SUCCESS MAY BE ITS OWN REWARD, BUT AT COMMERCE WE LIKE TO RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE.

 

And we do, at the Commerce Awards Banquet, a gala affair, this year held on April 26th. Our banquet is only one of many such festivities across campus to honor outstanding teachers, scholars, researchers, and scholar-athletes. Complementing the banquet is the Commerce Alumni Association's Spring Luncheon where the association's generous awards are recognized. Since the number of students and faculty recognized at the Commerce banquet is in excess of 200, only a few of the major college- and campus-wide awards will be recognized here. But, at the banquet, each recipient is invited to attend and accept his/her award in the presence of faculty, staff, administrators, donors, parents, and friends. This year over 400 people attended. C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S   T O   A L L ! ! ! !

The Commerce Awards Banquet is organized by the Council of Presidents with the assistance of the Office for Alumni and External Affairs. Co-masters of ceremonies this year were left to right: John Bird, Roland Thomas, and Jill Stevenson. Others on the committee include Cathy Diaz, Victoria Goodman, Shari Sangid, Andrea Scheffler, Mindy Jo Smith, and RoKeysha Tervalon.

 

Student Awards

President's Award winner, Stephanie Katz (third from right), with her family and friends at the Commerce Awards Banquet

The Council of Presidents recognizes outstanding leadership ability with two awards, the President's Award and the Student Leadership Award. Candidates are nominated by their organizations and selection is made by a committee of club advisors and students. Stephanie Katz, president of Commerce Council for the 1998 calendar year won the President's Award for her strong leadership, creativity, and dedication. Krista Reczek received honorable mention. The Student Leadership Award is based on similar criteria for an active member who serves in a position other than president.

Winner this year was Brett Sanchez, external vice president for Phi Gamma Nu and alumni coordinator for the Latino Association for Business Students. Honorable mention went to Nancy Albin.

The George Huff Award, presented by the University of Illinois Alumni Association, recognizes the dual achievements of our scholar-athletes. Recipients must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA for the academic year while winning a varsity letter in the same time period. CBA recipients for 1998-99 are: Jason Anderson, Amanda Barrick, Carrie Cavato, Oliver Freelove, Michael Gusich, Mark Henderson, Laura Lantz, Craig Marquie, Stacy Schapiro, Gavin Sontag, Bobby True, Ashley Webb, and Joshua Whitman.

Two of these athletes, Stacy Schapiro and Bobby True, deserve special notice. Schapiro, a tennis standout, and True, All-America track runner, were both winners of the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor. This award is presented annually at each conference school to a male and female senior scholar-athlete standout. Stacy, who played at top positions in singles and doubles for her four years at Illinois, helped her team finish third at
the 1999 Big Ten championships. An exceptional scholar, she won eighty-three singles matches. Bobby earned three individual All-America honors and two more as a member of the relay team. A four-time Big Ten Champion, he is one of the conference's best-ever middle distance runners.

The Commerce Alumni Association presents an undergraduate scholarship in recognition of academics, extracurricular activities, and community service. This year's recipient was Robert Choi.

Several Commerce students are Matthews Scholars. Named for James Newton Matthews, the first student to enroll on this campus, this scholarship is used to attract outstanding freshmen to Illinois. Funds may be continued for four years based on academic performance. Current CBA Matthews scholars are: Jeffrey Brook*, David Cason, George Downs, Colleen Gallagher, Ji-Hyun Kim, Crystal Knutson, Daniel Sohn, Shane Vadbunker, and Katie Wessel.

*Jeffrey Brook is the recipient of the Matthews scholarship endowed by the CAA and designated for a CBA student.

Brett Sanchez receiving the Student  Leadership Award from Dean Thomas

Dean Thomas and Bobby true, winner  of the George Huff Award and the Big  Ten Conference Medal of Honor.

 

Bronze Tablet Since 1925, the University of Illinois has recognized the highest-achieving members of each graduating class as Bronze Tablet Scholars, whose names are engraved on tablets and permanently on view in the University Library. Among the 187 members of the Illinois Class of `99 who placed in the top 3 percent of graduating seniors and have been thus honored are the following Commerce grads. Alison Renee Aubry Karissa Kay Bischoff Michael E. Catterson Stephanie Chua Cheng Melissa Renee Durham Ketki Gadgil Judd Ira Goodman Marc Elisha Grey Alexis Suzanne Hanneken Matthew Joseph Hartrich Jamie Kristine Irwin Jessica Ann Isenberg Stephanie Erin Katz David M. Kidd, Jr. Suzanne Helen Lind Lilly Liu Joseph Michael Marks David Steven Minarik Jon Jason Racklin Peter Paul Tomczak Nancy Christine Underwood Mark David Werner Jill Suzanne Whitlow Jaclyn Elaine Widmer Adam Nathan Willis Wenfang Ellen Yang Scott Michael Zumdahl Top Ten Seniors Commerce Council holds a competition to determine the Top Ten Seniors in the college. The award is based on academic achievement and service to the college and university during their undergraduate career at Illinois. The Top Ten Seniors for the Class of 1999 are: Alison Aubry Karissa Bischoff Alexis Hanneken Stephanie Katz David Kidd, Jr. Sara Thompson Michelle VanEvery Mark Warner Ellen Yang Nicole Young Senior 100 Honorary The Student Alumni Association and the University Alumni Association select the Senior 100 Honorary Students in recognition of outstanding leadership and scholarship. Although the college enrolls only 11 percent of the undergraduates, nearly 30 percent of these awards go to our students. The CBA recipients are: Bonnie Banoff Karissa Bischoff David Cox Adam Daley Hamish de Freitas George Downs Max Ferencz Kathryn Figatner Alexis Hanneken John Holmes Jennifer Honiotes Stephaine Katz David Kidd, Jr. Lilly Liu Meredith Merz Krista Reczek Gabriella Risatti Kevin Rock Carrie Rodman Daniellinda Schooley Jill Sherlock Kristine Speyer Sara Thompson Michelle Villagomez Joel Werner Mark Werner Nicole Young

Spring 1999 Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students (for fall 1998 courses) FACULTY Accountancy Thomas Linsmeier Theodore Sougiannis Thomas Sternburg Business Administration Richard Hill Jeffrey Kaufmann John Kindt Don Kleinmuntz Matthew Kraatz Paul Lansing Huseyin Leblebici Joseph Mahoney Kent Monroe Elizabeth Moore-Shay Gregory Northcraft Nicholas Petruzzi Riyaz Sikora Gerald Smith Madhubalan Viswanathan Economics Werner Baer Anil Bera Jan Brueckner In-Koo Cho John Conley Lawrence DeBrock Finance Dennis Beard David Lins Ward McDonald Neil Pearson Philip Rushing David Sinow TEACHING ASSISTANTS Accountancy Erica Bieniek Sarah Fitzgibbons Stacy Forbes Deanna Lee Jon Perkins Eric Shipley Thomas Suich Business Administration Chialin Chen Fabio Fonti Scott Hamilton Chris Hill Brian Kavanaugh Amy Kuergeleis Marcum Spears Mary Taber Economics Taimun Baig Sherrilyn Billger John Deke Mitchell Fisher Aurobindo Ghosh Andrew Helms John Kautter Giesoly Kordas William Miles Robert Miller Rahim Quazi Clayton Reck Ronald Stauber Brian Weikel Bonnie Wilson Finance Roberto Guimaraes John Kim

Teaching Awards

Commerce Council holds an election each semester to give students the opportunity to vote for their favorite Commerce professor. This year students were asked to vote for the best faculty of a large (over 100 students) and small (under 100) class. To insure fairness, weighted averages were applied for the first time. An election was also held to determine the best teaching assistant. Winners for the 1998-99 academic year are: For a large class — Stephen D'Arcy, professor of finance; for a small class — adjunct professor of accountancy Art Wyatt; for a teaching assistant — Marcum Spears, business administration.

Accountancy

• Jon Perkins was named the1999 Fred H. Figge Distinguished Teaching Assistant in Accountancy. The award, named for a 1956 graduate, recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Economics

• Three teaching assistants received the Robert Demarest Teaching Award, the department's highest teaching honor for graduate students. This year's recipients are: Ted Juhl, John Kautter, and Bill Miles.
• The Economics Graduate Student Organization presents two teaching awards to faculty. Jan Brueckner, professor of economics, was voted the best professor of a large class. In-Koo Cho, holder of the Kinkead Chair in economics, was elected the best teacher of a small class.

Finance

Elisabeth Oltheten, assistant professor of finance and academic advisor, has been named winner of the Weinstein Excellence Award. Established by George Weinstein (B.S. Management `44), the award recognizes exceptional educational contributions, based on student nominations.  Joonghyuk Kim received the Leonard J. and Sharon Crowley Santow Award for Teaching Excellence. A gift from the Santows established this award for graduate students in recognition of outstanding teaching. Two teaching assistants were presented the Paul M. Van Arsdell, Sr., Award in Finance in recognition of outstanding teaching and scholarship. They are Konan Chan and Carolyn Dehring.

George Weinstein and Elisabeth Oltheten

MBA

• Winners of the Faculty Excellence Awards, annually voted by members of the MBA student body, are Don Kleinmuntz and Brian Wansink, both associate professors of business administration, for their respective work as elective and core faculty members.

EMBA

• The winners of the Executive MBA Outstanding Instructor Award for 1999 are Tom Linsmeier, assistant professor of accountancy, and Joe Mahoney, professor of business administration.

Other awards

Mary Porter, assistant dean for Alumni and External Affairs was given the Emerson Cammack Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Students Award. This award is named for the legendary undergraduate dean who wrote the book on service to students. He was the first recipient and then the award was renamed in his honor. This year the college awarded its first Outstanding Academic Professional and Outstanding Staff Awards at the Awards Banquet. Alice Waldoff, director CBA Publications, received the former, and Naoko Miki, secretary in the Economics Department, received the latter. Paul Magelli, director of OSBI in the MBA program received the campus-wide Chancellor's Academic Professional Excellence Award. (See the last issue of InSight for details.) The Office of Research has established a research award for tenured and junior faculty. The winners of the 1999 Office of Research Award for Excellence are Josef Lakonishok, Karnes Professor of Finance, and Kevin Hallock, assistant professor of economics. (See the last issue of InSight for details.)

Mary Porter receiving the Emerson Cammack Award from Dean Thomas.

The Keith E. Sawyer Service Award was presented to Larry DeBrock, professor of economics, in recognition of outstanding service and commitment to EMBA students, alumni, and the program. The Executive and Professional Development Award was presented to Greg Northcraft, professor of business administration. Each year this award is given in recognition of outstanding teaching and other contributions to the Executive Development Center programs. The award is funded by Investors in Business Education.

F A C U L T Y   N E W S

Retirements

The College of Commerce and Business Administration announces the following retirements from the college faculty and staff.

Nancy Ann Desmond, assistant professor of accountancy. At the University of Illinois since 1955, she holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in accountancy from Commerce, and earned her CPA in 1959. She is a member of Beta Alpha Psi, and her teaching interests have focused on principles of accounting.

David M. Gardner, professor of business administration. A member of the Commerce faculty since 1966, David Gardner has held a joint appointment with the Institute for Environmental Studies since 1978. Honors for his achievements in marketing include such distinctions as being named one of the ninety best marketing researchers by Marketing Educator; Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of New South Wales, Australia; and two Harold H. Maynard Awards for his contributions to marketing thought. His teaching, in marketing strategy, promotion management, and entrepreneurship, has repeatedly won him both college and university awards. A researcher in the marketing of high technology and electronic commerce, he has consulted in the hobby, high technology, banking, and retailing industries, and has served as an expert witness in the area of deception and consumer fraud. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Minnesota, and a B.S.C. from the University of Iowa.

Jane Nathan, associate director of international programs. A member of the Commerce staff since 1978, Nathan joined the college as assistant director of graduate studies and also served as director of the MBA Program. In 1992, she was given the opportunity to establish the CBA Study Abroad Program, offering undergraduates and MBA students opportunities to travel and study in other countries. Under her leadership, the program has grown to encompass seventeen international educational partners in ten countries throughout Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific. She holds a B.S. in business education from Rider College, and an M.S.Ed. from Pennsylvania State University.

Promotions

Congratulations to Louis Kuo Chi Chan, who has been named professor of finance. The promotion is effective August 21, 1999.

Awards

A paper by Neil Pearson, associate professor of finance, was selected as a winner in the 1998 Financial Management Association's Competitive Paper Awards Program. The work, which won in the area of fixed income research, is titled "Is the Short Rate Drift Actually Linear?"

Grants

The Office for the Study of Business Issues (OSBI) has received its third consecutive grant from the Social Kauffman Entrepreneur Internship Program. Presented by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, under the auspices of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a philanthropic organization in Kansas City, the grant has been made in the amount of $12,500, and will underwrite internships for five Illinois MBA students.

Conferences

At the beginning of March, Finance faculty member Jim Gentry traveled to Chiba, Japan, where he presented a capstone case he had written for a seminar on global investment strategy. Jointly sponsored by the Security Analyst Association of Japan and the Association for Investment Management and Research, the three-day meeting drew more than one hundred leading investment managers, most of them Japanese. Gentry, who is IBE Distinguished Professor of Finance, presented a case based on the global investment strategy of the State University Retirement System of Illinois (SURS). He hypothesized that SURS was considering expanding its non-U.S. equity investments to 25 percent of the total portfolio. Gentry, who also attended the conference last year, described the case discussion as being "among my greatest teaching moments." "The seminar environment allows Japanese to engage in lively discussion, to disagree," Gentry observed. "Many of the people present had never had this kind of experience before."