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Message
From The Dean....
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It is hard to believe that with the end of the 2008-2009
academic year, I have now presided over three graduations. It is an
honor and a privilege to be the Dean of the College of Business.
The past three years have been an exciting time for the College. Last
fall we received re-accreditation, we have hired 10 new faculty and
three new instructors and have restructured the undergraduate  curriculum.
While we have made significant strides to improve the College, there is
more that can and will be accomplished.
We say goodbye to the class of 2009 and to President Robert L.
Carothers who in his 18 years has transformed the University through
his commitment to diversity along with the renovation or construction
of over 49 buildings. As we bid farewell, we also extend a warm
welcome to the class of 2013 and Dr. David M. Dooley who in July will
be our 11th President.
The month of April is always filled with events and this April was no
exception. On April 5th, we held our annual Student and Faculty
Awards banquet with over 275 students, parents, friends and faculty in
attendance. This event, held in conjunction with the induction of
50 juniors, seniors and graduate students into Beta Gamma Sigma
(the national business honor society) has become (along with graduation)
one of the highlight events of the academic year. I am
continually amazed at the academic, civic and professional
accomplishments of our students.
In addition to the faculty award recipients in the newsletter, two
faculty had their papers published or accepted for publication in the
top journals in their field: Assistant Professor of Finance, Dr. Yan
Xu, and Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management, Dr. Yuwen Chen.
On April 23, we held the 2nd Annual Richard Vangermeersch Lecture Series.
Over 125 students and alumni attended the panel discussion entitled
"Banking on the Future". The panelists included Eric P.
Andreozzi, managing director and co-founding partner of McColl
Partners, LLC; Scott Carter, managing director and North American head
of Global Prime Finance Sales and Hedge Fund Capital for Deutsche Bank
Securities Inc.; and William Eigen III, managing director of Absolute
Return and Opportunistic Fixed Income Strategies for J.P. Morgan Asset
Management.
The panel discussed the causes for our current economic crisis,
beginning with the collapse of Bear Stearns in March 2008. They also
discussed the impact the collapse had on investment management while
providing insights on the career opportunities that graduates will face
over the next 18 months.
The other major event this month was an MBA networking reception held
at the Providence Marriott on April 22nd. The event featured, Sandra
Parrillo, who shared the impact an MBA had on her career and is
featured in this newsletter.
I hope you enjoy reading our faculty, student and alumni spotlights and
as always we would love to hear what you are doing so that we can
include it in our next "What is Happening" section. 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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Faculty
Spotlight
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Gordon H. Dash, Jr.
Professor of Finance and Decision
Sciences
Professor Dash joined the URI faculty in 1974. Prior to his
arrival at URI he completed his undergraduate degree in business
administration at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA) and was awarded a
masters degree in business education and doctorate in both finance and
operations research from  the
University of Colorado at Boulder. The early years of Professor
Dash's career were devoted primarily to the study of bank financial
management. While at the University of Colorado he served as
Coordinator of the School of International Banking.
Upon his arrival in Rhode Island, Professor Dash worked closely
with several Rhode Island state agencies, including the Rhode Island
Department of Business Regulation. In the banking field he has
delivered expert testimony to several Rhode Island governing
bodies. His testimony on the merits of charter swapping by
foreign domiciled corporations was presented to the Rhode Island Bank
Board of Incorporation. Expert testimony is also evidenced by his
support for the R.I. Division of Taxation in a district court case
involving the computation of bank-deposit tax liability for off-shore
deposits. During this period, his work expanded to include close
associations with various state and federally chartered credit unions.
His commitment to the study of efficient bank management and related
issues to the financial services industry is also evidenced in his
research. In addition to being the past Editor of The
Northeast Journal of Business & Economics, he has also served
as an associate editor for both The International Review of
Financial Analysis and The Financial Review. His
research on optimal bank structures has been published by a number of
academic journals including the Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision
Analysis; the Journal of Banking and Finance and The Financial
Review. A similar effort directed at property-liability
insurers was published by The Canadian Journal of Operational
Research and Information Processing. His extension of
operations research techniques, particularly the ability to model
multiple decision making objectives within a managerial structure, were
extended to well-known problems of choosing optimal investment
portfolios. To this end, his research was published by The New
England Journal of Business & Economics and Journal of
Portfolio Management. Professor Dash's joint expertise in
finance and operations research resulted in the publication of a
two-volume software release for academic teaching: Operations
Research Software, Volume I and Volume II. The effort in this
area continues today with the ongoing release of WinORS - a Window's
compatible version of the software that includes financial engineering
methods.
As Professor Dash's career advanced, his research focus
added the evolving field of artificial intelligence. To this end,
he has focused on the use of artificial neural networks to model highly
nonlinear events in the foreign exchange markets, the derivatives
markets as well as contemporary stock markets. His research in
this area has been published by The Journal of Computing and
e-Systems; Operations Research: An International Journal; The
African Finance Journal and The Handbook of Financial
Engineering. In addition to U.S. research symposiums, he has
received internationally-based invitations to present current research findings
at academic conferences in Lithuania, Germany, Greece, South Africa and
Italy. His current research efforts include the development of
his forthcoming book and software entitled: Applied Risk Management:
The Fundamentals of Derivatives and Automated Trading. In
this book, Professor Dash's chapters on the use of Neuroeconomics in
risk management is designed to usher in a new era of learning as he
introduces artificial intelligence methods to automate the efficiency
of trading individual stocks in a risk-controlled environment.
Professor Dash has been awarded the 2009 Diversity Award for Faculty
Excellence in Leadership and Service; the 2004 Dean's Excellence Award
for Graduate Teaching and the 2002 Beta Gamma Sigma Outstanding
Professor. In 2004, he was also inducted in The Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi. Throughout his career at URI, Professor Dash has
enjoyed primary teaching responsibility for courses including Mutual
Fund Management, Global Currency Trading and Valuation, Speculative Markets
(Derivatives), Bank Financial Management and Managerial
Economics. Additionally, for an overlapping span of 18 years that
includes this summer, he has served as a Visiting Professor of
Finance at ISIDA, the University of Palermo's (Sicily) internationally
hosted Master of Management program.
Professor Dash is the founder and current advisor to the
student-directed Financial Engineering Club. He also founded the
student club - Minority Students in Business Administration.
Professor Dash reports that one of his most important challenges today
is re-engaging with former students. To this end he is working on
a new financial engineering blog as well as a presence on
Twitter. To capture the interest of potential students, Professor
Dash has been active in speaking at various high school career day
activities - the most recent at E-CubedAcademy in Providence,
R.I. and the Teen-Impact service project hosted by
NewLifeWorshipCenter in Smithfield, R.I.
Professor Dash remains an active member of the International
Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE), Global Association of Risk
Professionals (GARP), Professional Risk Managers' International
Association (PRMIA) and The European Operational Research
Society. When not engaged in his profession, he can be found at
Gold's Gym, attending live artistic performances or biking the pathways
of R.I. with camera in hand.
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Student
Spotlight
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Jessica Wolchok
May '09
The first time
Jessica Wolchok set foot in Rhode Island, it was to visit the state university.
Four years later, Wolchok's time at the University of Rhode Island has
helped her see the world. As a member of the school's  Hillel
chapter, the Buffalo native and Delmar, N.Y. resident made trips to
Israel and Prague.
Wolchok served as president of URI Hillel - a student group designed to
help students explore their Jewish heritage or learn the culture.
During her sophomore year, the group went to Prague as part of an
alternative spring break trip. "We visited different Jewish
cultural sites around the city," Wolchok said. "We visited a
concentration camp as well. It was very emotional. They had a whole
Jewish quarter and it was really interesting because there was a lot of
history with everyone leaving. That city was a real melting pot. We
visited some gorgeous churches as well. It was just a beautiful
city."
When Wolchok joined URI Hillel, the group had just a handful of
members. Working closely with Amy Olson, executive director of Hillel,
she took on a major role in recruitment. By the time she graduated, the
group had more than 50 active members, and a mailing list of more than
300 students.
"The staff at Hillel, especially Amy Olson and (student life
coordinator) Lisa Friedman, I am really going to miss them,"
Wolchok said. "They have really helped me a lot in terms of
personal growth and expanding my world a little bit."
While Hillel played a big role in Wolchok's URI experience, she was
active in other areas of campus life as well. She was a member of the
Chi Omega sorority, the Student Alumni Association, and the Business
Student Advisory Council, where she served as a liaison between
students and faculty from the College of Business. She also served as
president of URI branch of the American Marketing Association.
"I learned a lot about teamwork, event planning and project
management, which is all beneficial to my career path," Wolchok
said.
Looking back, Wolchok knew from the day she first stepped on campus at
URI that this would be the place to experience her formative years.
"In my mind, this was what I pictured college to be."
Media
Contact: Shane Donaldson
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Alumni
Spotlight
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Sandra
Parrillo, MBA '93
The Providence
Mutual Fire Insurance Company
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Sandra Glaser
Parrillo, CPCU, is President and Chief Executive Officer of The
Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Providence, Rhode Island and
its subsidiary Providence Plantations Insurance Company. Ms. Parrillo
joined The  Providence
in 1977 as an underwriter. She served in several underwriting and
management positions with The Providence and was named Vice President
and Secretary in 1995. In 1999, she was elected Senior Vice President
of Underwriting and Marketing. In 2000, Ms. Parrillo was elected to her
current position.
Ms. Parrillo was
awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics from Rhode Island College, Magna
cum laude, in 1978. She received the Wall Street Journal Award
for Outstanding Graduating Senior in Economics and Management. In
1993 she earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration, High
Honors, from URI. She was elected to the National Honor Society
of Phi Kappa Phi and the Business Honor Society of Beta Gamma Sigma.
She was awarded the designation of Chartered Property and
Casualty Underwriter in 1986, and the designation of Certified
Insurance Counselor in 2000. In 2001, she received the Charles B.
Willard Achievement Award from Rhode Island College. She
was recognized as one of the region's 25 most industrious and
influential business women in the Providence Business News' 2008
Business Women edition.
Ms. Parrillo serves as a director of Cranston Print Works, Cranston,
RI; Delta Dental of RI; Mutual Fire Insurance Association, Peabody,
Massachusetts; and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.
She is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Providence
Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as a director and Vice
Chairman of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies,
Indianapolis, Ind.; Chairman of the Governing Committee of the Rhode
Island Joint Reinsurance Association and is a member of the Insurance
Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, the Rhode
Island Governor's Insurance Council and the Board of Governors of the
Rhode Island Commodores. An active member of the American Society of
Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, she formerly served as a
director of the Rhode Island Chapter.
Ms. Parrillo resides with her husband Richard, daughter, Marissa and
son, RJ in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.
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College of Business
Senior Takes A Top Spot
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Accounting major places third overall in worldwide
competition
KINGSTON, R.I. - May 12, 2009 - Sean Finneran smiled as he shared the
new name he earned during his final semester at the University of Rhode
Island.
The Champ.
Finneran, a senior accounting major from North Kingstown, earned the
moniker from classmates after his performance in the Capsim Challenge,
a business simulation game developed by Capsim Management Simulations
in which individuals or teams develop management strategies.
In April, Finneran competed against 942 teams from around the globe and
was one of six finalists. In the finals - which consisted of eight
rounds completed over a three-day stretch - Finneran finished third in
the world, and was the highest finisher from the United States, beating
an entry from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School for top
national honors.
In addition to Finneran and the Wharton entry, the finalists included
two teams from India, one from Hong Kong and the world champion team
from the Curtin Institute of Technology in Australia. It was Curtin's
second world title in four years.
Finneran got involved in the Capsim Challenge through a class with URI
professor Robert Comerford. After performing well in the class setting,
Finneran decided to enter the worldwide challenge as an individual
through the Capsim Web site. For the competition, he set up shop in the
24-hour room at the URI Library.
I was nervous for the first few rounds, and for good
reason," Finneran said. "You were playing against the best
other five teams in the world. You should be nervous. You have to be
nervous. You're not human if you are not nervous."
In the days leading up to the contest, Comerford spent time with
Finneran developing and tweaking the strategy Finneran employed. The
individual attention made a strong impression on the student.
At 28 years old, Finneran has been taking college courses for more than
10 years. He started at the Community College of Rhode Island,
transferred to Rhode Island College and returned to CCRI before coming
to URI.
"Once I got to URI, it was my chance to finish school somewhere
and kind of have a home," Finneran said.
The entire time he has been in college, Finneran has also worked as a
kitchen supervisor at Gregg's Restaurant and Pub in North Kingstown.
"It has all been part of the human experience," Finneran
said. "You grow and evolve and you kind of find your way in
society. That's what I was doing for a while."
Finneran has found his way at URI, and soon he will be able to add
another new name for himself...The Graduate.
"It's really special for me because I have been in school for 10
years," Finneran said. "There was a time I did not think I
was going to graduate from college."
Media Contact: Shane Donaldson, 401-874-4894
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Recent College of Business Events
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Thank
you to everyone who attended the MBA Networking Reception
and the Vangermeersch
Endowed Lecture Series that took place in April.
The two annual events were a great success!
Click HERE to view pictures from the MBA
Networking Reception
Click HERE to view pictures from the Vangermeersch event.
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MBA Student Named Homecoming Queen
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Congratulations to Rebecca Davis who was recently named
URI Homecoming Queen! Rebecca is currently in the joint
PharmD/MBA program.
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Relay For Life
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On April 17,
2009 the College of Business Administration faculty and students joined
the fight against cancer at the annual American Cancer
Society event Relay for Life. Teams from different groups on
campus camped out and took turns walking around the track.
The Business Student Advisory Council sponsored a team of students and
faculty to walk. Team members included Professor Joseph D'Adamo,
Professor Chet Hickox, and eight students from the Business Student
Advisory Council. In three short weeks, the team raised $2,672 in
donations.
The College
expects to participate in future Relay for Life events and continue its
support of the American Cancer Society.
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2009 Awards Banquet
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The College
of Business held a Faculty Student Awards Banquet on April 5th to honor
outstanding students and faculty in the College of Business. Over 40
scholarships and achievement awards were given to students during the
event at the Quonset "O" Club in North Kingstown.
Dean's
Excellence Awards were also awarded to the following faculty and staff,
for distinction that supports the mission of the College.
Dr.
Cynthia Blanthorne, Assistant Professor
of Accounting with the Thomas Chisholm Graduate Teaching Award
Dr.
Anthony Wheeler, Assistant Professor of
Entrepreneurial Management with the Dean's Research Award
Dr.
Frank Budnick, Professor of Decision Science
with the Thomas Chisholm Undergraduate Teaching Award
Dr.
Albert Della Bitta, Professor of
Marketing with the Dean's Service Award
Ms.
Kathleen Bowser, Undergraduate Advisor with the
Dean's Administrative Support Award
Dr.
Silvia Dorado, Assistant Professor of
Entrepreneurial Management with the William A. Orme Working Paper
Series Award
Dr.
Kate Jelinek, Assistant Professor of
Accounting with the Dean's Outstanding New Teacher Award
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Ram Fund Results
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Every semester,
a handful of URI finance students get to act like Wall Street professionals
and manage the Ram Fund, URI's own real-money, student-managed
investment fund. At the end of the semester, they present their
results to the Ram Fund Advisory Board. This year, they presented
to a wider audience as a part of the Alumni Association Executive
Board's Annual Meeting.
On Saturday,
April 25th, they occupied the final slot of the day's schedule.
They presented their approach to managing the fund, the techniques
they used, and their annual results to members of the Alumni Association's
Executive Board and Finance Committee.
"This semester's student team was smaller than usual, with only
eight members rather than the usual twelve to fifteen" said
Professor Peter DaDalt, the Ram Fund's faculty advisor. "But
they made up for it by working harder than almost any group I've
seen. It seemed like every time I stopped by the Trading Room
either late at night or on a weekend, there were three or four of them
working on their analyses. And they've done very well. While
this has been a tough time to be in the market, the Ram Fund has held
up well. It's currently up almost 2% for the year (as of 5/18),
and is slightly ahead of the S&P 500."
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Where Are They Now?
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Where are some of our CBA alumni?
Eric
Anderson, '79 is Sales Manager for Amica
Insurance in Albany, NY.
Lance
Kilma, '89 is President of Intana
Management in NYC, NY.
Charles
Levy, '81 is Vice President and Controller of the International
Investments business unit at Prudential Financial, Inc. in Newark, NJ.
Janice
Shallin, '77 has retired as Vice President of
Pacific Wine Partners, CA.
David
Sklarski, '80 is President and CEO of
Sterngold Dental LLC in Attleboro, MA.
Robert
Tamburro, '88, MBA '99, is Director of Information
Solutions for the Raytheon Company in Portsmouth RI.
Donald
Vasta, '81 is Tax Counsel at General
Electric Company in Stamford, CT.
Kenneth Weber,
'68 is Vice President and CEO at ResortCom
International in San Diego, CA.
To be added to the next newsletter email your update to cbanews@etal.uri.edu
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Ph.D. News
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Congratulations
to the following CBA doctoral students and alumn on their recent
accomplishments :
Adriana
Boveda-Lambie has accepted a position
as Assistant Professor of Marketing at Rochester Institute of
Technology for Fall 2009.
Roger
Blake, Ph.D. '08 has been awarded The
Joan Moon Undergraduate Teaching Award at the College of Business,
University of Massachusetts - Boston. This award recognizes the
faculty member who has demonstrated the most notable achievement in
undergraduate teaching. This faculty member is chosen through
nominations made by graduating seniors in the College.
T.
Jeffrey Zhang graduated May 2009, and has
accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Finance at the
University of Dayton.
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Pictures of
the Month
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Guest speaker Sandra Parrillo, MBA '93 addresses a crowd
at the MBA Networking Reception
CBA alumni panel at Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture
series.
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Quick Links
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CBA Website
MBA Website
URI Website
UPDATES FOR NEWSLETTER?
Contact:
University of Rhode Island
College of Business Administration
Ballentine Hall
7 Lippitt Rd
Kingston, RI 02881
Attn: Lisa Lancellotta
401-874-4241
cbanews@etal.uri.edu
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