The Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program jumped 15 places from last year in the SportBusiness International rankings of graduate programs. The list, published this month, placed the Muma College of Business graduate program at No. 4 in the world. The program, which awards graduates an MBA and a master's degree, boasts a 98 percent job placement rate within three months of graduation. Last year, the program was ranked No. 19. To read more, click here.

	Matt James and Ong'ard

Matt James cares for and feeds various exotic animals at Zoo Miami. But the MBA he earned at the Muma College of Business has him thinking of the things that happen in the boardroom, not the paddocks. Besides taking care of the animals, he now realizes there is a whole other side of the zoo: the business side. He's hoping one day to manage a zoo, be it in Miami or elsewhere, and he leaves little doubt he'll get there. To read more, click here.

	Selfies with the dean

The Muma College of Business's atrium, usually a place of conversation and quiet study, was transformed into a beach, with a tiki bar, steel drums and a flamenco dancer. The occasion was a reception for the Times Higher Education Young Universities Summit, held for the first time in North America. About 200 international guests, mostly university presidents and executives, came by after a day of workshops and presentations. To view photos, click here.

	Charlie Strong

More than 500 accountants and auditors filled the Marshall Student Center's Oval Theater last month to brush up on trends, hear about new laws and rules in the profession and listen to keynote speaker Charlie Strong, head coach of the USF football team, talk about team building. Strong, who is starting his second year here with high expectations, was candid about his career and life and stressed the importance of character and leadership. To read more, click here.

	Yeseul Kim

For the first time, a USF Presidential Doctoral Fellow will be enrolled in the Muma College of Business. Yeseul Kim won the prestigious award, of which only five are granted each year. The business college has submitted nominations several times, but has never had a nominee win the award. Kim said she plans to study marketing, more specifically, sensory marketing, and conduct research under the guidance of Marketing Professor Dipayan Biswas, whose research into the field of sensory marketing continues to break new ground (see below). To read more, click here.

	Dipayan Biswas

Dipayan Biswas, marketing professor and expert in sensory marketing, hit the mother lode over the past month, with his impactful work on how ambient music and noise can affect how restaurant patrons eat. Louder music/noise equals unhealthy food choices. Lower volume music/noise makes the patron choose a healthier fare, the study found. The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, was cited in more than 80 media outlets, including the Washington Post, Today.com, London's Sunday Times and a number of television and radio outlets. To read the New York Times interview with Biswas, click here.

	Workshop in progress at The Straz

A handful of students in the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department visited The Straz Center for the Performing Arts recently to take part in a workshop designed to break their public speaking fears. The students, a mix of management and business analytics majors, spent the day learning about the importance of listening as well as how to be comfortable speaking in front of a large crowd. Members of the Patel Conservatory conducted the workshops. To read more, click here. 

	Student mentors, Victoria Celis, Drake Goebelbecker and Alexis Esparza

The Zimmerman Advertising Program is tweaking its mentor initiative, focusing on older students mentoring incoming freshmen. It's building on the existing and highly successful Bulls Business Community effort and Corporate Mentor Program model of providing "I've been there" insights to younger students. ZAP is a highly selective, 5-year-old program in which students earn a bachelor's degree in advertising and a master's degree in mass comm. To read more, click here.

	Maithilee Pagay

Maithilee Pagay, a 25 Under 25 honoree and a high-achieving student who graduated with a 3.94 GPA, is putting off her career objectives for a bit to attend the exclusive London School of Economics and Political Science, where she will study for a master's degree in finance and accounting. She's a world traveler who was born in India and who attended high school in Singapore. She came to USF three years ago and graduated this May with bachelor's degree in finance and pre-law. She had been an intern at Raymond James since last summer. To read more, click here.