Distinguished Professorships
Distinguished Professorships encourage ongoing commitment to excellence, kindle intellectual vibrancy, elevate instruction standards, and enrich public service contributions. They demonstrate professionalism, groundbreaking scholarship, exceptional instruction, and the breadth and significance of service contributions.
The Benjamin Forman Professorship for Research
Manlu Liu, Ph.D., has built a strong research record, including a recent A+ journal publication with Dr. Jing Tang. Generally producing two journal publications/year, she also has a strong pipeline, with several manuscripts under review with A+ journals. She has demonstrated strong leadership in the college, and is currently serving as MS Business Analytics Program Director – our fastest growing graduate program. She is always willing to serve the college and RIT in strategic ways, and is currently the SCB representative for the University-level AI committee. She has also built a strong external reputation, serving as a member of editorial board and AE for three different journals.
Rong Yang, Ph.D., continues to be a highly-regarded researcher in the area of financial accounting and corporate social responsibility, targeting high-quality journals. Previously serving as program director, Rong led the development of STEM-Designated MS Accounting & Analytics program that provided the foundation of significant enrollment growth in this program. Rong is a collaborator, publishing with more than 40 faculty from over 20 Universities, including many RIT/SCB faculty, and plans to continue publishing with colleagues at RIT and beyond as well as remain actively engaged with the top professional organizations in accounting.
The Benjamin Forman Professorship for Collaborative Research
Sandra Rothenberg, Ph.D., has a strong record of collaborative work with faculty and students across RIT and other organizations. Her work has been focused on addressing critical interdisciplinary challenges across environment, technology and public policy facing today's society. She has a demonstrated record of engagement in externally-funded work, totaling more than $5M, including NSF and NIH funding. Sandy also has a record of translating her grant work into strong journal publications, with recent publications reflecting interdisciplinary collaborations across policy, engineering and sustainability. Sandy will be returning as a full-time faculty member in the college and plans to continue creating cross-college research efforts and facilitating funded research opportunities with RIT/SCB faculty, while targeting support from business, industry, government and the public sector. Dr. Rothenberg is also recognized on Stanford’s list of the Top 2% most cited scientists in the world.
Daniel D. Tessoni Endowed Professorship in Accounting
To honor Daniel D. Tessoni for his teaching contributions and his lifelong impact on students
Donor: Friends and Alumni of Dan Tessoni and the Saunders College of Business
Established: 2015
Chun-Keung “Stan” Hoi Ph.D. is a professor of finance in the Saunders College of Business. His current research interests include tax avoidance, social capital, social, responsibility, and corporate governance. He has published in leading academic, journals across business disciplines including finance, accounting, and management such as Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal, of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Financial Management, The Accounting, Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Corporate, Governance: An International Review, and Communications of the ACM. His current teaching focuses on financial models and corporate finance. Stan has received multiple awards for his teaching and service from the Saunders College of Business and from RIT. The awards from RIT include the Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching (2006-2007) and the Provost's Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2013-2014). Stan received his BA and MS from North Texas State University and his Ph.D. from Arizona State University.
The E. Philip Saunders Endowed Professorship
Established in 2018 to support an endowed professorship in the Saunders College of Business. This named professorship will be awarded at the dean's discretion to a faculty member
in Saunders College of Business. Recipients will be outstanding teacher-scholars. Funds may support, but are not limited to, enhancing the faculty member's professional development, investing in professional growth and development.
Sean Hansen Ph.D. is the Department Chair of MIS, Marketing, & Analytics and a Professor of Management Information Systems (MIS) in RIT's Saunders College of Business. His research interests are in software design and development, health IT, IT strategy, and the application of contemporary cognitive theory to information systems development. Prior to embarking on a career in research and teaching, Sean provided management and technology consulting services to companies across the industrial spectrum. His research has been published in leading journals in the MIS field, including MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Communications of the ACM, Information Systems Journal, Information and Organization, The Information Society, and Decision Sciences, as well as multiple edited volumes. He regularly presents his research at leading academic conferences. He received his BA from Harvard University. He received his MBA and Ph.D. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Emi Moriuchi, Ph.D., is an active researcher and consultant in the field of marketing. She is a two-time Fulbright recipient. Her research focuses on the use of AI-driven robots and avatars in consumers' purchasing behaviors in the marketplace as well as in patients' healthcare settings. In recent endeavors, she has researched cybernetic avatars that are teleoperated by individuals with physical disabilities. Professor Moriuchi intends to extend her research in health sciences, in which she will collaborate with RIT and external researchers. As the McClure Professor for Marketing, Professor Moriuchi plans to organize distinguished lectures and engage in local and international communities. She also plans to contribute to local, national, and international media outlets.
The Madelon and Richard Rosett Professorship for Research
Hao Zhang, Ph.D., has been incredibly successful as an empirical researcher in conducting high-quality research across finance and accounting. He continues to target and publish in the highest-quality journals - with a healthy pipeline of promising work. In addition, Hao has been engaged in working with both undergraduate and graduate students on research, as well as serving as the FMA faculty advisor. He has helped lead the development of the Ph.D. in Business Administration and now serves as a program director in the Finance and Account Department. He is truly an exemplary teacher-scholar, while also selflessly serving the college in so many different ways!