office a minimum of 30 days in advance of departure.