January
Week of Welcome Features Swag, Eats for New Business Students
Students are welcomed back during the Week of Welcome and business majors are treated to free T- shirts, food, swag and an opportunity to meet professors, administrators and representatives from various student organizations. The event is sponsored by Citi.
January
Muma College of Business Establishes the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation Lab
There are no test tubes, no Bunsen burners and no white coats, but the new Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation Lab is a rich resource for research into marketing and biometric behavioral data. There are arrays of sophisticated computers set up to measure eye movements and brain waves to track, for marketing researchers, how consumers perceive marketing efforts. It also serves as a hub for experiential learning to get students ready for the real world upon graduation.
February
Raymond James Financial CEO Paul Reilly Kicks Off the 2019 Conversation with a CEO Series
With an impeccable pedigree, Raymond James Financial Chief Executive Officer Paul Reilly joins Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem at the high-top table as the first guest of the year in the popular Conversation with a CEO series. Reilly has been with the financial giant since 2006 and rose to CEO in 2010, taking over for Tom James, the company’s founder.
February
Netflix Cofounder Mark Randolph Talks at Muma College of Business Thought Leader Series
Just how Netflix came to be is revealed by its cofounder Mark Randolph during the second installment of the Muma College of Business Thought Leader Series. The main ingredients for entrepreneurial success, he says, are a tolerance for risk and to maintain confidence. Expect to make mistakes, but adapt along the way. Good grades? Not necessarily, he tells a large crowd at the Marshall Student Center.
February
ISDS Faculty Rises to the Occasion with Papers Published, Research Presented, Awards Earned
The educators in the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department do more than just stand in front of students lecturing and handing out class assignments. They are researchers at the top of their game. In the fall of 2018, they broke all records of excellence. Nearly a dozen papers were published, some of which were five years in the making, and many more presented research at conferences around the world. Numerous awards also recognized them for their accomplishments.
February
Faculty Spotlight: Matt Mullarkey wins a Fulbright Scholarship; Destined for Ireland to Study Smart Cities
Matt Mullarkey, an instructor with the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department and director of the Muma College of Business Doctor of Business Administration program, becomes the 10th current business college faculty member to be awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship grant. Mullarkey heads to Dublin to study design principles for smart cities, collaborating with researchers from three universities there and Dublin city officials.
March
Sport & Entertainment Analytics Conference Hosts Guest Speakers ‘Telling Stories with Data’
Students from USF and nearby colleges along with industry professionals attend the annual Sport & Entertainment Analytics Conference held over two days in what has become a signature event of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program. The theme, “Telling Stories with Data” features how marketing executives collect and interpret data and how decisions are made based on analysis. The numbers talk and the secret to success is in how to understand what they say.
March
Nick Vojnovic, President of Little Greek Fresh Grill Returns to Talk to Executive MBA Class
A well-known personality around the Muma College of Business is Nick Vojnovic, president of the Little Greek Fresh Grill. A member of the college’s Executive Advisory Council, Vojnovic also graduated from the Executive MBA program in 2012. The successful restaurateur, who once served as CEO of Beef O’ Brady’s, comes back to speak to an Executive MBA class as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, delivering a talk that includes career advice, personal stories and a list of all the things he did wrong over the years.
April
$5 Million Gift from Monica Wooden Renames the Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability
Florida is on the cusp of becoming a global commerce hub with its location, airports, deep-sea ports, railways and highway systems and the Muma College of Business is leading the way in research. MercuryGate cofounder Monica Wooden, a pioneer in supply chain logistics, donates $5 million to the program, resulting in the center now named the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability. “It feels good to give back,” she says.
April
Sagar Samtani Dives Deep into the Dark Web, Uncovering a Network of Hackers and Thieves
Sagar Samtani, an assistant professor in the Information Systems Decision Sciences Department, receives a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the ins and outs of the dark web, a nefarious port-of-call in cyberspace where stolen data from individuals and large-scale systems is stored. The grant is a rarity for business professors and typically goes to scientists and engineers. It is a first for a faculty member of the Muma College of Business.
April
Mark Taylor, Department Chair at Case Western Reserve University, Named Director of the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy
After a three-year search, a new director of the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy is selected. Mark Taylor, an accounting professor and department chair at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, takes over for Uday Murthy, who has been director of the school since 2011. Taylor says the field of accounting is evolving and he is ready to usher new trends into the curriculum.
May
Pam Muma Earns an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from USF
During USF’s May commencement, our own Pam Muma was awarded an honorary doctorate in business administration. We couldn't be prouder or more grateful of the work she does supporting this college and university. She has worked tirelessly to help us achieve our goals in the Muma College of Business and truly revels in the success of our students, many of whom are enrolled – and succeeding – thanks in large part to the generosity and compassion of Pam and her husband, Les.
May
AI, Cybersecurity and the Dark Web Discussed at the Florida Business Analytics Forum
Nearly 400 people attend the third-annual Florida Business Analytics Forum to hear the latest research and trends in the world of analytics. Among the speakers is Hsinchun Chen, director of the University of Arizona’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He talks about how the theft of personal information can end up for sale on the dark web and how major companies, who have massive data collection systems, work to protect that information from intrusion.
May
Les Muma Delivers the Keynote Address for Accountants, Auditors at CPE Conference
Most here at the Muma College of Business know Les Muma as the generous philanthropist who gave $25 million – the largest single gift in USF history – to the business college resulting in the name change. But not as many know about his life, career and how he got to where he is now. Muma tells the story at the annual Accounting Circle CPE Conference and talks about how he began his career on a risk and ended it by retiring from a company he cofounded and now posts profits in the billions.
May
Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program Ranked No. 4 in the World
For the second consecutive year, the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program achieves international prominence by being named No. 4 in the world and No. 3 in North America. The post-graduate program, in which graduates receive a master’s degree in marketing and an MBA, also is named the top program in Florida. The program boasts a near 100 percent job-placement rate for its graduates.
June
Doug Hughes Selected to Chair the Muma College of Business Marketing Department
Straight from the Great Frozen North, Doug Hughes is chosen to be the new faculty chair of the Marketing Department at the Muma College of Business. He comes from Michigan State University where he taught undergraduate, master’s and doctoral-level courses as well as executive education seminars. He has received numerous awards and takes over for Donna Davis, who has chaired the department since 2016.
June
Student Spotlight: Renata Gomes Martins is a World Traveler with an Inspiring Story
Determination and grit fueled Renata Gomes Martins throughout her life, transporting her from humble beginnings in southern Brazil, to a prep-school volleyball scholarship in Central Florida and finally to USF where she cofounded the Global Business Society and is president of the Global Citizens Project Student Association. During the summer of 2018, she studied in Prague of the Czech Republic and interned in Nairobi, Kenya.
July
AACSB Names Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem to its Board of Directors
AACSB International, the world’s largest business education alliance which accredits business colleges, schools and programs around the globe, names USF Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem to its board of directors. The association has 1,700 member organizations and more than 840 accredited business schools in more than 100 countries and territories.
July
Muma College of Business Faculty Continue to Receive Major Awards
Retiring Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Program Director Bill Sutton is the most recent enrollee of a prestigious lifetime-achievement-award club made up of Muma College of Business faculty. Sutton is awarded the Albert Leffler Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ticketmaster Summit in Los Angeles. He joins six other Muma College of Business faculty members who have received lifetime achievement awards.
August
Military Leaders Take Interest in the Doctor of Business Administration Program
Most students in the Doctor of Business Administration program are seasoned business executives who have spent their lives leading their organizations through good times and bad times. But a growing contingent have spent their professional lives preparing or leading troops into battle. A growing presence in the DBA cohorts is the number of military leaders who bring to the table an entirely different perspective of what it’s like to lead.
August
The Journey is as Important as the Destination; A Theme Highlighted at the Scholarship Luncheon
The annual Muma College of Business Scholarship Luncheon is always a heartwarming affair. How could it not be? This year, more than $600,000 – a record – in scholarship money is handed out to nearly 300 deserving students in a crowded ballroom of the Marshall Student Center. As some 400 people watch, keynote speakers talk not about their destinations, but about the steps they took to get there.
September
USF eSports Summit Sells Out, Speakers Explain the Trends in the Emerging Industry
Esports is an industry that, this year, is expected to exceed $50 billion in revenue with a viewership of about 450 million in enthusiastic, sometimes rabid fans. It’s about video gaming as a spectator sport – which one day may rival professional sports. The summit, the first of its kind offered through the Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management Program, takes a hard look at the business side of the phenomenon as well as what it’s like to be a gamer.
October
Jabil Gives $1 Million to Create the USF Jabil Innovation Institute
Jabil, one of the world’s largest contract manufacturers has a close relationship with USF and the Muma College of Business and it grows a little closer when the company, with more than 180,000 employees, donates $1 million to establish the USF Jabil Innovation Institute. The gift will support research that will benefit both business and engineering students by providing new experiential learning opportunities.
October
MS in Business Analytics, Management Highly Ranked in 2020 QS World Survey
QS World ranks the MS in Business Analytics No. 27 in the United States, No. 47 in the world and No. 1 in Florida in a ranking of business analytics programs. Much of the credit goes to the near 100 percent placement rate for graduates, with an average annual reported salary of $91,000. The MS in Management was ranked No 101 in the world as well.
November
NASA and the International Space Station Touch Down at the Muma College of Business.
NASA and ISS scientists visit the Muma College of Business to discuss the engineering, business and entrepreneurial opportunities awaiting the private sector in the space program. Astronaut Don Thomas, who served on four shuttle missions over his career with NASA, gives detailed accounts of what it was like to land an astronaut job, train for a mission and be in space over an extended period of time. The two-day event drew hundreds of students, faculty and the general public.
November
USF Center for Entrepreneurship Graduate Program Rises in the Rankings, now at No. 8 in the Nation
This is familiar territory for the USF Center for Entrepreneurship, being ranked among the Top 10 programs in the nation. This year, the program rises to No. 8 on a list compiled by The Princeton Review. It is the third time the program has been ranked in the Top 10. Among public schools, the program is No. 3, its highest ranking ever.
December
USF World Recognizes Marketing Professor James Stock with Prestigious Award
James Stock, longtime marketing professor and co-director of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, receives the Outstanding Global Vision and Lifetime Achievement Award at a USF World awards ceremony. The award recognizes Stock’s work in expanding USF’s global footprint. He is a Fulbright Scholar who has visited 46 different countries.
December
Muma College of Business Inks Agreement with H-FARM Education in Italy
It’s official. The Muma College of Business, beginning next year, will offer a graduate entrepreneurship degree in Italy. The agreement involves H-FARM Education, a private institution that creates and nurtures startups and educates budding entrepreneurs. Most of the courses will be taught by Muma College of Business faculty, either in person or online, and a limited number of graduate students here will have the opportunity to take the courses there.
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