Posted on April 30, 2009 by Wendy Frost
awards_faculty
Nine faculty members were honored for excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service at the College of Business Awards Reception April 29.
Dr. Dianna Stone , professor of management, received the E. Lou Curry Teaching Excellence Award. The college’s premier teaching award, the E. Lou Curry Award is presented in memory of Lou Curry, a respected faculty member who passed away in 1995. A highly rated faculty member, Stone uses innovative teaching methods to enhance student learning in her classes. Her courses are rigorous, but she goes out of her way to work with students to ensure that they not only learn the concepts, but they can also apply them to a real world setting.
Dr. Dennis Lopez , assistant professor of accounting, was named the recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty. Lopez is the lead teacher for the Accounting Principles II class. He mentors the Ph.D. students who teach additional sections of this course and provides them with syllabi, common examinations and coordinates the course to ensure that the same quality is provided across all sections. In addition, he piloted the department’s first course in Spanish as part of the college’s Bilingual Business Certificate program.
The Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty was presented to Ron Sweet , lecturer II in finance. Sweet has been a well-regarded teacher in the College of Business since 1997. He regularly teaches courses in security analysis, risk management and life and health insurance finance. In addition to being a successful teacher, he also serves as an exemplary role model and mentor to his students. As a vice president of equity investments at USAA, he is able to bring real world applications to the classroom in order to give students rigor with relevance in their academic preparation. Sweet was also named the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.
In the area of research excellence, Dr. Hamid Beladi , professor of economics, was named the Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award recipient. Beladi has an unparalleled record of academic publication and service. He has published over 140 papers in refereed journals with the focus of his scholarship in the fields of international economics and globalization. For the 2005-2008 period, he was the highest ranked researcher in the College of Business. In addition to his outstanding publication record, he is an academic leader as well. He edits two journals: The International Review of Economics and Finance and Frontiers of Economics and Globalization. And, he serves as associate editor for three journals and is a member of the editorial boards of five other journals.
Dr. Allen Zhang , assistant professor of marketing, was the recipient of the Dean’s Research Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty. Since coming to UTSA in 2004, he has compiled an outstanding research record that has resulted in five articles published in top tier journals. Three were published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the top journal in marketing, and two were in a leading psychology journal. His research focuses in two fields: consumer’s self-identity on consumer information processing and the impact of accountability on decision making.
Recognizing a career of service to UTSA, Dr. Nandini Kannan , professor of management science and statistics, received the Patrick J. Clynes Service Award. Working with a team of faculty from across the university, her proposal was selected as the university proposal to transform student learning as part of the SACS accreditation reaffirmation. She also serves on the President’s Blue Ribbon Committee on the Undergraduate Experience, chairs the University Core Curriculum Committee and is a member of the SACS Core Curriculum Assessment Committee. At the college level, Kannan was instrumental in developing the Ph.D. program in applied statistics as well as the master’s degree in applied statistics and the undergraduate actuarial science degree.
Dr. Marshall Pitman , associate professor of accounting, was the recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for Community Service. A member of the UTSA faculty since 1984, Pitman is widely known at the local, state and national level as a leader in accounting education. He contributed more than 400 hours annually to these causes. He has been active with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA)and serves at the president of the Educational Foundation for the TSCPA. Through his community service, he has enhanced the reputation of UTSA and the Department of Accounting throughout the accounting community. Highlighting the strategic importance of international issues, the College established the Dean’s Excellence Award for Advancing Globalization. This year’s recipient is Dr. Cheryl Linthicum, associate professor of accounting. Linthicum’s career exemplifies the importance of globalization. She has led the charge to not only develop, but also implement the new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFSR) into the college’s accounting curriculum. She became involved with this effort while working as an Academic Fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She helped formulate the U.S. adoption strategy for IFRS and was asked to serve an unprecedented second term. Through these experiences she has expanded her knowledge in international accounting and interacted with numerous international accounting firms. Linthicum is also the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Advancing Globalization.
Finally, Dr. Nandini Kannan , professor of management science and statistics, received the college’s Endowed 1969 Commemorative Faculty Award for Overall Faculty Excellence. This award honors a faculty member for their accomplishments in teaching, research and service. Kannan embodies the true spirit of a faculty member through her incredible body of work as a teacher and researcher. She teaches statistics courses at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. Her courses are well received by students who find her skillful in presenting difficult material in an understandable format.
She has maintained an impressive research record and has published more than 30 publications in refereed journals. Two articles appeared in top journals in 2008 and five articles were published in 2007. She also serves as an associate editor for Communications in Statistics and is a reviewer at more than 10 journals. Kannan has provided strong leadership in her commitment to the university and is focused on developing initiatives that are complementary to the mission of the College of Business and UTSA.
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Wendy Frost
