Posted on May 29, 2019 by Wendy Frost
The UTSA College of Business recognized the outstanding contributions of faculty members during the annual College of Business Awards Ceremony. Seven faculty members were honored for excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service.
Teaching Excellence
Charles Liu, associate professor of information systems and cyber security, 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. Teaching at UTSA since 2008, Liu’s classes feature applied learning through in-class projects. By engaging in various real-world activities, his students obtain valuable hands-on experience that make them extremely competitive on the job market.
Harrison Liu, assistant professor of accounting, was named the recipient of the Endowed 1969 Commemorative Award for Teaching Excellence for Tenure-Track Faculty. Recognized as one of the top teachers in the Department of Accounting, Liu effectively breaks down complicated information and makes it easy for students to understand. He goes the extra mile to ensure that students have a thorough understanding of the subject, since material from his class is included in the CPA exam.
The recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty is Karen Williams, professor of practice in information systems and cyber security. Williams excels as an educator in a variety of learning environments including small honors courses to large lectures as well as traditional and online courses. She instills in her students the same lifelong pursuit of learning she herself engages in.
Research Excellence
In the area of research excellence, K. K. Raman, the Glenn L. and Sally P. Ramsdell Memorial Chair for Accounting, was named the Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Research Award recipient. Raman’s research and scholarly activity centers on auditing, financial reporting and the pricing of information risk in global capital markets. According to a recent ranking from Brigham Young University, he is ranked in the top one percent of accounting faculty members in the world based on his research productivity.
At the tenure-track level, Deepa Chandrasekaran, assistant professor of marketing, received the Col. Jean Piccione and Lt. Col. Philip Piccione Endowed Faculty Award for Research Excellence. Her research addresses strategic issues arising in the area of innovation, particularly in the area of new product growth. She has published three elite publications in her young career, and her research has generated a great impact in the area of marketing innovation for both researchers and managers.
Service Excellence
Max Kilger, associate professor in practice in marketing, received the Patrick J. Clynes Endowed College of Business Excellence in Service Award. Since joining the college in 2016, Kilger has launched not only the college’s Master of Science in Data Analytics program, but he has also established the Critical Technology Studies Program. In support of these programs, he has built external networks with companies including USAA, AT&T, Harland Clarke, Southwest Research Institute and Rackspace.
Overall Excellence
The college’s Endowed 1969 Commemorative Faculty Award for Overall Faculty Excellence honors a faculty member for their accomplishments in teaching, research and service. The award was established by benefactors Jean and Phil Piccione and Shirley Sterling to commemorate the founding year of the university. This year’s recipient is Nicole Beebe, the Melvin Lachman Distinguished Professor in Information Systems and Cyber Security.
Beebe has taught and developed 13 cyber security, digital forensics and data analytics courses from the undergraduate to the doctoral levels. Her research interests include insider threat detection, smart digital forensics, cloud computing security and privacy, Internet of Things security and malware analysis and defense. Throughout her career, she has brought in over $11 million in research funding from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A champion for UTSA’s cyber security program, she also serves as an advisor to the Computer Security Association, where she has helped coach teams and raise funds for the students to compete in national competitions.
— Wendy Frost
