Posted on April 25, 2011 by Christi Fish
Eleven faculty members at The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Business were honored for excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service at the UTSA College of Business Awards Reception April 20.
Dr. Keying Ye, professor of management science and statistics, 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. Ye teaches at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level and leads the department’s applied statistics program. His students note that he values critical thinking and shows students how to apply statistics to everyday life.
Dr. Pepe Chang, assistant professor of management, was named the recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty. Chang developed the college’s ethics and globalization course, which is taught in an innovative workshop format over the course of five weekends. Her students note that she gives students the tools to analyze issues critically and make decisions based on reason, values and morals.
The Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty was presented to Julie Dahlquist, senior lecturer in finance. Dahlquist utilizes current economic examples throughout her courses to keep students engaged and has implemented an innovative online homework system to better evaluate student performance.
In the area of research excellence, Dr. Hamid Beladi, professor and IBC Bank Senior Faculty Fellow in economics, was named the Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award recipient. Beladi is one of the most widely known and frequently published researchers in the field of international trade theory. He has published more than 170 papers in academic journals throughout his career. His research displays a rare ability to construct rigorous and formal models and methods upon which policy implications can be derived.
Dr. Long Liu, assistant professor of economics, was the recipient of the Dean’s Research Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty. Since coming to UTSA in 2008, Liu has accumulated nine publications in highly-ranked journals in the field of econometrics. His research is focused on panel data problems, spatial regression and applied econometrics issues.
Recognizing a career of service to UTSA, Dr. Nandini Kannan, professor of management science and statistics, received the Patrick J. Clynes Service Award. Kannan was selected as project director for the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan initiative. She serves on numerous university and college-level committees that are dedicated to helping students succeed. She has provided outstanding leadership to the university, and she is focused on developing initiatives that complement the college and university mission.
Dr. Lisa Montoya, associate dean for undergraduate studies and lecturer in economics, was named the recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for University Service for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty. Her service activities enhance educational experiences for students, promote experiential learning, reduce barriers to student success and serve the public through community engagement. Through her work as director of the Latino Financial Issues Program and executive director of the Center for Student Professional Development her students have mentored middle school students, and she crafted the H-E-B Career Action Program which touches more than 2,000 business students each year.
Dr. Thomas Thomson, professor of finance, was the recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for Community Service. As director of the Real Estate Finance and Development Program, he has been instrumental in implementing mandatory community service activities for students. He has led students in activities with Habitat for Humanity, Graffiti Wipeout, the Animal Defense League and San Antonio Parks and Recreation.
The Dean’s Excellence Award for Community Service for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty was presented to Ron Sweet, lecturer II in finance. Sweet contributes considerable amounts of time to community service. He established a microlending program that has distributed 18 loans totaling $30,000 to an indigenous tribe in Costa Rica. And, he has enlisted the support of the college’s Investment Society to develop a paper portfolio which is then mirrored by his organization to finance the loans.
Highlighting the strategic importance of international issues, the college established the Dean’s Excellence Award for Advancing Globalization. This year’s recipient is Dr. Yiuman Tse, professor of finance. Tse is a prolific scholar in international finance, an associate editor of four global business journals and presents his research internationally. He was also instrumental in coordinating the college’s International Seminar Series.
Finally, Dr. Jeff Boone, professor and Albert Steg Scholar in accounting, 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.
Boone receives high teaching evaluations, even though he is noted as having the most rigorous courses in the department. He has compiled an outstanding research record with more than 30 journal articles and is active as a Ph.D. advisor for the accounting doctoral program and with the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section of the American Accounting Society.
Wendy Frost—
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Christi Fish
