June 2019

The members of the inaugural class in the Master of Science in Professional Accountancy program received their degrees during Marist’s Graduate Commencement Ceremony on May 24. The students completed their coursework requirements by attending classes full-time during the summer, and took online classes on a part-time basis in the fall and/or spring. The innovative program, which AccountingEdu.org named one of the country’s “Best Master’s Accounting Programs,” is designed with accounting firms’ hiring practices in mind: Graduates will begin their careers in early September at top-tier firms including Deloitte, EY/Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, Grant Thornton, EisnerAmper, BKD, and Andersen Tax.

IN THE PHOTO: J. Donald Warren, Jr., professor of accounting and Schlobach Distinguished Chair in Accounting (center), with 2019 MS/PAccy graduates

 

Students in this year’s BUS 100 - Introduction to Business and Management class were the first to get their hands dirty (so to speak) at Sprout Creek Farm, the 200-acre property that transferred control of its operations to Marist in 2018.

An independent nonprofit, Sprout Creek is a working farm and education center that was established in 1982. Along with raising farm animals and maintaining a market that sells locally produced meat and dairy products, the farm is perhaps best known for its award-winning cheeses. It also hosts a summer camp and educational programs for children age five through 12 during the school year.

When Sprout Creek faced a budget shortfall in late 2018, it was the educational piece of the equation that sparked interest within Marist’s administration. “The heart of the mission for both Sprout Creek and Marist is education,” said Kim Bodendorf, associate director of the physical plant and the college’s liaison to the farm. “The farm is a dynamic, hands-on, seed-to-table classroom.” From an instructional standpoint, the two organizations complement each other: This summer, for example, students from the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences will serve as camp counselors; in so doing, they will get hands-on field experience while educating their young charges about ecology and sustainability. In the long term, Bodendorf says, Marist hopes the property will offer “experiential learning opportunities for students, faculty and administration.”

But back to those SoM students. This past fall and spring, Professional Lecturer Rena Hill — who oversees the 240-odd students who take BUS 100 each semester — arranged for enrollees to use the farm as a teaching tool. “BUS 100 was the first Marist educational project that took place at the farm,” says Bodendorf. “The students were presented with an overview of the farm and its business model. Their task was to come up with market analyses, advertising ideas, and a business plan for selling cheese.”

At the end of each semester, students presented competing business plans to a judging panel composed of Sprout Creek and Marist staff.  The fall semester winner, said Bodendorf, was a “zero-budget” idea: Establish a cheese fundraising program for PTAs and other school groups, with those students selling the most cheese earning a free week of summer camp. “What parent doesn’t want a free week of camp in the summer? You just know they’ll be out there helping to sell cheese,” Bodendorf said. “The idea advertises and enhances the farm’s two main revenue sources: the camp and cheese. The model was so basic and shoestring — it was perfect.”

On May 10, competition winners were treated to lunch at nearby Cosimo’s Trattoria and Bar (owned by Dean's Board of Advisors member Nick Citera ’87). Former College President David Yellen (below, far right) was among those who celebrated with the students.

Business Plan Competition - First Place winners

Fall 2018: Marissa Simeone ’21, Olivia Miranda ’21, Matthew Ahle ’21, Lucas Smith ’22, Paola Socci ’22, Alexander Rodenborn ’21

Spring 2019: John Aldarelli ’21, Ashley Catalano ’21, Nicholas Furciato ’21, Thomas Lennon ’20, Jake Rigney ’21

 

More than 100 students were inducted into SoM honor society chapters at the conclusion of the spring semester.

A total of 52 students — both undergraduate and graduate — were inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma during an April 28 ceremony in the Cabaret. An international organization, BGS is an honor society for business students; its membership is comprised of the top 10 percent of undergraduate, and the top 20 percent of graduate, business students. New SoM faculty members Halimin Herjanto, Faezeh Amirkamali and Feiqi Huang were also inducted into the society during the ceremony, which was led by student co-vice presidents Colleen Kelly ’19 and Taylor Ziman ’19.

Alyssa Moeder ’89 was the keynote speaker at the ceremony. A private wealth advisor and principal of Moeder Salvino & Associates, part of Merrill’s Private Banking and Investment Group, Moeder has been repeatedly recognized by Crain’s New York, Forbes, Financial Times, Barron’s and Working Mother magazine as a top female financial advisor.

IN THE PHOTO (from left): New BGS members Jordan Jolo ’20, Charlotte Uwimana ’20 and Priscilla Kumah ’20

The Beta Alpha Psi induction ceremony, held on May 5, welcomed 21 students and one alumna into the honor society for financial information students and professionals. Lisa Valentini-Ghosh ’95, director of information research and administration at the Financial Accounting Foundation, was inducted and served as the ceremony’s keynote speaker. She told the students about her career and offered advice on several attributes, such as perseverance, leadership, community service and networking, which she believes are important for success. Valentini-Ghosh joins alumnus Michael Medley ’90, a partner at Deloitte and member of the Dean’s Board of Advisors, who was inducted into the chapter in 2018. 

During the ceremony, officers for 2019-20 were installed: Amanda Young, president; Emily Ecklund, vice-president; Morgan Handel ’20, treasurer; Gianna Russo, secretary; Megan LeVasseur ’20, reporter; Rachel Gonzales, new member coordinator; Olivia Jennings, community service chair. Young, Ecklund, Russo, Gonzales and Jennings are currently in the Professional Accountancy/Dual Degree program.

During a May 10 ceremony in the Student Center, 37 SoM students were accepted as members of Alpha Mu Alpha, the American Marketing Association honor society. Established in 1981, the society is the national marketing honorary for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral marketing students and faculty. Acceptance is offered to students who maintain a grade point average of 3.25 or higher.

The following students were welcomed into the society:

Caroline Albanese '19, Amanda Bagala '19, Kayla Rose Barnes '19, Caroline Bruno '19, Jordan Casey '19, Marybeth Clarke '19, Brianna Coba '20, Olivia Cornish '20, Julia DeVivo '19, Owen Diaz '19, Matthew Ganguzza '19, Marc Hopper '19, Kelly Hughes '19, Peyton Jackson '19, Jake Janso '19,  Connor S. Kearney  '19, Matthew Marotti '19, Elizabeth Marshall '19, Danielle Marzano '19, Brianna McKee '19, Sabrina Minafra '19, Courtney Nelson '19, Ashley Payne '19, Christopher Pia '19, Lindsay Polo '19, Pelagia  Pouliopoulos '19, Kaitlyn Powers '19, Sarah Rampulla '19, Ellen A. Rathe '19, Ericka Stewart '19, Katherine Sutton '19, Randy Taveras '19, Kylie Till '19, Lauren Vecchio '19, Caroline Verdic '19, Carina Isabelle Yabut '19, Taylor J. Ziman '19

 

Colleen Kelly ’19 and Colin Delahoyde MS/PAccy ’19 were honored as “Outstanding Students in Accounting” at the Mid-Hudson chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants banquet, which was held at the Powelton Club in Newburgh on April 25. The prestigious award recognizes students who have demonstrated superior academic performance along with personal attributes that will lead to success in the accounting profession.

Kelly was named outstanding undergraduate accounting student, while Delahoyde — who earned his Master of Science in Professional Accountancy in January — received the outstanding graduate student designation. Delahoyde is the first Marist student to be so honored: prior to June 2018, the college did not have the Master of Science in Professional Accountancy program. 

Once she completes the Dual Degree in accounting program in August, Kelly will join Ernst & Young in New York City. Delahoyde begins working at Deloitte in its Parsippany, NJ office in September 2020.

IN THE PHOTO (from left): Colleen Kelly; A. Rief Kanan, Relations with Colleges and Universities Committee chairman, New York State Society of CPAs, Mid-Hudson chapter; Colin Delahoyde; Maria Petrollese, president, New York State Society of CPAs, Mid-Hudson chapter

 

 

Seniors in Prof. Pamela Harper’s Management Strategy and Policy capstone course made their final presentations to a panel of 10 business executives and faculty members on May 1 and 8.

The culmination of the business curriculum, the course draws on all the functional areas of management and helps students to better understand the strategic management and planning process. “In general, the capstone course is designed to give senior business students the chance to apply the knowledge they have acquired throughout their education to real-world situations,” said Harper, the SoM’s associate professor of management.

During the spring semester, student teams each thoroughly researched one of six companies — Simon Property Group, PayPal, Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines and Omnicom — using Bloomberg terminals, library resources and, in some cases, direct contact with firm representatives. “They were responsible for becoming experts through in-debt research into the industry, the competitive landscape, and the organization itself,” Harper said. The final business strategic plans for above-average returns were documented and presented, boardroom style, to the following panel of judges:

• Julie Chan-Moroney, team leader, IP information management, Johnson & Johnson
• John Hill, adjunct professor, financial services executive and author of “Fintech and the Remaking of Financial Institutions”
• Allan R. Page, founder, A. Page & Associates, LLC
• Jose Romero, area director of marketing and business development, Simon Property Group 
• Gary Bernstein, vice president, finance transformation and talent development, IBM Corp. (Ret.); assistant professor, Mercy College; SoM executive-in-residence and Dean's Board of Advisors member
• Timothy P. Keneally ’69, president, Kapstone Container Corp.; SoM executive-in-residence and Dean's Board of Advisors member
• Geoffrey L. Brackett, executive vice president, chief strategy and innovation officer, Marist College  
• Kuangnen (Hans) Cheng, assistant professor of management
• Ismay Czarniecki, senior professional lecturer of management
• Thomas M. Madden, assistant professor of business law

IN THE PHOTO: Front row, from left: Prof. Pamela Harper, Prof. Thomas Madden, Jose Romero, Prof. John Hill, Timothy Keneally. Back row: Seniors Robert Resto, Kenny Vicenzi, Jayson McKivergan, John Clark and Kylie McAdam

An impressive number of School of Management students showed off their research projects during presentations made in late April.

At the Senior Theses Exhibit, these seniors presented the following projects (faculty advisors are included in parentheses):

• Generations at Work: Changes from College to the Workplace — Ashley Allegretti (Prof. Melinda Weisberg)
• Does Artificially Manipulating Exchange Rates Work? — Maximillian Darrington (Prof. Brian Haughey)
• Boho Voice — Matthew Ganguzza (Prof. Helen Rothberg)
• Mark Parker and Nike: A Study of the Swoosh and Private Sector Leadership — Matthew Marotti (President Emeritus and Interim President Dennis Murray)
• Is the Derivatives Market an Accurate Predictor of Stock Prices? — Mary Vange (Prof. Brian Haughey)
• Women in the Workplace — Jill Nixon (Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Prof. Joanne Gavin)
• A Comparative Review of Child Marriages in India and Ethiopia — Prateek Samal (Prof. Melinda Weisberg)

These seniors in Associate Professor of Management Caroline Rider’s International Trade Management class exhibited at the college’s annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (or CURSCA):

• P+H Face Serum in the Philippines – Ariel Shulman
• Agriculture App for SMEs in Tanzania – Irene Chibwaye
• Sangria on the Go in the Netherlands – Tierney Riccitelli
• Air Care in Vietnam – Joseph Greene
• Solar Bikes in Costa Rica – Chandler Moore

This year, the Marist Diversity Council, working with the Honors Council and CURSCA, established an award for excellence in undergraduate research on diversity and inclusion. One project received the overall award for excellence, and three were singled out as noteworthy finalists.

Immigration in the Hudson Valley: Opportunities for Marist College to Assist the Local Immigrant Population, by seniors Gabriella Landicino and Morgan O’Coin, was chosen as a finalist; Prof. Melinda Weisberg was the faculty advisor.

IN THE PHOTO: Irene Chibwaye with her poster project at CURSCA

Undergrads Jessica Caunedo ’20, Joshua Polgrean ’20, Madeleine Durand ’19, and Prateek Samal ’19 took fourth place out of 12 competing teams at the 2019 International Business Case Competition, which took place on April 4-5 at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis. Organized by the Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education (CUIBE), the competition requires teams to analyze, research and present a feasible solution to a current issue faced by a company in its global business interactions. Teams are critiqued by a panel of judges comprised of high-ranking executives from firms that do business globally. Affiliate Professor of International Business Detelin Elenkov prepared and advised the team for the competition.

IN THE PHOTO (from left): Prateek Samal ’19, Prof. Detelin Elenkov, Jessica Caunedo ’20, Madeleine Durand ’19 and Joshua Polgrean ’20 at the CUIBE case competition

 

The final round of the New Product Competition, an end-of-semester contest for students in the Marketing Principles classes, took place on May 10.

The marketing faculty uses the competition to refine students’ research, team-building and presentation skills, said Prof. Pamela Harper, an organizer of the event. In addition, by requiring participants to pitch their idea to judges, professors hope to “enhance the level of excitement and fun” in the marketing development process, she said.

The teams that reached the finals pitched their new ideas to a pair of expert judges: Linda Ringel, manager, Barnes & Noble at Marist College; and Merry Vodzak Meyer ’97, manager, Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Bard College. The winning team was FOXpress: Nick Bigami ’20, Catherine Cox ’20, Patrick Geraghty ’20 and Tom Guarnieri ’21. Their instructor was Prof. Brian Cronin.

IN THE PHOTO: (from left): Linda Ringel, Merry Vodzak Meyer, Catherine Cox, Nick Bigami, Patrick Geraghty

 

SoM student volunteers Justine Barbieri ’19, Sara Cussen ’20 and Joe D'Annibale ’20 tabulated the scoring results at the first New York Area Law School Mediation Tournament on March 22-23.  Sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and the American Arbitration Association, the tournament took place in Manhattan. Competing teams hailed from Brooklyn, Cardozo, Hofstra, New York, Buffalo, Cornell and Pace law schools, with Buffalo earning top honors. SoM Assistant Professor of Business Law Thomas Madden was a tournament judge.

IN THE PHOTO (from left): Sara Cussen ’20, Joe D’Annibale ’20 and Justine Barbieri ’19 at the mediation tournament

John Finnigan, senior professional lecturer of finance and economics,has been recognized by the Student Government Association as Marist College’s 2018-19 “Club Advisor of the Year” for his work with the Business Club. A relatively new (but growing) organization, the club offers informative and entertaining subject matter — as well as a social gathering place — for business, accounting and economics students. The club organizes field trips to New York City, sponsors fundraisers and community service projects, and invites business professionals to meetings to discuss their work experiences.

 

Once again this year, the School of Management is sponsoring the Renewable Energy Conference on June 25-26. The East Coast’s premier energy conference, the event examines recent policy changes in the energy market and the resulting impacts on the use, development, and pricing of renewable sources of supply. Morning sessions are devoted to establishing a foundation for understanding the current energy marketplace. Afternoons will focus on the practical experiences of professionals working in emerging energy markets, and there will be plenty of opportunities for networking. Among the energy, technology, academic, government policy and business experts presenting at the conference will be keynote speaker Dr. Hendrik F. Hamann, senior manager and distinguished researcher in the physical sciences department at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center. Hamann’s many accomplishments include the formulation of the company’s Measurement and Management Technologies (MMT) system for improving energy efficiency of data centers. For conference registration information, click here.