Annual Report 2008-2009 Academic Year - Alfred Lerner College of

185 Pages·2009·1.74 MB·English

ANNUAL REPORT
2008-2009 ACADEMIC YEAR

Conrado (Bobby) M. Gempesaw II
Dean

303 Alfred Lerner Hall, Newark, Delaware 19716
www.lerner.udel.edu
[phone]

Thanks to the unfailing support of our friends, alumni and corporate partners, the
hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, and the inspiring talent of our
students, this year has been an outstanding success. The University of Delaware’s
Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics has a tradition of excellence and
innovation. We offer distinctive programs to attract highly qualified students and
we develop their potential through rigorous curriculum, technology, global
experiences and leadership opportunities. This executive summary provides
highlights of this past year’s activities, accomplishments and initiatives.

• Admission to the Lerner College is highly selective. For its 2009 freshman class,
the Lerner College received almost 5,000 applications for an entering class of
about 533 students. The average SAT score for the admitted students has
consistently been above 1200 (math and verbal) for the past four years.

• The graduating class of 2009 consisted of a record-high 937 students with 747
undergraduate students and 190 graduate students. The Lerner College graduates
continue to be hired by employers into professional, career-related positions. The
latest career plans survey conducted in January 2009 reported that 85% of the Class
of 2008 had full-time employment with another 3% working part-time and 5%
pursuing graduate education. This placement rate is highly remarkable given the
economic recession, with many firms reducing their work force and/or
implementing hiring freezes.

• The Lerner College established its own satellite career services center housed in
Purnell Hall. The center’s staff offer enhanced employment services and internship
programs for our undergraduate and graduate students. The center has mentoring
rooms and office space for our corporate recruiters to use when on campus.
• 130 seniors received Bloomberg certification through the Lerner College’s Exelon
Trading Center workshops. The Bloomberg data interface is heavily used by
traders and portfolio managers on Wall Street and, with this certification, our
students have achieved a level of expertise desirable to employers.
• The Venture Development Center (VDC) was completed and dedicated with its
inaugural lecture being delivered by Charles Cawley, founder and former President
of MBNA [now part of Bank of America].
• The Executive Mentors Scholars Program has successfully completed its second
year with the third class to be launched in fall 2009. Through the Executive
Mentors Scholars Program, business executives and professionals act as mentors
and role models, helping our students gain insights and skills that prepare them for
successful careers.
• Accomplished executives from industry continue to share their expertise through
mentorships, internships, teaching, and sponsorships of student competitions and
special projects. Selected executives who have recently taught or are currently
teaching courses in Business Administration include: Ralph Hall, former Chairman
of GMAC Bank; Frank Bailor, President and CEO of USPoly Company; and Lance
Weaver, former Executive Vice Chairman and CAO of MBNA [now part of Bank
of America], who is teaching the business of ethics honors course. Barry Posner,
Principal Analyst, Market Fundamentals, Exelon Corporation, taught Energy
Economics and Nick Marsini, Executive Vice President & CFO at PNC Global
Investments, taught a seminar course in mutual funds. Terri Holbrook, tax partner
at BDO Seidman taught taxation in the Accounting and MIS department. As part
of BUAD 110, a course that introduces students to the various functional areas of
business, several executives from Exelon guest-lectured and also served as judges
for a student competition on forecasting power needs. The Exelon executives
included Frank Henshaw, David Donat, Andy Swaminathan, Jess Torpey, Steve
McCullough, Ferne Rabsatt, and Brian Schopf.
• This past year, 260 Lerner students studied in various UD and College-offered
study-abroad programs. Student demand for the International Business Studies
degree program and the International Business minor continue to increase. The
Lerner College will continue its global focus. Future plans include developing
educational partnerships such as the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) and the
Volterra Foundation in Italy. IFEZ plans to create a global university campus that
will provide students from Asia and around the world an opportunity to get a first
rate education from top U.S. universities. We are also actively exploring the
feasibility of an international agreement with the Fondazione Cassa Di Risparmio
Di Volterra that will bring our Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management
program to their Learning Village in Tuscany.
• The minor in Entrepreneurial Studies graduated its first class and a new minor in
Advertising will be offered this fall. The MS in Finance was launched in fall 2008.
For fall 2009, two hundred applications were received with an expected class of
thirty-five students. The curriculum for the MS in Accounting degree was recently
revised and has experienced a significant increase in applications, with 200
applicants for an expected class of 40 students this fall.

• A 2009 Accounting graduate and UD pole vaulter, Kelli McDonald from
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was named the Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-
Athlete of the Year for women’s track and field, won the 2009 ECAC Medal of
Merit for having the highest GPA among UD student-athletes, and has been named
to the ESPN All-District 2 team.
• Lerner faculty continue to be recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and
service. For example, each year, four faculty are recognized university-wide for
Excellence in Teaching Award. This past year, Lerner College faculty received two
of these four awards—Mark Bambach (Business Administration) and Cihan
Cobanoglu (HRIM). Additional faculty awards were presented at Honors Day in
May to Mark Serva, Accounting and MIS, and Paul Sestak, HRIM (for the Student
Choice Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award); and to Andrea Everard,
Accounting and MIS, (Slocomb Professional Excellence Award). The three
College-wide awards for teaching, research and service included: the College’s
Outstanding Teacher Award (Mark Serva, Accounting and MIS); Outstanding
Scholar Award (Burt Abrams, Economics); and Outstanding Outreach/Service
Award (Ali Poorani, HRIM). Clinton "Skip" White Jr., Accounting and MIS,
received the 2009 Outstanding Educator Award from the Strategic and Emerging
Technologies Section of the American Accounting Association.
• The College sponsored several timely conferences and discussions during the year
including:
 “Wall Street Woes, Main Street Miseries,” moderated by Finance
Chairperson Jay Coughenour with a panel of experts that included
William Poole, UD’s Distinguished Scholar in Residence and retired
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Jim Butkiewicz,
Economics department; and Finance department professors Bob
Schweitzer and Don Puglisi (retired).
 The College’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship
invited the founder of J.D. Power and Associates to address a gathering
of 200 people on the challenges of being an entrepreneur and growing a
family business. The 2009 Economic Forecast Conference was co-
hosted by the College’s Center for Economic Education and
Entrepreneurship with the Lyons Companies this past January. Charles
Plosser, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia discussed the current economic recession to a packed
crowd at UD’s Clayton Hall.
 The Lerner College was a sponsor of the President’s Forum on
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, held this past April entitled “Creating
the Systems to Drive Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” that drew more
than 300 business, government and academic leaders.
• A sincere welcome to our new faculty who are joining the College this fall:

 Brian Greenstein joins us as an Associate Professor from Seton Hall
University and will be teaching Taxation. Brian earned his doctorate
from the University of Houston.
 Thomas Vermeer was previously at the University of Baltimore and
joins the department as an Associate Professor. He will be teaching
Financial Accounting and earned his doctorate from the University of
North Texas.
 Julia Belyavsky Bayuk, is an Assistant Professor who previously was at
Georgia Tech and earned her doctorate from the University of Florida.
She will be teaching in the Marketing area.
 Bernadine Johnson Dykes earned her doctorate from Michigan State
University. She joins the department as an Assistant Professor and will
be teaching in the area of Management.
 Adam Fleischhacker is an Assistant Professor who earned his doctorate
from Rutgers University. He will be teaching in the area of Operations
Management.
 Peggy Tseng earned her doctorate from the University of Maryland.
She joins us as an Assistant Professor and will be teaching Marketing.
 Kolver Hernandez-Arreortua earned his doctorate from Boston College.
He was previously employed as a Visiting Assistant Professor at
Delaware prior to returning to his homeland of Mexico for a two-year
leave of absence. Kolver returns to the department in the fall as an
Assistant Professor and will be teaching courses in Monetary
Economics.
 M. Naveed Baqir earned his doctorate from the University of North
Carolina. He joins the HRIM department as an Assistant Professor and
will be teaching courses in Technology and Hospitality Management.
 Roger Coffin joins the Center for Corporate Governance as the
Associate Director. Roger has his JD from St. John’s University School
of Law in New York and was previously the Managing Partner of
Financial Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York.

• Although not new to the College, I am pleased to announce two recent
appointments within the Lerner College—Rick Andrews as the College’s Deputy
Dean (also Professor and Chair of the Business Administration department) and
Guido Geerts as the new chair of the department of Accounting and MIS
department. Guido is currently Professor of Accounting and MIS and teaches in
the area of Accounting Information Systems.
• Several new members have joined the Lerner College Advisory Board: John
Eckerson, a 1987 Accounting alumnus and the Portfolio Manager for Claren Road
Asset Management in New York City; Michael Geltzeiler, a 1980 Accounting
alumnus, the 2008 Lerner College Award of Excellence recipient, and CFO and
Executive Vice President, NYSE Euronext, Inc. on Wall Street; Neil Shah,
President and COO, Hersha Hospitality Trust in Philadelphia; Helen Stimson,
General Manager, Consumables Division, Agilent Technologies in Newark,
Delaware; Michelle Taylor, President and CEO, United Way of Delaware,
Wilmington, Delaware; and Mark Vergnano, Group Vice President, E.I. du Pont de
Nemours, Safety and Protection, also in Wilmington.
• The new members of the College Alumni Board include Rich Corcoran, a 1998
Finance alumnus, Vice President, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in
West Conshohocken; David Ford, a 1984 Accounting alumnus, Partner, Leisure
Fitness in Newark, Delaware; Jeff Mitchell, a 1994 Accounting alumnus, Principal,
Parente Randolph, LLC in Wilmington; Rob Van Etten, 2003 Finance and
Marketing alumnus, President, Brighton Cromwell, LLC, located in Randolph,
New Jersey; and Jacalynn Varrasse, a 2001 HRIM alumna and formerly an
executive in corporate sales with Hilton Hotels Corporation.

• During Forum and Reunion Weekend in June, three of our outstanding alumni
were recognized and presented the Lerner College Awards of Excellence. Barry
Crozier, a 1971 Accounting graduate, is the Managing Director, Belfint, Lyons &
Shuman, PA, one of the largest CPA firms in Delaware. Matthew Martin earned
his doctorate in Economics in 1998. Currently, Matt is the Senior Vice President
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Charlotte Regional Branch. Daniel
Strickberger, a 1978 Business Administration graduate with a major in Finance, is
the Co-Managing Partner and Co-Founder, DSM Capital Partners in Westchester,
New York. They were honored for their professional accomplishments,
contributions to their community and their commitment to excellence.

• I am most appreciative of the support of all of our alumni and friends. I extend a
special thanks to John and Jennifer Eckerson for their generous scholarship gift to
endow the Eckerson Scholarship Fund; to Ernst and Young for its gift to support
faculty scholarship and teaching in Accounting and MIS; to Sue Ann Weinberg for
her continued support of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance; and to
the Exelon Corporation for its ongoing support of the Exelon Trading Center. Our
accomplishments and initiatives are instrumental in earning national recognition, a
distinction for which we continually strive. The Lerner College continues to gain
momentum in surveys of the nation’s top business schools. For the third
consecutive year, the college was recognized in BusinessWeek’s 2009 issue of the
“Best Undergraduate B-Schools” where the Lerner College was ranked 26th out of
the nation’s top public institutions business programs.

We invite you to take a look at the highlights presented by each unit in this annual
report and to learn more about the Lerner College. You may also wish to visit the
college website at www.lerner.udel.edu.

Conrado (Bobby) M. Gempesaw II
Dean

Annual Report
2008-2009

Table of Contents

Academic Departments

Accounting & MIS Department………………………………………………………….……1
Business Administration Department………………………………………………………..13
Economics Department………………………………………………………………………29
Finance Department………………………………………………………………………….37
Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management……………………………………….……47

MBA Program………………………………………………………………………………63

Undergraduate Advising and Academic Services Office………………………………...71

Centers

John L. Weinberg Center Corporate Governance....................................................................87
Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship...........................................................89
College Information Technology Services..............................................................................95

Appendix

Appendix A: Accounting and MIS Program Learning Objectives Assessment...............A- 97
Appendix B: Business Administration Program Learning Objectives Assessment.........B-145
Appendix C: Economics Program Learning Objectives Assessment...............................C-161
Appendix D: Finance Program Learning Objectives Assessment....................................D-167
Appendix E: MBA Program Learning Objectives Assessment........................................E-169