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Message From
The Dean....
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It is hard to believe that it has been one year
since we launched the College of Business newsletter. Based on the feedback we have
received, it has been a tremendous success. As I continue to meet with all of the
outstanding CBA graduates, I consistently hear of the impact URI and
the College of Business has had on your careers. I am also delighted to hear how you
want to become more involved with the University and the College of
Business. We are setting up
programs and events to get you more involved and bring you back to
campus to network with other alumni.
Along those lines, we are planning an MBA networking event in
Providence in late April. More
details on this event will be sent in a subsequent newsletter and via
snail mail.
As
the student spotlight section of the newsletter highlights, we are
beginning to see the benefits from last years' changes to the
curriculum. We hope that Chris
will be the first of many students to have summer internships with
brokerage firms in New York City.
We are also pleased and extremely fortunate to have Michaela
Mooney back in the College of Business as the Associate Dean for
Development. As we continue to
prepare for our re-accreditation visit next October one of the areas
the visitation team will focus on is career placement. As the newsletter indicates, we are
asking recent graduates (December 2006, May 2007 and August 2007) to
complete a short 5-minute survey.
One lucky respondent will receive a $300 gift card from American
Express. I thank you in advance for your participation.
The final item I would like to make you aware of is
the Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture to be held in the Galanti Lounge on
April 10th. The panel
discussion "Reaching the Corporate Summit" will be moderated
by Hilda Allred, former Professor and Associate Dean of the College of
Business, who in addition to her successful academic career went on to
serve in senior Human Resource positions for a number of
corporations. The panel consists
of three of our outstanding graduates Deborah Ciolfi, CEO, Providence
Investors LLC; Margo Cook , Senior Managing Director , Institutional
Business, Bear Stearns & Company; Wendy Field, Managing Director,
UBS Investment Bank. The panel
discussion will be followed by a reception at the Galanti Lounge. It promises to be a great event if
you can fit it into your schedule.
We are always looking to hear what is happening with our alums
so please let us know what is happening in your life. As always, I welcome your feedback.
Wishing
you all the best,
Mark Higgins
Dean and The Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership
Chair in Business
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Professor
Seung Kyoon Shin
For
the past five years, Dr. Shin has been conducting research into the
effects of Information Technology on countries, electronic commerce,
and societies. With support from a grant, Shin collaborated with
Jungsoo Park of South Korea's Sogang University and G. Lawrence Sanders
of SUNY Buffalo to determine how countries' investments in IT
transferred from overseas countries affects their importing countries'
domestic productivity and economic performance. Using databases
from the World Bank and Penn World of Data, they examined the
statistics from 43 countries over a five year period. They concluded
that the production advances a country gains from its IT
investments are dependent on the technology skill levels, or
"quality human capital" of its population.
Other
research projects focused on investigating international software
piracy, and examining the factors that entice customers to make
purchases from a website.
Seung's research
has been published in journals such as Information Systems Research,
Communications of the ACM, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management,
Information and Management, Decision Support Systems, and International
Journal of Operation & Production Management. His current research
interests include IT investment, web-based knowledge management &
transfer, strategic database design for data warehousing and data
mining, web-based information systems success, and economic and
cultural issues related to information systems. Dr. Shin is a member of
the Association for Information Systems and the Beta Gamma Sigma honor
society.
Prior
to joining academia, Seung worked in industry as a system analyst,
IS project manager, and system integration consultant. He has designed
and developed information systems for numerous domestic and
international corporations. From legacy mainframe to cutting-edge
internet technologies, his broad industry experience and expertise on
various information
technologies,
especially database management systems, have benefited the students.
Professor Shin
received a B.A. in Physics from Kyung-Hee University Korea, an MBA and
Ph.D in Business with a concentration in Management Information Systems
from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is an
Assistant
Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business
Administration at the University of Rhode Island.
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Student Spotlight
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 Christopher Vasoli, May '09
Picking my career path was never difficult. Business has surrounded me my entire
life. The family business is a
sixty plus employee electrical construction company, Vasoli
Electric. Tom Vasoli, my father,
is the president and runs the company that includes five of his
brothers. I attribute a majority
of my business knowledge, experience, and most importantly my genuine
interest for business to growing up in and working for Vasoli
Electric. Working for my family
for seven years has undoubtedly prepared me for my future, because if
you can survive working with five of your uncles AND your dad, talking
with Wall Street executives is not as stressful.
My
experience working with my family has brought an outstanding sense of
pride and work ethic. Standing
on these attributes, after working with the toughest supervisors (my
family), will hopefully prepare me for anything the world has to
offer. I can not wait to take on
the next step, the next challenge, and to start working with my next
company.
My tenure at The University of Rhode Island is a story of
improvement, maturation, and ambition. I once thought a highly competitive
job on Wall Street was a lofty goal, but that never dissuaded me from
trying to achieve it. The Dean's
List seemed unreachable, but that did not stop me from reaching
it. But by far the most
important was trying to graduate from college as the most prepared I
could be, and I am striving to be able to say I have accomplished
this.
Ever
since freshmen year I have been on a career hunt. While many students were searching
for internships, I was searching for information. I knew that business was right for
me, but which part? Over the
years I have met and contacted a plethora of business professionals,
ranging from head security analysts on Wall Street, to a new
consulting firm's president.
This quest for information not only helped me learn and hone my
attention on my desired career, but provided me with great contacts in
so many sects of the business world.
I attended a College of Business event at which the
speaker was an alumnus who was working at Bear Stearns. The way he talked about his career,
the competitiveness and how it was different everyday elevated my
interest. After asking for his
business card and having a conference call with him, he forwarded my
resume to the recruiting department.
The Bear Stearns recruiting department set up a phone
interview. Following the phone
interview I was told they would like to bring me in for their full
round of interviews for a summer intern position.
Sitting
in the boardroom with all the other potential interns, I found out that
I was the only student not from an Ivy League school. I was never nervous, just excited
about what was about to happen.
All the hard work I have put in may pay off; I may get that job
on Wall Street. It was at that
point when I realized I was a rare breed in that boardroom. I remembered a valuable piece of
advice that my father told me right before my interview, "Make
sure you show them who you are, be yourself". I went into the interviews making
sure that I displayed my genuine interest, knowledge of the business
world, and my drive to succeed.
One
week later I found out that I was chosen to be a summer intern. The hard work, focus, and dedication
paid off. This summer should be
a great experience, and a great first step in achieving my career
goals. But no matter how far I
go in business, I will never forget where I came from, where it all
started - my family.
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Alumni Spotlight
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 Christopher C. Cobb, MBA '96
Director of Business Development, NFI Industries
In my role as Director of Business Development my primary
goals are to establish distribution and warehousing facilities in New
England and to bring NFI's nationwide network of distribution,
warehousing and other supply chain related services to companies headquartered
in New England. Our most recent success was the establishment of
a dedicated manufacturing warehouse operation for Polartec in Fort
Devens, MA. This is a fully dedicated, 125,000 square foot
facility which came online in December 2007.
Prior to joining NFI Industries, I held sales related
positions with OOCL (USA) Inc. in Houston, TX, New York, NY, San Ramon,
CA and Coventry, RI. My primary role was to develop and increase
market share in each of the regions under my control by developing relationships
with the countries top importers, exporters and supply chain service
providers. While at OOCL, I was involved in contract negotiations
for utilizing global containerized transportation with brand name
companies such as FedEx, E&J Gallo, Franklin Sports, DHL and many
more.
My career goals from the beginning were to work on a
global scale and to gain some exposure working with non-US based
multi-national organizations. A few months after graduating from
URI, Orient Overseas Container Lines (aka OOCL) USA, Inc hired me to
work out of their Houston, TX office. My work at OOCL allowed me
to travel to and live in different regions of the country exposing me
to a variety of import, export and supply chain related
perspectives.
After 10 years of working for a Chinese controlled
company, I decided it was time to get back to the music and culture we
call our own and agreed to my current position with NFI
Industries. NFI is one of the nations top ten supply chain
service providers with over 14 million square feet of space and
services placed strategically throughout the country.
In addition to NFI, in November 2007, my wife Ann and I
acquired a small retail store in Historic Wickford Village called
"Kitchen & Table of Wickford". The retail world is
a new and exciting venture. Ann and I are looking forward to
stocking kitchens throughout Rhode Island and southern New England with
unique and top quality kitchenwares.
Looking back at my experience at URI is something I do on
a regular basis and this is not a pitch. Throughout my
enrollment, the faculty and staff became not just educators, but
friends. I have traveled and lived literally everywhere, and Rhode
Island is a hidden gem. My time at URI resulted in a positive
transformation from a career standpoint and from a personal
perspective. Our class was the first One Year MBA - and the
best! Our struggles through a new and unknown curriculum made me
very comfortable in setting precedent instead of following it. A
huge plus when negotiating contracts. URI gave me the confidence
to know when I walked into a conference room with C-level personnel
staring me down that I was one of the smartest ones in the room.
My time at URI also helped me to realize anything can be done if one
sets their mind to it. URI Alumni, you are better than the person
sitting next to you because of what is behind you. Go Rams and
fish on! See you in May Chet!
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What Happened To?
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Andrew Laviano 
I spent 31 years teaching the legal and ethical
environment of business and international business at the undergraduate
and graduate level at the College of Business Administration. It was a
wonderful and constructive way to spend a working life.
Through our writing, Professor Hickox and I got to meet
and receive encouragement from the Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court. In my international course, I got to invite and
host Sergei Khrushchev, the son of the leader of the Soviet Union
during the Cold War. These are only two of many events that
were special to me and would not have happened had I not been at the
College.
Now I find myself in Naples, Florida otherwise known as Paradise. My
wife Elise teaches Second Grade at a local elementary school, and when
I am not helping her I am out frustrating myself on our golf course.
Norman and Marie Coates are also in Naples, and we get together
occasionally to reminisce about the university
We will return north in May and hope to see old colleagues at
Ballentine.
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Vangermeersch Endowed
Lecture
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Reaching
the Corporate Summit
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The College of Business is proud to host the inaugural
Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture. Meet some of URI's successful
alumni at a panel discussion.
Moderator: Hilda Allred
Alumni Panel:
Deborah Ciolfi, CEO, Providence Investors LLC
Margo Cook, Senior Managing Director, Institutional
Business,
Bear
Stearns & Company
Wendy Field, Managing Director,
UBS Investment Bank
Panel
discussion: 4:00-5:30 pm
Reception: 5:30-7:00
pm
Light
hors d'oeurves and refreshments will be served. The event is free.
All
are welcome! Please RSVP by April 7th to suemc@uri.edu or call
401-874-4377.
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Where
Are They Now?
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Where
are some of our CBA alumni working?
Margo Cook, '86 is a Senior Managing
Director, Institutional Business, Bear Stearns & Company in
NY.
John Hansen, '72, MBA '74 In November
2007, John received a Meritorious Service Award from the U.S.
Government Accountability Office, the audit and investigations branch
of Congress, for outstanding leadership on studies of aviation security
issues. He has been at the GAO since June 1974, after
receiving his MBA from URI.
Nadav Mer, MBA '04 is Owner and
Operator of Swamp Systems LLC, a dealer of APC products in Gainesville,
FL.
Eric Matteson, '96 recently
received a promotion to Vice President at Rampart Investment
Management, a leading investment firm in Boston.
Andrew Rosener, '03 is Vice
President of Sales and Marketing at Omega Sea Inc., a seafood
commodity processing/trading company in Newport.
David Rudzinsky, '85 is now Sr. Vice
President and Chief Information Officer for Hologic, Inc.
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URI
Events
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March
10th- MBA
Information Session, 6 pm, Ballentine Hall, Thomson Boardroom, 3rd
floor. Reserve your spot-email mba@uri.edu or call URI-5000
27th- MBA Information Session, 10
am, Ballentine Hall, Thomson Boardroom, 3rd floor. Reserve your
spot-email mba@uri.edu or
call URI-5000
27th- Speaker: Katie Ahern,
CBA Alum "What you need to know about a business degree and
applying to LawSchool". 5 pm, Ballentine Hall, Thomson
Boardroom, 3rd Floor
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April
2nd- URI Job Fair,
Ryan Center, 11 am-3 pm
For more details and future
events visit http://www.cba.uri.edu/calendar/
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CBA
News
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Welcome
Michaela Mooney 
In January, Michaela Mooney
was appointed the College's Associate Dean of Development.
If her name sounds familiar,
it is because Michalea served as the Senior Development Officer
responsible for putting closure on the "Shareholder's
Campaign" from 2001-2005. In the past three years she has been
working on special projects for the launching of the University's
"Making a Difference" Capital Campaign.
Michaela is a native of
Rhode Island and holds a graduate degree from URI. Her
undergraduate degree is from Wheaton College, MA where she was awarded
the Jane B. Ruby Fellowship for graduate studies. She is a
graduate of the Wellesley College Management Institute for Women in
Higher Education (HERS-Higher Education Resources Services) and earned
a certificate in Dartmouth College's Summer Institute in Educational
Fund Raising. She and her husband Tom '94, are Wakefield
residents and the parents of Meaghan '06.
MBA-MO Accepting Applications for
Fall 2008!
The URI Graduate School of Oceanography is teaming up
with the College of Business Administration to offer the first dual
degree combining MBA and Master of Oceanography degree. The
new MBA-MO dual degree will allow students to graduate with
two degrees within 16 months. We are now accepting applications for
Fall 2008.
For details on the dual degree, visit http://www.cba.uri.edu/home/prospective/
Attention RECENT Graduates!
If you are a
December 2006, May 2007, or August 2007 Graduate we are asking for your
valuable feedback in a Career Services Placement Survey. This project will let us know where
our students go after graduation and assist us in making changes for
future CBA graduates. Please
access the link below to fill out this QUICK 5-minute survey. By filling out this survey you have
the opportunity to update your contact information with the College of
Business Administration and enter a drawing to win a $300 American
Express gift card! Thank you in
advance and we are excited to hear about your successes!
Recent Graduate
Career Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9BoYS7LRwpIcFIAtujh8kw_3d_3d
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Be
A URI Career Mentor!
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URI College of Business Alumni
Have you ever thought about becoming a mentor for
students?
If so, we encourage you to serve as a career mentor
for current students and alumni who are registered with the free
RhodyNet program, sponsored by URI Career Services. RhodyNet is an online networking
service for URI alumni and students.
Why become a mentor?
* To share your
"real life" expertise with newcomers in your field or
industry
* To provide
important career guidance
* To provide exposure
for your company or institution
* To have fun
interacting with enthusiastic students
How do I become a Mentor?
Go to http://career.uri.edu and click on
"Serve as a URI Career Mentor." You can choose:
* The information about yourself that you would like
students to see
*
Your
contact information
How much time does it take to mentor?
You
choose the maximum number of contacts from individual students that you
prefer per month.
Sign
up now!
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Ph.D.
News
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Tim Ozcan
Accepted a position as Assistant Professor of
Marketing in the Management and Marketing Department in the School of
Business at Southern Illinois University.
Ralph Perfetto
Accepted paper entitled "Readiness to Go Green:
Using A Transtheoretical Approach to Better Understand Non-Adopters of
Environmentally Friendly Products" at the Association of Marketing
Theory & Practice Conference, Savannah, GA co-authored with Jason
Oliver (East Carolina University).
Accepted paper entitled "Extremely Frequent Casino Gamblers: Jumbo
Shrimp, Big Fish, and Whales" at the Summer Society for Consumer
Psychology Conference, Boston, MA in conjunction with the 116th Annual
Convention of the American Psychological Association, co-authored with
Arch Woodside (Boston College).
Co-Guest Editor (with Nik Dholakia) of a special issue of the
International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality on the
growing phenomena of medical tourism.
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Picture
of the Month
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Actor Richard Gere on campus in Kingston to film the movie Hachiko
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Quick
Links
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UPDATES FOR NEWSLETTER? Contact:
University of Rhode Island
College of Business Administration
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