June 3, 2024
by Saunders College of Business

2023-24 Saunders Faculty and Staff Go Above and Beyond

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Faculty and staff smiling with Jacquie

The hard work and dedication of the Saunders College of Business faculty give us an edge over the rest and contribute to what many consider a small college feel at a large technology university. We would like to recognize some of our faculty’s recent accomplishments and congratulate them on a job well done!

View 2024-2025 faculty and staff accomplishments

May 2024

Fifteen Saunders faculty and staff members celebrate anniversaries at Rochester Institute of Technology:

Anne Zachmeyer, academic advisor, received the outstanding staff award. This award is given annually to a staff member who demonstrates enthusiasm for their job and sets an example for others; demonstrates collegiality and contributes to their team, department, and college; demonstrates professionalism and earns respect of colleagues and students; proactively identifies challenges and suggests improvements; is accessible and approachable; and is supportive of RIT/SCB clubs, events, and activities.

Peggy Tirrell, senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions, was named Advocate of the Year by the Center for Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution.

Emi Moriuchi, Ph.D., associate professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics was the featured faculty member in the RIT Faculty Scholarship Report for Saunders College of Business, recognized for research productivity over time.

Faculty and Staff Promotions:

  • Terri Monsees has been promoted to program manager, accreditation & assessment and leadership academy.
  • Neil Hair, Ph.D., executive director of the center for teaching and learning, has been promoted to full professor.
  • Herbert “Andy” Lawrence, lecturer in management, has been promoted to senior lecturer.
  • Raj Murthy, Ph.D., associate professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics, has been promoted to full professor.
  • Ettore Spadafora, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, has received tenure and been promoted to associate professor.

Five faculty members received AY 2024-25 SCB Zutes Awards, which recognize and celebrate the output and quality of intellectual contributions and foster continuing achievement.

  • Kristin Bain, Ph.D., assistant professor of management
  • Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation
  • Mehdi Khorram, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance
  • Jing Tang, Ph.D., assistant professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics
  • Ali Tosyali, Ph.D., assistant professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics

Six faculty members received endowed professorships.

Seven faculty members received externally funded awards.

  • Jerrie Hsieh, Ph.D., professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation, and Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation: Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, $125,000
  • Rick Mislan, Ph.D., senior lecturer in MIS, marketing, and analytics, SBIR (Phase 1) AFWERX, US Army 82nd Airborne Innovation Office, $50,000
  • Vic Perotti, Ph.D., professor in MIS, marketing, and analytics, Data Science for Non-Computing Majors in Data Science (Co-Pi), NSF, $750,000
  • Ashok Robin, Ph.D., professor of finance and accounting, and Ali Tosyali, Ph.D., assistant professor in MIS, marketing, and analytics, Allstate (Phase 1), $50,000
  • Sandy Rothenberg, Ph.D., chair of public policy, Essential Emergency Resources and Services and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in Monroe County NY: A Geospatial-Visual Approach (Sr. Personnel), NSF, $1M

2024 Student Research Initiative Research (SRI) Projects

  • Steve Choi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation - “Investigating Residential Real Estate Market Conditions via Deep Learning Large Language Models (LLMs)”
  • Kenan Guler, Ph.D., assistant professor of management - “Strategies for Utilizing Artificial Intelligence Solutions for the Climate Crisis”
  • Manlu Liu, Ph.D., professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics - “Examining AI and Auditing Between the US and China”
  • Ali Tosyali, Ph.D., assistant professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics - “An Explainable AI Framework to Identify Deceptive Reviewers on E-commerce Platforms Evidence from Amazon”
  • Hao Zhang, Ph.D., professor of finance and accounting - “Effects of Corporate Transparency and Risks on Capital Markets”

Seventeen Saunders professors received certificates for exemplary teaching performance.

Faculty Certificate for Outstanding Teaching Effectiveness:

  • Hao Zhang, Ph.D., professor of finance and accounting
  • Archana Jain, Ph.D., associate professor of finance and accounting
  • Vic Perotti, Ph.D., professor in MIS, marketing, and analytics
  • Richard DeMartino, Ph.D., professor management
  • Raj Murthy, Ph.D., associate professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics
  • Neo Bui, Ph.D., associate professor of MIS, marketing, and analytics

Faculty Certificate for Exceptional Student Impact

  • Keith Weber, senior lecturer in MIS, marketing, and analytics
  • Lorraine Hems, senior lecturer in the department of international hospitality and service innovation
  • Saiwu Lin, senior lecturer in MIS, marketing, and analytics
  • Suzanne McCaffrey, lecturer in finance and accounting
  • Philip Gelsomino, senior lecturer in finance and accounting
  • Rick Mislan, Ph.D., senior lecturer in MIS, marketing, and analytics

Faculty Certificate for Exemplary Adjunct Teaching

Jennica E. Dupra, MSW, associate director of MS advising, University of Pittsburgh and Florida State University, has been hired as an academic advisor in Saunders Student Services.

Pat Scanlon, senior writer, was featured in 585 Magazine for his story "(Almost) hidden history." In it, Scanlon mentions hidden local history, influential women, and some surprising finds.

April 2024

Jacqueline Mozrall, dean of Saunders College of Business and Jeff Davis '10 (EMBA), director of EMBA and executive education programs, spoke to the Rochester Business Journal about the 'highly interactive' on-campus executive MBA program and how the new space encourages collaboration and the program's impact on local businesses through capstone consulting projects.

dt ogilve, Ph.D., professor in the department of management, is a member of the Analytix Group team, which won two Best Paper Awards at the Academy of Business Research Conference, March 20-22, New Orleans, LA. Analytix won Best Paper in two sessions: Marketing and Business.

Michael Palanski, Ph.D., professor in the department of management, gave a talk, “Managing Your Anxious Leader,” at Disrupt HR Rochester at The Strong National Museum of Play, 1 Manhattan Square Drive, Rochester.

Chun Keung Hoi, Ph.D., professor in the department of finance and accounting, co-authored an article, “Does public scrutiny on corporate tax decisions affect directors? Effects of responsible (irresponsible) corporate tax practices on director reputation,” published in Accounting and Business Research. A key finding of the study: while responsible tax strategies are good for a company’s reputation, irresponsible strategies don’t hurt it.

Karen Humbert, Saunders associate director of advancement, has been promoted to director of advancement for Saunders. Announcing the promotion, Dean Jacqueline Mozrall describes Humbert as “an invaluable asset, playing a pivotal role in driving Saunders College of Business towards unprecedented fundraising success.

Michael Palanski, Ph.D., professor in the department of management, co-authored an article, “Perceptions of Ethicality: The Role of Attire Style, Attire Appropriateness, and Context,” in the Journal of Business Ethics, which is cited in a recent piece in Ladders: “No suit, no tie, no problem: Casual is the new formal for modern professionals,” as well as in a piece in The New York Times: “Wayne LaPierre: Dapper as Charged.” The key finding from Palanski’s study, as summarized by Ladders, is that, depending on context, “business casual outfits (button down shirts, slacks, sweaters) are usually the best option in terms of being seen as ethical.”

March 2024

Malarvizhi (Malar) Hirdayaraj, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of management and director, AdvanceRIT, was recognized as a “Difference Maker at RIT” by the Division of Diversity and Inclusion as part of Women’s History Month, March 2024. This recognition highlights women whose work makes a positive contribution to the RIT community.

Keith Weber, MS, senior lecturer in the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics, was highlighted in the Fram Focus newsletter (9:7), published by the Eugene H. Fram Chair in Applied Critical Thinking, regarding his thoughts on the impacts of Artificial Intelligence. Read about Weber’s views here.

Julianne Fiori, MBA, assistant director of transfer and graduate admissions at Nazareth University, has been hired as the senior admissions officer for the Executive MBA program in Saunders.

February 2024

Richard DeMartino, Ph.D., professor of management and director of the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was interviewed by the Rochester Business Journal for an article on education options in career areas outside of a bachelor’s degree: There are alternatives to the four-year degree.

Dena Bateh, Ph.D., adjunct faculty member, was interviewed by WalletHub for a story - States Where Employers Are Struggling the Most in Hiring - about why some states struggle to hire even as the labor market improves.

Edward Ganster, M.S., lecturer in the department of international hospitality and service innovation, was interviewed for a segment on Spectrum News about how RIT's Beers of the World class provides students with a broader palate and historical understanding of craft beer brewing: RIT's 'Beers of the World' course brews excitement among students.

Sean Hansen, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics, with Uri Gal, professor of business information systems at the University of Sydney Business School, hosts a podcast, The Management Lab, which brings “science-based tools and insights to tackle current managerial issues.” Recent episodes include Making AI Work: The Generative Edge in Workplace Productivity and The do’s and don’ts of giving effective employee feedback.

Duygu Akdevelioglu, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of MIS, marketing and analytics, has been selected as the 2023-2024 recipient of the Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. This prestigious award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member who excels at teaching and leadership on campus.

Ashok Robin, Ph.D., professor of finance and accounting, has been selected as the 2023-2024 recipient of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring. The award “honors an RIT faculty member who actively helps in the development of a junior colleague’s career by offering advice, feedback, and guidance that reflects a deep understanding of their department, college, and university.”

Jerrie Hsieh, Ph.D., professor of international hospitality and service innovation, and Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D., associate professor of international hospitality and service innovation, were featured in a Spectrum News story, “Western N.Y. workforce training program helps refugees get jobs.” The segment covers Saunders’ Hospitality Workforce Training Program for Refugees and Immigrants, headed up by Hsieh and Kesgin, which offers “this underserved population hospitality job skills training to enable them to find employment, secure a financial means of living, and re-establish their credentials.”

Jancy Nightingale-Burch, ’25 (MBA), Saunders assistant director for marketing, was spotlighted by Rochester Professionals Under 40. As the acknowledgment notes, “Jancy is a life-long learner, who strives to maintain a healthy balance between personal well-being, outdoor exploration, and sustainable practices.”

Maria Richart, director of RIT career services and cooperative education, was quoted in an article in U.S. News & World Report, “Co-op vs. Internship: Know the Differences,” January 25, 2024. Says Richart, "My advice is, regardless if it's required for your degree program, it doesn't matter. You could be a journalism student or a biology student. Do something that will expose you to the potential field that you are interested in going in." U.S. News ranked RIT #5 in coops/internships for 2024.

Rick Mislan, Ph.D., senior lecturer of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, is part of a team that has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of $100,000 to develop MAGNETO: Magnetometer-based ATAK Guidance for Network Evaluation of Threats and Operational-Conditions. This technology “harnesses the untapped potential of smartphone magnetometers for sensing and mapping RF spectrum data,” and has a number of defense applications.

January 2024

Laharish Guntuka, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, co-hosted a webinar, "Multi-Tier Supply Chain Relationships" organized by Cranfield School of Management to present a call for papers, "Revamping multi-tier supply chain relationships: Using dyadic, triadic, and network data to explore uncharted territory and discover new frontiers" in the International Journal of Production Economics, on January 22.

John Tu, Ph.D., professor of management information systems and senior associate dean, has reached a prestigious milestone: “10,000 citations” of his published work, as measured by Google Scholar. Tu joins two Saunders professors in this exclusive club: John Ettlie, Ph.D., Rosette professor of business, and Ashok Robin, Ph.D., professor of finance and accounting. Learn more about Saunders faculty who have achieved greater than 1,000 citations.

Trevor McKeown, CPA, corporate accounting manager at Paychex, has been hired as an adjunct professor in the department of finance and accounting.

Bill Dresnack, CPA, M.S., J.D., associate professor of finance and accounting, was a featured guest on A LinkedIn Live Lunch Fireside Chat with Two CPAs, along with CPA Lori Hauck, on Friday, January 26. The guests discussed life as a CPA, career opportunities for CPAs, music in the profession (Dresnack is a musician), and other topics.

dt ogilve, Ph.D., professor in the department of management, is a member of the Analytix Group team, which won two Best Paper awards at the Academy of Business Research Conference. January's AMSTATNEWS shares the winning papers are “Movie Sequel Marketing and Predictive Analytics: The Movie Marketing Analytics of Marvel’s Sequel, Wakanda Forever,” and “The New Remote Work Revolution: An Empirical Study on the Management Crisis with the Rise in Remote Work Preference with Employees.”

November 2023

Clyde Eirikur Hull, Ph.D., professor of management, and Mihloti Williams, MPH, program administrator in the department of management, presented on circular economy at the Arizona State University USAID Higher Education Partnership Initiative project’s Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics Conference in Indonesia (STEMCON). Learn more about Hull and Williams’s presentation and conference outcomes here.

Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D., associate professor of international hospitality and service innovation, co-authored an article, “Gastro-tourism well-being: the interplays of salient and enduring determinants,” published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Shal Khazanchi, Ph.D., associate dean of research and graduate programs, announced the publication of Research Revelations @ Saunders (R2@Saunders), which highlights Saunders faculty research published in top-tier journals. The inaugural issue features Saunders research that is solving current real-world business problems and societal challenges.

October 2023

Soon Hyeok (Steve) Choi, Ph.D., assistant professor of international hospitality and service innovation, has won the Best Practitioner Research Award from the American Real Estate Society for his co-authored paper, “Pricing the Upside Potential to Downside Risk.” The award, which will be presented in March 2024 at the annual meeting of the American Real Estate Society, includes a cash prize of $2,500.

Duygu Akdevelioglu, Ph.D., assistant professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, co-authored an article, with Vic Perotti, Ph.D., professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, “The impact of consumer personality and social network position on brand community engagement,” in the Journal of Brand Management.

September 2023

Rajendran Murthy, Ph.D., associate professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, published an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Your Online Account May Have Been Breached? Don’t Just Sit There. Do Something,” September 25, 2023.

Laharish Guntuka, Ph.D., assistant professor of management and supply chain expert, was interviewed by 13WHAM for a story, “How a local auto workers strike could affect the economy of Western New York,” September 20, 2023.

Duygu Akdevelioglu, Ph.D., assistant professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, co-authored the article, “Thinking big about going small: Conceptualizing the human-technology integration spectrum,” published in the Journal of Macromarketing.

Laharish Guntuka, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, was interviewed by RochesterFirst.com (WROC) for a story, “Supply chain expert: Energy costs could be up this quarter,” September 14, 2023.

Neil Hair, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing and executive director of the center for teaching and learning, was interviewed by the Rochester Business Journal for an article, “Local universities prepared to teach ethics of using generative AI,” August 15, 2023. “Nobody can turn the Internet or AI off,” Hair is quoted as saying. “But there are guardrails we need to put in place so that our students and faculty know how they can use it effectively.”

August 2023

Rajendran Murthy, Ph.D., associate professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, was interviewed by USA Today for an article, “Robocalls are out, robotexts are in. What to know about the growing phone scam.” The article additionally appeared in Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle and Yahoo Sports.

Rick Lagiewski, Ph.D., principal lecturer of management, received the Best Reviewer Award at the 2023 Annual ICHRIE (International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education) Summer Global Conference in Phoenix, AZ, in July. Lagiewski also presented a paper, "Shared empathy: Customer service experiences during periods of crisis and disasters," with Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D., associate professor of hospitality and tourism management, and Victor Perotti, Ph.D., professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics.

dt ogilvie, Ph.D., professor of management, spoke at a professional development workshop (PDW), "The Genie’s out of the Bottle: Preventing Cheating, and Exploring the Creative Potential of ChatGPT," at the 83rd annual meeting of the Academy of Management, August 4-8, in Boston, MA. The workshop was nominated for the PDW MED (Management Education and Development) 2023 award.

Ali Tosyali, Ph.D., assistant professor of management information systems, was mentioned in the article "5 sneaky ways to spot a fake Amazon review" in The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance website. The piece cites Tosyali's co-authored article, "Detecting fake review buyers using network structure: Direct evidence from Amazon."

Rajendran Murthy, Ph.D., associate professor of management information systems, marketing, and analytics, published the article, "Fear trumps anger when it comes to data breaches—angry customers vent, but fearful customers don't come back," in The Conversation, June 22, 2023.

June 2023

dt ogilvie, Ph.D., professor of management, joined the team of experts for Syracuse University’s Lender Center for Social Justice Thought Leader Advisory Group on Addressing the Racial Wealth Gap.

Ali Tosyali, Ph.D., assistant professor of management information systems, received first place at the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE) Cup Competition for research on explainable AI in mental health. The research “MDscan: An Explainable AI Artifact for Screening and Monitoring Mental Disorders” was in collaboration with Salih Tutun, Kazim Topuz, Kehao (Gorden) Li, and Anol Bhattacherjee!

View last year's faculty and staff accomplishments

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