Faculty and Staff Receive College Awards
Faculty and staff members in the College of Business were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments during the annual faculty and staff awards banquet on May 11 at the Leon Springs Dancehall.
Dr. Rick Utecht, associate professor of marketing, received the college’s premier teaching award, the E. Lou Curry Teaching Award. Utecht historically receives some of the highest teaching evaluations in the college and throughout the university. He also received the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for teaching as well this year. This year he developed an innovative doctoral teaching seminar for the college’s Ph.D. students. He was also presented with the National 2006 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award by the Marketing Management Association.
Daniel Tablada, lecturer in marketing, received the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for non-tenure track faculty. Tablada routinely teaches four courses each semester in a variety of subjects. He initiated the college’s Principles of Marketing class in Spanish, which is a model for our new Bilingual Business certificate. He also led the college’s NAFTA entrepreneurship exchange program.
The Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award was presented to Dr. Katsuhiko Shimizu, associate professor of management. He helped lead the Department of Management to its recent national ranking with top tier publishings in the Academy of Management Journal and the Strategic Management Journal. His research focuses on organizational change under uncertainty, learning from and response to failures and the importance of human and social capital.
Dr. L.J. Shrum, professor of marketing, received the Patrick J. Clynes Service Award. Shrum chairs the MBA committee, the University faculty review committee and is coordinating the college’s new marketing Ph.D. program. Shortly after arriving at UTSA, he established the Marketing Behavioral Research Laboratory and organized and implemented the first research subject pool in the college. Shrum also received the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award in this area.
Dean Lynda de la Viña also awarded two special service awards to non-tenure track faculty members Dr. Bennie Wilson and Dr. Lisa Montoya. Wilson led the college’s learning assessment program as part of AACSB reaccreditation. He worked diligently with faculty and department chairs to tackle this project, which was recognized as a model program by the accreditation team. Montoya, assistant dean of undergraduate studies, received the award for her focus on community outreach and service. Montoya has worked tirelessly to develop the Latino Financial Issues program in the college, which exposes students to community economic development, financial services and entrepreneurship.
The Endowed 1969 Commemorative Faculty Award for Faculty Excellence was presented to Dr. Tom Thomson, professor of finance. Thomson was instrumental in creating the finance section labs for undergraduate students and posts innovative course content online to make his subject matter more understandable for students. His research interests focus on real estate and particularly in the areas of mortgage default and foreclosures. He has also chaired the college’s undergraduate programs
Warner Fassnidge, lecturer II in finance, received a special plaque from the dean for his meritorious service to the college. Fassnidge, who retired this spring, has taught business law and real estate courses for the college since 1976. Until retiring in 2004, Fassnidge was the assistant city attorney in real estate in San Antonio. In honor of his time spent in the college, Fassnidge has established an annual scholarship in real estate finance and development.
Three staff members also were recipients of the Staff Excellence Awards, established to recognize the accomplishments of college professional and classified staff members. Deryl Martin, senior administrative associate, and Steve Stewart, systems analyst II, received the Dean’s Excellence Award. Martin was noted for her strong work ethic and her unprecedented knowledge of faculty and academic procedures. Stewart excels in his customer service skills and his knowledge in the field of information technology. Kimberly West, director of advancement, received the Dean’s Community Outreach and Service Award. West has been instrumental in developing relationships with the college’s advisory council, alumni and donors.
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
