Posted on March 19, 2013 by Wendy Frost

Recognizing outstanding leadership and service to the UTSA College of Business, eight faculty members were named Dean’s Distinguished Fellows.
Image of 2013 Dean's Distinguished Fellows

Image of 2013 Dean's Distinguished Fellows

The inaugural fellows awards were established to support prominent faculty members who are actively contributing to the mission of the College of Business and UTSA.

“The goal of the Dean’s Distinguished Fellow award is to recognize faculty who conduct research and teach at the highest levels, but also are academic leaders who have made significant service contributions to the college,” said Dan Hollas, interim dean of the college.

“The dedicated and sustained academic leadership of these eight faculty members has been essential to the success of the College of Business,” he continued.

The fellows are Karan Bhanot, finance; Jeff Boone, accounting; Cynthia Lengnick-Hall, management; Mark Lengnick-Hall, management; Pamela Smith, accounting; Lila Truett, economics; John Wald, finance; and Keying Ye, statistics.

Selection criteria included appointment as a full professor, a distinguished research record, very good teaching performance and a strong record of leadership and service to UTSA students and faculty.

“These individuals have been active participants in the academic life of the college and have made a career at UTSA of leading departments and programming, mentoring our students and faculty, and providing academic leadership through department, college and university committees,” said Hollas.

The Dean’s Distinguished Fellow award carries a two-year stipend of $10,000 annually to support research, scholarly activities and travel.

Inaugural Recipients of the Dean’s Distinguished Fellow Award

  • Karan Bhanot has taught at all levels at UTSA in the Department of Finance since 1997. He has chaired three Ph.D. dissertation committees and serves as the faculty advisor for the Ph.D. program in finance. He organizes the department’s research seminar and leads a brown bag series for Ph.D. students. Most recently he has served on the dean’s search committee, is a member of the Faculty Senate and chairs the department’s DFRAC. Bhanot received the Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award in 2005 and the E. Lou Curry Teaching Excellence Award in 2008.
  • Jeff Boone was instrumental in the Accounting Department’s admittance to the Accounting Doctoral Scholars program. A member of the faculty since 2005, he has chaired Ph.D. dissertation committees as well as the college’s Ph.D. Committee. Boone is a faculty advisor for the Ph.D. program in accounting and chairs the college’s Graduate Faculty Forum. In 2010 he received the 1969 Commemorative Award for Overall Faculty Excellence from the college.
  • Cynthia Lengnick-Hall has taught in the Department of Management since 2001. For more than eight years, she served as the Ph.D. faculty advisor in management and helped build the doctoral program in management. Teaching in the undergraduate honors, MBA, EMBA and doctoral programs, she is committed to working with students. She has chaired numerous Ph.D. dissertation committees and publishes regularly with her students. She has also chaired the PPE committee and department faculty search committee.
  • Mark Lengnick-Hall has taught across all levels at UTSA in the Department of Management since 2001. An active student mentor, he regularly publishes with students. He has chaired Ph.D. dissertation committees, DFRAC and PPE committees and the SACS accreditation for human resources major. Lengnick-Hall served as a doctoral advisor and organized research colloquia for the management doctoral program during its formative years. He is a current representative on the CFRAC.
  • Pamela Smith is the faculty advisor for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program and has participated in the UTSA Faculty Leadership program. Joining the Department of Accounting in 2001, she teaches at the undergraduate and master’s level and has also co-authored numerous journal articles with doctoral students. She has chaired the department executive committee for the last three years. She received the Dean’s Excellence Award for Community Service in 2010 and the 1969 Commemorative Faculty Award for Overall Excellence in 2008.
  • Lila Truett has been a leader in the College of Business and Department of Economics since her arrival in 1975. She served as director and department chair in economics for over 20 years. Truett teaches at the master’s and doctoral levels, advises graduate students and chairs the graduate study committee for the master’s in economics program. Truett has served on the Graduate Council since 2002. She has also regularly chaired the departmental PPE and DFRAC committees.
  • John Wald has taught at UTSA since 2006. During his tenure in the Department of Finance, he has chaired departmental search committees and the department’s DFRAC. Regularly teaching at all levels, he has been a mentor to numerous students, has chaired five dissertations and co-authored numerous articles with doctoral students. In 2010 he was named a recipient of the college’s Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award.
  • Keying Ye has chaired more than five Ph.D. dissertations, publishes with students and serves as the faculty advisor for the Applied Statistics Ph.D. program. He has served as the chair of the departmental search committee and the Ph.D. Committee. Having taught at UTSA since 2005, he actively pursues grant opportunities and most recently has served on the dean’s search committee. He received the E. Lou Curry Teaching Excellence Award in 2011.

Please send your comments to wendy.frost@utsa.edu

— Wendy Frost