University of South Florida Muma College of Business   May 2018
FLORIDA BUSINESS ANALYTICS FORUM: A BIZ TECHIE'S PARADISE
Machine learning explained
Hundreds of business and technology executives filled the ballroom of the Marshall Student Center this week, eager to hear about cutting-edge trends in the world of information systems and analytics. Experts from Google, WalMart and Disney and  academics conducting research into blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning revealed the latest tech evolutions. To read more, click here. To view photos, click here.
COMMENCEMENT: CHAPTERS CLOSE, FUTURES WIDE OPEN
Spring graduation
The University of South Florida's Sun Dome again was rocking during the first weekend in May, offering up teary-eyed, poignant moments amid hopes for bright futures. Graduation ceremonies - six of them - took place over May 3-5, as more than 7,000 undergrads and graduate students -- including five King O'Neal scholars from the Muma College of Business -- walked across the stage to receive that precious document. To view more photos, click here.
SAJEEV VARKI AWARDED A FULBRIGHT CORE SCHOLARSHIP
Sajeev Varki
Sajeev Varki, a Muma College of Business marketing professor, became the latest to join an exclusive-but-growing club here. Last month, Varki was awarded a Fulbright Core Scholarship, making him the eighth current professor to be awarded the prestigious honor. His award will allow him to travel to Belarus where he will lecture, present research and network with international researchers and scholars. To read more, click here.
STUDENT LANDS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION I-CORPS AWARD
Aleksandar Popovic
Aleksandar Popovic came to USF to realize his American dream and now he's doing much more. He recently was accepted to the USF National Science Foundation's I-Corps, a six-week program for entrepreneurs. His project -- to develop technology that monitors patients with deep-vein thrombosis -- has a personal connection. It is a condition that has afflicted his father for years. To read more, click here.
ENTERPRISING USF STUDENTS SHINE AT ANNUAL PITCH COMPETITION
Daveler Pitch Competition
Five USF students with promising business ideas finished among the top 20 at the recent Daveler Pitch Competition hosted by the USF Center for Entrepreneurship. Students from several Florida universities vied for top honors and cash awards, presenting ideas ranging from an app that finds "study buddies" to a drone business to battlefield training technology. To read more, click here.
25 UNDER 25 HONOREES TREATED TO UNIQUE GIRAFFE EXPERIENCE
25 Under 25 reward: feeding giraffes
This year's 25 Under 25 honorees spent a relaxing evening taking in the sights and sounds of Busch Gardens as a reward for their commitment to their education and leadership roles at USF. The high-achieving students, chosen from a record field of 180 who sent in applications, got up-close and personal visits with the majestic giraffes and elephants and visited the animal-care centers at the popular Tampa theme park. To view photos, click here.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: ZACH OTTO, SALESMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE
Zach Otto
Zach Otto, a junior marketing major in the Muma College of Business, looks like he has a bright future in sales. At the 40th annual American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference in April, Otto outpaced most, finishing third in the sales competition. Also at the conference, the USF chapter of the AMA excelled, being named among the top 20 chapters out of more than 370 chapters in the United States. To read more, click here.
GILMAN SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO FIVE BUSINESS STUDENTS
Five biz students get summer scholarships
A record number of USF students received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship awards allowing them to study abroad in locales such as Italy, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. Additionally, an advertising student won a Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship that will send him on a trip to study in London over the summer. Twenty-seven USF students received Gilman scholarships, To read more, click here.
FLORIDA SBDC AT USF HOSTS 100 AT ANNUAL GOV'T CONFERENCE
Award winners Jorge Brea, David and Heather Ferrill
At the 31st Annual Government Small Business Conference held earlier this month, more than 100 small-business representatives came to hear presentations and panel discussions about government contracting and to learn how to open up possibilities of doing business with various governmental entities, especially at the federal level. Some small-business awards also were handed out. To read more, click here. To view more photos, click here.
FACULTY/STAFF NOTES 
  • Dipayan Biswas, professor of marketing, recently learned that a research paper he co-authored was accepted by the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (a Financial Times-50 journal). The paper, co-written by Kaisa Lund and Courtney Szocs, is titled, "Sounds Like a Healthy Retail Atmospheric Strategy: Effects of Ambient Music and Background Noise on Food Sales."
  • Bill Sutton, director of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program,
    Sutton
     
    addressed the Exercise and Sport Science program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a distinguished scholar last month. His talk, titled "The Battle for Attention," addressed ways to promote sporting and entertainment events and how best to capture the attention of fans and spectators. Sutton is an expert in sports marketing and has lectured at institutions as far away as South Korea.
  • Laura Kneski has joined the communications and marketing office as a graphic artist. Prior to taking the position, she was the graduate assistant in the office. She graduated with a master's degree in marketing in May.
  • James Stock, long-time professor in the marketing department and Distinguished University Professor, received the inaugural USF Nexus Initiative Award, which recognizes global and national research collaborations for tenured/tenure-track and full-time research faculty members.
  • Le'Shell Davis was hired last month as an academic program specialist in the Muma College of Business's Office of Graduate Studies.
  • Sajeev Varki, a marketing professor, last month was awarded a Fulbright Core Scholarship, making him the eighth current Muma College of Business professor to be honored by the prestigious program over the past three years. Varki will travel to Belarus to present to and network with international researchers and scholars.
  • Lori Wilder, and administrator in charge of scheduling courses each and every
    Wilder
     
    semester, has won the Quiet Quality Award. She has been with USF for more than 30 years, starting out in the dean's office back in 1987, but took time out to join the U.S. Marine Corps. She returned to USF and worked in the undergraduate advising office and was promoted to office manager of the Marketing Department before taking on her current assignment. 
  • Carrington Price has been hired as an advisor with the Zimmerman Advertising Program. He previously had been working as a graduate assistant with the Bulls Business Community.
 
ALUMNI NOTES   
  • Greg Ross-Munro ('07, MBA; '08, MS in Entrepreneurship), has written a book titled, "Herding Cats and Coders: Software Development for Non-Techies." The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and independent bookstores. Ross-Munro is the founder and CEO of Sourcetoad, a company that creates and sells software to travel and entertainment industry businesses.
  • Dennis Zank ('76, Accounting) is retiring as COO of Raymond James & Associates after 40 years with the investment and banking giant. He had overseen operations at the firm's advisory, brokerage and insurance businesses. He will continue to be affiliated with Raymond James as a financial advisor in a local branch following the transition. Zank also was honored this month with USF's Outstanding Partner Award for supporting Muma College of Business programs and students. The award was presented on May 15 at USF's annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity Luncheon.
  • Alex Smith, ('18, MBA, MS Sport and Entertainment Management) was hired by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers as a customer relations coordinator. She previously was a customer analytics resident with the Tampa Bay Rays.
  • Harmeet "Harry" Singh Chawla ('17, MIS) joined the USF Advancement Operations team as an applications developer. Before moving to the United States and enrolling in the Muma College of Business, he worked as a senior software developer at Ameriprise Financial in New Delhi.
  • Michael Sasso ('10, MBA) is starting a new position as economy reporter at Bloomberg News in Atlanta. He previously was the airlines reporter for Bloomberg News and before that was a business reporter at The Tampa Tribune.
  • Tony Morrison ('11, General Business Administration) received a second Emmy Award as producer for Good Morning America, which won Outstanding Morning Program for the second year in a row.

 
* May 30, 6:30 p.m., A New York City reception for Muma College of Business alumni will be held at STK Midtown in New York City. Featured guests include Dean Moez Limayem and Pam and Les Muma. To register, click here. (The password is NY Reception 2018) 
* Aug. 24, 11:45 a.m., the annual Muma College of Business Scholarship Luncheon will take place in the Marshall Student Center's ballroom.
* Sept. 6, from 1-5 p.m. the Muma College of Business Internship Showcase will be held in the atrium. Students will meet, in an informal setting, current and former interns from top local companies to find out what it's like to be an intern and to learn about new internship opportunities.
* Sept. 11 the Muma College of Business will host a career clinic in the atrium. Students can meet with advisors to upgrade resumes and examine various approaches to landing that first post-graduation job.
* Sept. 20, the USF Career Fair will be held in the Sun Dome. Advisors and corporate representatives will be on hand to ease the transition from student to career-minded professional. Times to be announced. 
* Sept 21, the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy will hold a career fair for accounting majors. The even takes place in the Marshall Student Center. The time will be announced at a later date.
* Oct. 9-15, Homecoming for the USF Bulls. The week's events include the Homecoming Ball, a comedy show and an alumni party. The Running of the Bulls Homecoming Parade through campus takes place on Oct. 13. The Muma College of Business will continue the tradition of holding a homecoming celebration that day in the atrium and breezeway, serving food and refreshments before staging a parade-watch party. For more information and a schedule of events, click here.
* Oct. 10, the Florida Blue Statewide Health Care Innovation Pitch Competition will take place in Lake Nona near Orlando with teams from across Florida vying for awards and cash prizes. The event is coordinated by the USF Center for Entrepreneurship.
* Oct. 11, 8:30-10 a.m., the Muma College of Business's Conversation with a CEO featuring Vincent Jackson, former wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now a successful entrepreneur in the region, will take place at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning Simulation, 124 S. Franklin St., in downtown Tampa.
HELP STUDENTS GRADUATE OR PROFESSORS CONDUCT RESEARCH
Scholars visit with donors at annual luncheon
You can change the lives of students. Please consider making a donation to the Muma College of Business to invest in the education and careers of our students. Your support will help students achieve their dreams of a college education and subsequent career. Your gift also may make it possible for faculty members to conduct and complete impactful research that benefits all of us. For a list of donation options, click here.