Dr. J. Bret Becton, Dean
Beginning with the grand opening of our state-of-the-art Maraist Financial Services Lab in August, the excitement at the start of the Fall semester was obvious. Our undergraduate business programs received national ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Our MBA program continues to grow with over 750 students in both the on campus and online programs. We also received recognition as a top MBA program from CEO Magazine, Princeton Review, and U.S. News & World Report.
Our faculty continue to produce high-quality research including recent grant awards from the U.S. Department of Economic Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our students are connecting theory to practice through guest speakers, field trips, internships, and professional development events.
The Moody College of Business is on a mission to impact our students and the business community. You can expect continued innovations and developments in the near future as we adapt to changes in the business environment to prepare our students for success. We look forward to sharing our progress with you and wish you a joyful holiday season.
Maraist Financial Services Lab Ribbon Cutting
Business students and faculty now have access to the state-of-the-art Maraist Financial Services Lab which opened in August 2018.
The 1,178 square-foot facility is located in F.G. Mouton Hall and features 24 computer workstations, 12 Bloomberg Terminals, electronic ticker tape display, digital data board, and television monitors for business and financial news. Students will gain experience in portfolio management, financial strategy and markets, trading, modeling, and business performance analysis.
New Faculty Appointments
Dr. Sungsil Lee joins the Department of Accounting as assistant professor. Her research interests include accounting for income taxes, financial reporting, debt contracting, and corporate governance. Lee earned her PhD in Accounting from University of Houston, Master of Accounting from Ohio State University, and MS in Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration from Seoul National University.
Dr. Gary A. Wagner joins the Department of Economics and Finance as Acadiana Business Economist and Board of Regents Support Fund Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics. His research interests range from regional economics to state and local public finance issues, with a focus on state rainy day funds, municipal borrowing costs, and public pension plans. Prior to joining UL Lafayette, Wagner was Vice-President & Senior Regional Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He previously taught at Old Dominion University, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Duquesne University. Wagner earned his PhD and MA in Economics from West Virginia University and his BA in Economics from Youngstown State University.
Faculty Research & Achievements
Dr. Geoffrey Stewart, The Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development and associate professor of marketing, was awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Development Grant of $249,678 for "Community Economic Development in Rural Coastal Acadiana Parishes." The study will focus on the gulf seafood supply chain in Vermilion, Iberia and St. Mary Parishes. The grant is a collaborative effort between University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Meridian Institute and will enable researchers to better understand how seafood makes its way from the Gulf’s waters to tables worldwide. Dr. Ramesh Kolluru and Roy Holleman are co-principal investigators and Deborah Atwood, Meridian Institute, is subcontractor.
In addition, Dr. Stewart was awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 2018 University Center Economic Development Program Competition that will benefit the Louisiana Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (LEED) Center. UL Lafayette received $112,850 for the initial year to expand LEED in developing regional innovation, advancing entrepreneurship, cultivating innovation in rural and underrepresented communities, and supporting regional commercialization.
Dr. Joshua Bendickson, assistant professor of management, has been elected as Director at Large for the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). He has served on the board for four years and currently serves as AVP Web Communications coordinating USASBE’s Google Adwords Grant, a $10k/month grant which he helped to secure. As VP Publications, Dr. Bendickson led the team that developed and launched Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy, USASBE’s journal partnership with SAGE.
Dr. David S. Baker, associate professor of international business and marketing, has been accepted to the prestigious Fulbright Program Specialist Roster by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and World Learning. The program matches specialists to projects designed by host institutions in more than 150 countries.
Dr. Geoffrey Stewart, The Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development and associate professor of marketing, launched the Louisiana Impact Series. This speaker series is an opportunity to connect executives and leaders from Louisiana with students, faculty and the public. Audiences engaged in conversations and discussion panels with a variety of industry leaders during the Fall 2018 semester.
- Honorable Robert Summerhays: As the newly confirmed United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Hon. Summerhays shared his career progression, including advice for entrepreneurs and start-up companies.
- McIlhenny Company: Executives from McIlhenny Company discussed their personal and professional experiences during presentations featuring "Domestic Marketing & Branding", "International Marketing & Finance", "IT & Industrial Design", and "The History of McIlhenny & Growing a Family Business."
- Bill Hyde, Jr., Briarwood West Investments: Hyde took the audience on his career journey, from UL Lafayette student to the boardrooms of America's great restaurants including Chart House, Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
- Donnie Wallace, PGA Tour Operations: Wallace discussed "Bridging the Gap Between Television and the Fan Experience" including his path from UL Lafayette student and football quarterback to leading the PGA Tour's tournament operations.
- Women Leading the Energy Industry: Diedre Toups, Stabil Drill; Jaime Glas, HauteWork; and Trudy McConnaughhay, PHI, Inc. participated in a panel discussion on women's experiences in the oil industry.
9th Annual Ragin' Sales Competition
Undergraduate business students from UL Lafayette, Louisiana State University, Nicholls State University, and Southeastern Louisiana University participated in the professional selling role-play competition held in the Moody College of Business Northwestern Mutual Sales and Research Lab.
Christopher Reggie (center), a marketing major from UL Lafayette, placed first. Lauren Olivier (left), a marketing major from Louisiana State University, placed second. Austin Wade (right), a marketing major from UL Lafayette, placed third. The first place university sales team was UL Lafayette. More than 45 local sales professionals observed and judged participants on over two dozen sales techniques.
Outstanding College of Business Graduates - Fall 2018
Undergraduate Programs
8 Majors | 12 Minors | 5 Concentrations
Graduate Programs
MBA (On Campus, Online, Executive) | Masters in Accounting | Certificates