School of Business
Highlights
AY 2011-2012
47 students were inducted in April 2012 into Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor
Society for AACSB-accredited Schools of Business.
22 students were inducted into the 21st Century Leaders Honor Society in April 2012.The Class
of 2012 includes 26 members of the 21st Century Leaders Honor Society, who were previously
inducted.
The 21st Century Leaders Honor Society of the School of Business raised $3280 for the
Children’s Room of the John Howe Library in Albany, New York. The funds will be used to
purchase new books, materials, and technology for the library. Additionally funds will be used
for children’s programs and activities.
The 21st Century Leaders Honor Society of the School of Business presented a check for $850 to
the St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, PA to support its ministry with the poor.
The 21st Century Leaders Honor Society welcomed back alumni to participate in the annual
Speakers Panel: Kimberly DeFilippo ’10, David Chen ’04, Todd Drowlette ’03, and Assistant
Professor of Accounting Eric Lewis ’89.
The Master of Science in Accounting Program graduated its third class of 53 students in May
2012.
Students in Assistant Professor of Management Paul Thurston’s “Strategic Management” and
“Organization and Management” classes developed strategic plans and change proposals for the
Father Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment non-profit organization.
Students in Professor Paul Thurston’s “Organization and Management” classes worked in a
joint effort with members of Beta Gama Sigma, the 21st Century Leaders Society and the Siena
College Women’s Basketball program to host the Second Annual Siena “Stomps Out
Homelessness” event. More than 500 students, faculty, staff and friends of Siena performed the
“Cha Cha Slide” during half-time to ceremoniously “stomp out homelessness” and increase
community awareness. The event raised $5000 for the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless.
Professors Paul Thurston’s and Erik Eddy’s paper titled “Mentoring as an HRD Approach:
Effects on Employee Attitudes and Contributions Independent of Core Self-Evaluation,” will be
the featured article in the upcoming edition of Human Resources Development Quarterly. The
research focused on the positive effect that mentoring programs have on protégés' attitudes,
competencies and performance.
Jon Deis ’12 and Donny Krause ‘12, escorted and coached by Professor of Marketing Raj
Devasagayam, participated in The National Sales Competition, together with students from 46
other colleges and universities from across the Nation, held at William Paterson University in
Wayne, NJ in November 2011.
Jessica Abel ’13, Marketing major, won the New York Capital Region American Marketing
Association (NYCRAMA) Marketing Plan Competition. Jessica's marketing plan was developed
for the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (HATAS), located in Albany, NY and was
instrumental in generating charitable donations to provide needed assistance to families in
Albany County. Her faculty mentor was Dr. Michael Pepe.
Christina Manning ’12 and Jon Deis ’12 presented their research at the Asia Marketing
Conference in Mumbai, India and the Marketing Management Association Conference in
Chicago.
Assistant Professor of Marketing Michael R. Pepe and his student / nephew, Michael S. Pepe
’12, co-authored and presented a paper, " The Impact of Country of Origin (COO) and Consumer
Ethnocentrism on Salient Product Construct Evaluations Identified by the Kelly Repertory Grid"
at the Marketing Management Association Conference in Chicago
Professors Aaron Pacitti’s and Scott Trees’ article, “Minimum Wages and Economic Justice:
A Classroom Experiment for a Principles of Economics Course” is scheduled for publication in
Forum for Social Economics in Summer 2012.
Assistant Professor of Economics Aaron Pacitti’s article, “The Cost of Job Loss and the Great
Recession” was published in the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics in Fall 2011.
Martha L. Olney, Visiting Professor of Economics from Stanford University, had a Book
Review of the book, Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America, by
Lawrence Glickman published in Business History Review in Fall 2011. Additionally, she
completed an essay “The 1920s,” which will be published in the Routledge Handbook of
Economic History, in 2013.
Associate Professor of Marketing Cheryl Buff’s “Consumer Behavior” classes developed
strategic recommendations and marketing communications pieces for the Interfaith Partnership
for the Homeless, a local non-profit organization.
Jessica Abel ’13 co-authored and presented a paper with Dr. Buff at the 2012 Marketing
Management Association Conference in Chicago.
The 7th Annual Siena College Student Conference in Business was held in April 2012 with 23
presentations and associated papers in five tracks. Ms. Kate Gutmann ’90, President of
Worldwide Sales, UPS, was the Keynote Speaker, addressing the topic, “The World That
Awaits…Synchronizing Global Commerce.”
Two School of Business students, Courtney Bowman ’12, and Christina Manning ’12,
accompanied by Siena’s Executive-in Residence, Mr. Michael Hickey ’83, attended the 2012
U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference in Annapolis, MD in January. The conference
theme was “Visionary Leadership.”
Dr. Cheryl Buff has been appointed the first Director of the Siena College Center for
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, effective next Academic Year.
Dr. Jim Murtagh, Associate Professor of Finance, had his paper, “An Analysis of Global Credit
Risk Spreads During Crises”, published in a special edition of Managerial Finance; his was one
of 6 selected from 240 submissions.
Dr. Jenny Zhao, Assistant Professor of Finance, has had her most recent article, “Foreign
(Offshore) Asset-Protection Trusts: Consideration for the Entrepreneurial Executive” selected for
publication in Entrepreneurial Executive.
The Hickey Financial Technology Center of the School of Business prepared Business students
to participate in the recent Adirondack Cup competition. Additionally, 44 School of Business
students took the Bloomberg Assessment Test in April 2012.
The Economics Department Brownbag Research Seminars continued this year, with three
research presentations in the Fall Semester given by our own faculty members, Professors
Martha Olney, Jim Booker, Gary Clendenen, and Aaron Pacitti. The seminars continued in
the Spring Semester with presentations by four candidates for the new faculty position.
Professors Arindam Mandal and Aaron Pacitti continued to organize and lead the collegewide Economic Roundtable Dinner Series.
The annual Fall Economics Forum address was delivered by Visiting Professor Martha Olney,
focusing on today’s difficult economic conditions titled, “When Thrift is Not a Virtue.”
Three Economics majors presented papers at the SCSCB on April 13, with Vanessa Carlone ’12
winning the “Best Paper” award, and Andrew Fleming ’13 winning the “Best Presentation”
award.
All Economics Department faculty members presented their work in various local, regional,
national, and international venues. The distance award goes to Assistant Professor Arindam
Mandal for his presentations in Calcutta, and the “virtual remoteness” award to Visiting
Assistant Professor Kossi Makpayo for a presentation of his work in Mali (shortly before the
coup -- he had the good sense not to make the trip, despite an externally funded invitation to do
so.)
The Siena College Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship had a most successful second
year in existence, including significant milestones such as class / student projects with 3 start-up
companies sponsored by the Center; conducted its first “Innovation Jump-Start Workshop” ;
participated with 16 students in an Artificial Intelligence Challenge Competition; built a highly
enthusiastic Entrepreneur Club with over 150 student members; assisted in the launch of the first
student business from the “Entrepreneurship” class in January 2012; and held Siena’s first
New Venture Business Plan Competition.
Associate Professor of Quantitative Business Analysis, Dr. John O’Neill, awarded the Siena
College Hickey Chair in Business for Academic Years, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, delivered the
annual Hickey Lecture in April 2012: “95% Accurate Medical Tests: Why a Cheap Test for a
Rare Disease is Good for Business but Bad for Morale.”
The Siena Leadership Institute’s Annual Student Conference on Leadership was held in
November 2011, with the theme, “Never SOLO: The Service of Leading with Others.” School of
Business students and faculty members participated in the various workshop sessions, as well as
in team-building exercises. The Keynote Speaker for this year’s conference was former NFL
Coach Bobby Ross.