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University of South Florida Muma College of Business   March 2017
VIDEO WALL TO SPLASH THE MUMA ATRIUM WITH LIVING COLOR 
It's difficult to walk through the atrium and not try to sneak a peek at what's behind the tarp hanging on the southern paneled wall (see photo). A great and important work of art perhaps? A big dunk tank for your favorite prof, maybe even the dean? The secret will be revealed in the very near future. So, stay tuned (that's a hint). If you can't help yourself, and you absolutely must know before anybody else, well, just click here
SHEILA JOHNSON, WOMAN OF FIRSTS, HONORED AT CELEBRATION 
She was the first African-American woman to join the billionaire's club, the first to own or have ownership interests in three professional sports teams and the first woman to be honored at the annual Celebration of Free Enterprise gala, held earlier this month. And those accomplishments just scratch the surface of this remarkable woman.   Learn More or View Photo Gallery.
MUMA'S TRAVELING PROFS RETURN WITH WORLDLY PERSPECTIVES
Five Muma College of Business professors have been named Fulbright scholars over the past two years, taking their lectures and research around the globe, planting the Muma flag wherever they land. What they bring back is priceless for their students: fresh perspectives on how business is conducted around the world. Learn More
MUMA NOW OFFERING PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING DEGREE 
With the number of qualified financial advisors dwindling - and with the government poised to possibly impose tighter restrictions on the profession - the University of South Florida's Muma College of Business is moving forward with a plan to offer a new major in personal financial planning later this year. Laura Mattia, the director of the program, which will be offered in the fall semester, said the fiduciary job market is waiting for an influx of young, dedicated people. Learn More
DENNIS ADAMOVICH FEATURED AT CONVERSATION WITH A CEO 
College Football Hall of Fame CEO and USF business school graduate Dennis Adamovich brought life and business insights to the popular Conversation with a CEO series in February. He talked informally to a group of about 100 in downtown Tampa, chatting with Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem. To find out what he said,  click here
SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT ANALYTICS CONFERENCE SET IN MARCH
The technical side of sports and entertainment marketing takes center stage at the annual University of South Florida Sport & Entertainment Analytics Conference later this month. The third annual conference, targets business leaders who deal with data and use it to drive key decisions in the sport and entertainment industry. Trends will be examined along with the growing importance of data analytics. The conference takes place  March 29-30 at the USF Alumni Center on the Tampa campus.   Learn more
SHARON HANNA-WEST: BUSINESSES WORK TO SAVE THE WORLD
With polar ice caps melting into the oceans, causing sea levels to rise; along with more violent weather patterns around the world, Muma College of Business Instructor Sharon Hanna-West preaches a mantra that businesses and corporations are better suited to deal with climate change than governments, which tend to be slow moving in times of crisis. With a profit motive and a newly found pride in global stewardship, businesses are poised to take the lead in finding ways to survive in a world that is changing faster than ever before.   Learn More
COCA-COLA FLA. EXEC TO BE NEXT CONVERSATION WITH A CEO  
Troy Taylor, CEO of Coca-Cola Florida, will be the next guest at the Conversation with a CEO in April in downtown Tampa. The Louisiana native and Marshall University basketball player got into the bottling business just a few years ago and now is about to be the exclusive bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products  over most of Florida, from Key West to Jacksonville; from Gainesville to Fort Myers. Taylor is scheduled to sit and talk about how he has grown his business to where it is in just two years, with Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem at 7:30 a.m. on April 13 at USF CAMLS in downtown Tampa.  Learn More

DIPAYAN BISWAS WRITES WHITE PAPER ON SENSORY MARKETING 
Muma College of Business Marketing Professor Dipayan Biswas  has published a white paper on sensory marketing and its impact on consumer behavior. New research lays out how innovative corporations are finding unique ways to bump their profits by finding news ways to separate money from their customers.  Learn More
THE FLORIDA INTERCOLLEGIATE CASE COMPETITION RESULTS ARE IN
The Florida Intercollegiate Case Competition, hosted by USF's Muma College of Business, pitted a full field of competitors against one another. The event, in its 15th year, took place last month. A team of business grad students from USF competed against teams from FSU, UF and FIU for the prestigious trophy bowl. Learn more
FLORIDA BUSINESS ANALYTICS FORUM SLATED FOR NEXT MONTH
Cutting edge business and corporate leaders know this: Data never sleeps. Just how to get from raw data to making a ground-breaking, revenue busting decision is the topic of the Florida Business Analytics Forum, set for April 4 in the Muma College of Business atrium. The event is expected to draw 300 business leaders. Learn More
PIPPENGER TAKES TIME TO VISIT NAMESAKE, CHAT WITH STUDENTS
Retired financial executive Lynn Pippenger stopped by last month to attend a series of accounting certification workshops at the Muma College of Business. The day was the second anniversary of the college naming the accountancy school the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy. Cake, of course, was served.   Learn More
SBDC OFFERS CYBERSECURITY ADVICE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Cybersecurity is a big scary unknown term to most small-business owners, but it is an issue that could cost them embarrassment, legal entanglements and significant amounts of money. More and more small businesses are reaching out to the Florida SBDC at USF for cybersecurity assistance.  Learn More
A NIGHT AT THE IMPROV PROVES BENEFICIAL FOR BBC STUDENTS
The group of mostly freshmen business students stand around a large room at the Juniper Poplar Hall dormitory on a recent evening, giggling, getting to know each other a little bit. But the night grows more gregarious and entertaining when Scott Swenson takes charge. Welcome to Improv Night, where fun happens, life lessons are learned. Learrn More
FACULTY/STAFF NOTES 
  • Kerry Walsh, an instructor with and director of the Business Honors Program, was selected as this year's Educator of the Year, presented by the American Marketing Association Tampa Bay at a ceremony held on March 2 at the Bryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center.
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    Lisa Gaynor, associate professor in the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy, was named an editor with Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Her appointment lasts until 2020. The publication is considered the highest-ranked journal specializing in auditing research. She also has been selected to serve on the editorial board for Contemporary Accounting Research, another premier accounting journal. And she will be the academic co-editor of the American Accounting Association's Current Issues in Auditing. Gaynor's primary teaching responsibilities include financial auditing.
  • Alan R. Hevner, Eminent Scholar in the Information Systems Decision Sciences Department, was named the 2017 Parnas Fellow by Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre. Hevner, who teaches graduate courses in software architecture, testing and advanced information systems analysis and design, also holds the Citigroup/Hidden River Chair of Distributed Technology.
  • Kaushik Dutta, an associate professor and researcher in enterprise IT infrastructure, data analytics and big data systems, and associate professor Yicheng Tu were awarded a $50,000 NSF I-Corps grant last month to identify the commercialization of a USF developed technology designed to shorten response times in data analytics. The research could impact the practice of data management and analysis in a large number of industries including healthcare, retail and online advertising.     
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    Moez Limayem, the dean of the Muma College of Business, was honored by Junior  Achievement of Tampa Bay at a recent awards ceremony. The non-profit organization presented Limayem with its National Bronze Leadership Award, given annually to "forward thinking entrepreneurs and accomplished community leaders for their contributions to the region's economic development and service as role models for ethical conduct among youth and business peers." Here, the dean is pictured with his wife and daughter and two representatives from Junior Achievement. 
  • K. Doreen MacAulay, instructor in the Information Systems Decision Sciences Department, was the recipient of the Women in Leadership and Philanthropy's USF Instructor Faculty Research Award. MacAuley, who teaches management courses, impressed the awards committee with her work on women in STEM professions. She will receive the award at the WLP awards banquet in April
 
ALUMNI NOTES
  • Michael Schopler, ('14, Finance) graduate and former student in the applied securities analysis class of 2013-14, recently accepted a position in the Raymond James Alternative Investment Asset Group as a structured products analyst. Previously, he was in the Raymond James Equity Capital Markets Institutional Trading Division. Schopler is a member of the Muma College of Business Finance Department's Advisory Board.
  • Vladimir Rodriguez, ('86, Business Administration), has joined Accent Distributing as a dedicated territory manager for the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. Rodriguez previously was a manager at GF Professional Window Tinting.
  • James Rowe, ('10, Management), has been named assistant defensive backs coach for the Washington Redskins. Rowe had been a the defensive coordinator for the Division II Valdosta State University Blazers. He pitched for the USF baseball team as an undergraduate.
  • Cheryl Altman, ('00, Management), has joined ForeSite Residential Real Estate in St. Petersburg as a Realtor. Altman has been a real estate professional for 14 years.
  • Jason Geisler, ('04 MS and '02 BS, Accounting) has been made partner in Grant Thornton, an international public accounting firm. Geisler, who once served as chair of the USF Accounting Circle Board, started his career in 2004 with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He joined Grant Thornton in 2013.
  • Lukas Vecerek, ('06 Finance & Marketing/'16, MS, MBA) has been named senior compliance data analyst at Citi. Before that, he was a business intelligence analyst at Ultimate Medical Academy. In 2015, he founded and served as president of USF's International Student Networking Association.
 Read More Alumni Notes
 
* March 29-30, The Third Annual Sport and Entertainment Analytics Conference
The event takes  place with a lineup of speakers including executives from KRAFT Analytics Group, Ticketmaster, NBC Sports, Nielsen, PwC and the Tampa Bay Lightning. For ticket information, click here.
* March 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Information session for the new executive master's degree program on business analytics and information systems. This is a hybrid 17-month program that offers online instruction as well as face-to-face classroom time on alternating Saturdays. The session takes place in the Small Business Development Center at USF, 1101 Channelside Drive in Tampa. To RSVP, click here.
* April 4, 11 a.m., The Florida Business Analytics Forum. The event takes place in the Muma College of Business atrium and showcases the culture of analytics-driven innovation. It also strengthens USF's reputation in the state, nation and the world as one of the leading universities in big data and analytics. For more information, click here.
* April 13, 7:30 a.m. Conversation with a CEO. The growing-in-popularity event this time features Troy Taylor, CEO of Coca-Cola Florida bottling and distributing. The conversation takes place at the USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, 124 S. Franklin St., in downtown Tampa. The event is free, but seating is limited. To RSVP, click here.
* May 5, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., The 30th Annual Government Small Business Conference: Game Plan for Federal Contracting. The one-day conference for small business owners aims to optimize business opportunities through workshops, panel discussions and an expo. The event takes place at the Holiday Inn Westshore in Tampa. For registration information, click here.