Muma College of Business debuts 2023 holiday video

Happy holidays to our students, faculty, colleagues, alumni, donors and friends! It's time to kick off the season by watching (and sharing) the 2023 Muma College of Business holiday video.

This year's edition pays homage to the YouTube show "Hot Ones." Interim Dean GJ de Vreede and the leadership team take on the Hot Holiday Challenge. For our fiery fans, take a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the 2023 video in this recap slideshow.

USF awarded more than 4,400 degrees during fall commencement. The graduates included seven undergraduate business students earning a perfect 4.0 GPA who were recognized as King O'Neal Scholars.

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Grading theme parks: USF hospitality students worked with Busch Gardens in a semester-long project studying ways to enhance the guest experience. The partnership ties classroom lessons with real-world industry applications.

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Lowry Baldwin, co-founder and chairman of Baldwin Risk Partners, shared his wisdom at the Executive MBA Distinguished Speaker Series. The USF Baldwin Risk Partners School of Risk Management and Insurance has had a banner year.



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Dipayan Biswas, the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing, shares how generative AI is influencing holiday shopping, from consumers using ChatGPT to pick gifts to businesses tailoring ads to consumers.

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USF's online MBA program landed at No. 23 overall in the 2024 Poets&Quants Best Online MBA program rankings. The annual list is based on admissions, academic experience, and career outcomes.

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A new survey by Philip Trocchia in the USF St. Petersburg Customer Experience Lab and Neptune Flood found that almost 3 out of 4 homeowners in the U.S. mistakenly believed they had flood insurance.

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Maastricht University's EMBA students spent a week visiting Tampa Bay in November as part of an inaugural program with the college. The visit included seminars taught by USF faculty as well as tours of Tampa General Hospital, Catalina Marketing and McKibbon Hospitality.

Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Business Ethics Essay Competition, sponsored by the Exide Professorship in Business Ethics: first prize An Chu, second prize George Keith, third prize Patrick Manconi. Runner-up winners were Andrew Palmer, Ishika Patel, and Vy Nguyen.

The USF sales competition team ended the fall semester on a high note, finishing strong while honing their sales tactics at multiple home and away contests. The team traveled to Orlando and Rhode Island, where members placed in speed selling and sales role-play. Read More→

The FinTech|X Accelerator program brought forward thinkers and innovators to the Tampa Bay region. In its second year, the program has established itself as a pivotal force in the fintech startup industry.

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Applications are open for the 2024 ReliaQuest Labs. The program is open to juniors, seniors and graduate students interested in a cybersecurity career. Four in-person lab sessions will be held from March to April.

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Tickets for the 2024 Green and Gold Gala at the Florida Aquarium are now available! The March 9 event is one of the most anticipated alumni events of the year. Proceeds benefit USF student and alumni programs.



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Faculty Spotlights

Anol Bhattacherjee, a professor in the School of Information Systems and Management, published “Can fact-checking influence user beliefs about misinformation claims: an examination of contingent effects” in MIS Quarterly.

Carol Osborne, a senior instructor in the School of Marketing and Innovation, was featured in WFLA Beyond the News podcast on retailer and consumer holiday shopping trends.

Lei Wedge, an associate professor at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, was quoted in a Tampa Bay Times story about a landmark legal ruling that could reshape the Florida housing market.

Faizan Ali, an associate professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, was named a 2023 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate.

Brooke Hansen, associate professor of instruction in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, was quoted in a Fox-13 Tampa Bay story about preserving Egmont Key with a 3D app and sustainable tourism.

Alumni Updates

Jesse Rubin (‘18, MBA) accepted a new job as the escrow and specialized agency services product head for North America at Citigroup.

Sandi Wallace (’19, MBA) was named Outstanding Ally for 2023 by Circles USA, a nationwide poverty alleviation nonprofit. She volunteers with Circles West Orange and serves as a senior manager of business integration and optimization at The Walt Disney Company.

Tony Sasso (‘02, BS, Finance) is the new senior vice president for commercial lending at First American Bank.

Bob Tracz (‘82, BA, Accounting) was named the next chief financial officer for the DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Aaj Solanki (‘14, MAcc, ‘13, BS, Accounting) started a new opportunity as a manager for financial analysis at American Airlines. He is a former USF Muma College of Business 25 Under 25 honoree.

KyAndre Holifield (‘20, BS, Marketing) announced he is the project coordinator at Metro Development Group.