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The hard work and dedication of the Saunders College of Business faculty give us an edge over the rest and contribute to what many consider a small college feel at a large technology university. We would like to recognize some of our faculty’s recent accomplishments and congratulate them on a job well done! April 2026 Peggy Tirrell , senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions for Saunders College of Business , was presented with the Isaac L. Jackson Sr. Staff Award . The award recognizes an RIT staff member who embodies and promotes the “university’s inclusive values, including compassion, the power of listening, and unwavering commitment to equity and belonging.” She was recognized during the annual Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff ceremony on March 19, 2026. Peggy Tirrell , senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions for Saunders College of Business , was recognized as a Difference Maker at RIT by the Division of Access, Engagement and Success as part of Women’s History Month. Emi Moriuchi , associate professor in the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics, Quang Neo Bui , associate professor in the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics , and Peggy Tirrell , senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions for Saunders College of Business attended an event in Rochester and at RIT hosted by the Fulbright Association of Western NY/Northwest PA, on April 18, 2026. Tirrell is a member of the board, and Moriuchi and Bui are recent Fulbright award recipients. Learn more here . Dan Jin , assistant professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation , was principal faculty advisor, and Edward Ganster , senior lecturer in the department of international hospitality and service innovation , manager for the menu, for Puttin’ on the RITz: Passport to Hospitality at the Genesee Valley Club in downtown Rochester, on April 11, 2026. Students in hospitality and tourism management courses designed and managed this event featuring a globally inspired menu. The annual event was launched in 1986. This year’s dinner was the first in ten years, with tickets selling out quickly. Learn more here . Peggy Tirrell , senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions for Saunders College of Business , will be the keynote speaker for Relay for Life of RIT at 8 pm on April 11, 2026, at the Gordon Field House. The 24-hour event raises money for the American Cancer Society. William Dresnack , associate professor in the department of finance and accounting , was singled out by Paychex CFO Bob Schrader as a mentor who had a lasting impact on his career, in comments made to his alma mater, SUNY Brockport. Said Schrader of Dresnack, “He took an interest in me, believed in me, and pushed me to challenge my thinking. He painted a picture of what a career in public accounting could mean for my future.” John Tu , associate dean of Saunders College , and Dr. Amy Kremenek, president of Tompkins Community College (TC3), signed a transfer agreement on March 26, 2066, at a ceremony on the TC3 campus. This agreement will enable eligible students in TC3’s accounting, business administration, and hotel and restaurant management programs to transfer into the Saunders College to complete their bachelor’s degree at RIT in accounting, business, or hospitality and tourism management. Archana Jain , associate professor in the department of finance , donated her creation, “The Peacock Chair: Feathers and Festivities,” to CHAIRity Auction 2026 . The winning bid of $85 went to the Hillside Children’s Center . Soon Hyeok (Steve) Cho i, assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , served as a panelist for “Economic Update: A Panel Discussion” at a Greater Rochester Chamber Small Business Council event, SBC Connects: Economic Update & Networking , March 25, 2026, at the Dryden Theatre, George Eastman House. March 2026 William Dresnack , associate professor in the department of finance and accounting , has been recognized with the 2026 Distinguished Service Award by the New York State Society of CPAs . He will receive the award at the Society’s Annual Meeting, President Installation and Awards Dinner on May 14, 2026, in New York City. Brad Dunn joins the department of management as an adjunct professor beginning February 9, 2026. Soon Hyeok (Steve) Cho i, assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , has received the 2025 Housing Research Manuscript Award from the American Real Estate Society for his co-authored article, “ The Winner’s Curse in Housing Markets ”, includes a cash prize of $2500. Rajendran Murthy , professor in the department of marketing , has been recognized with a Best Paper award for “Crowdsourcing and M&A as Open Innovation Strategies: A Study in Signaling and Complementarity,” which he will present at the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference , March 29 to April 1, 2026. One of his co-authors is John Ettlie , former Rosett Professor of Business in the Saunders College of Business. Peggy Tirrell , senior associate director for graduate programs and admissions for Saunders College of Business , has been nominated for a 2025 Presidential Award for Outstanding Staff . Winners will be announced at a ceremony March 19, 2026, at 2 p.m. in Ingle Auditorium. Jacquie Mozrall , dean of Saunders College of Business , was interviewed on an episode of The Wilmac Wire , “ Higher Education, Workforce Readiness, and the Future of Business Talent ,” on January 8, 2026. She discussed how business education is evolving alongside technology and AI. February 2026 Josh Pagliaro joins the department of Executive Education as an adjunct professor beginning March 20, 2026. Sriniwas Mahapatro , assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , co-authored “Preventing Defaults in Response to Deteriorating Bank Health: The Prompt Corrective Action Approach,” in Contemporary Accounting Research . The study examines how regulatory intervention affects borrower loan repayment behavior when banks experience financial distress. Kalan G. Horton , Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of management , has been awarded an Early Career Research Grant from the Strategic Management Society . His research project: “In the Context of Platform Based Ecosystems: How Does the Nature of User-to-User Connections Affect Value Creation in Networked Products?” Terri Monsees , Saunders College of Business Program Manager of Accreditation and Assessment and The Leadership Academy , successfully defended their doctoral dissertation, A University Perspective of Assessment Framework Measures for Student Success in Noncredit Programming , earning their Doctor of Education degree in January 2026 from Carson-Newman University. Hao Zhang , professor in the department of finance and accounting , secured Saunders’ opportunity to host a local-level competition of the CFA Institute 2026 Research Challenge , Saturday, February 7. The competition brought together ten teams from nine western New York universities, including RIT.  This was the first time Saunders has hosted the event. Learn more here. Torrence Sparkman , assistant provost and assistant vice president for Faculty Recruitment in the Division of Access, Engagement, and Success , delivered the keynote “The Dream in Action: Honoring the Legacy from Movement to Action,” on Jan. 22 at Nazareth University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event. January 2026 Soon Hyeok Choi , assistant professor in the Department of Finance and Accounting , was interviewed by Cotality —“ Could a buyer’s market end bidding wars? —for their Property Pulse newsletter. The interview highlights findings from his co‑authored article, “ The Winner’s Curse in Housing Markets. ” dt ogilvie , dean emerita and professor emerita , has been recognized by the Center for Black Entrepreneurship for successful completion of her work as a Research Fellow of the Center. This program, launched in partnership with the Black Wealth Data Center , was designed to identify and fill gaps in Black entrepreneurship data and research. Benjamin Hart ‘25 (MBA) joins the department of management as an adjunct professor beginning January 12, 2026. Ahmad Namin , PhD, joins the department of finance and accounting as an adjunct professor beginning January 12, 2026. Jordan Clark ‘92 (hotel and resort management) joins the department of international hospitality and service innovation as an adjunct professor starting January 12, 2026. Laharish Guntuka , assistant professor in the department of management , has received one of the Journal of Business Logistics Best Paper Awards with his co-authored paper: “ Supply Chain Plasticity: A Responsive Network Capability to Ensure Resilience .”The paper advances resilience research by introducing supply chain plasticity as a distinct and actionable network capability. December 2025 Muhammet Kesgin , professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation , moderated ScotWebinar Volume 75: Taste the Destination – Innovations in Food Tourism , December 13, 2025. Smart Community Tourism Webinars is a global interconnected network of scholars conducting engaged research with industry and host communities informing the strategic evolution of tourism as a global force for peace, equitable prosperity and sustainability. Learn more on our Saunders blog. Nikisha Alcindor , lecturer in the department of management , has been named one of the Most Inspirational Women of Web3 and AI 2025 by Unstoppable Women of Web3 . She will be recognized at a presentation in Las Vegas in January 2026. Jennifer Rubianogroot ‘27 (MBA) joins the Saunders College of Business Dean’s Office as the new Sr. Coordinator of Academic Services, beginning December 1, 2025. Jennifer comes to us from the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, where she served as a Sr. Staff Assistant supporting the PhD program and a wide range of academic operations . November 2025 Jacqueline Mozrall , dean, Saunders College of Business , published a column in Rochester Business Journal, “ MBA ROI: Perspective matters .” She discusses the value of an MBA degree, the overall ROI, and how students should weigh the location of their schools relative to cost of living and quality of life considerations. Malarvizhi Hirudayaraj , associate professor in the department of management , and Martin Anselm , professor and interim department head in the College of Engineering Technology, are co-leaders of a project to build “a comprehensive workforce development program in manufacturing for veterans and under-employed individuals to provide the needed skills-based training in electronics assembly.” The program, which began in 2016, is in collaboration with the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center . October 2025 Sandra Rothenberg , professor of management and public policy , produced a video with the assistance of AI, “ Making sustainability a core competency ,” based on a research article co-authored by Clyde Eirikur Hull , professor of management , “ Making sustainability a core competency: Consumer response to sustainable innovative products ,” published in Sustainability , 2022. Sandra Rothenberg , professor of management and public policy; Karl Korfmacher , professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences; and public policy alumni Mikkael Lamoca ‘24 and Roman Czornobil ’24 co-authored the paper “Potential of low-field MRI for increasing participation of Filipino Americans and underrepresented populations in Alzheimer's and dementia research.” Their research explores new strategies to increase participation of underrepresented populations in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia studies using low-field MRI technology. Soon Hyeok (Steve) Choi , assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , was featured on an episode of WXXI’s Connections , “ The dangers of overbidding on a house .” The interview focused on Choi’s research published in The Conversation . Soon Hyeok Choi , assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , was interviewed for Cotality’s “Data in Context,” “ Could a buyer’s market end bidding wars? ,” based on his co-authored article, “ The winner’s curse in housing markets .” Sandra Rothenberg , professor in the department of management co-authored a publication with RIT professors, Qing Miao , associate professor in the department of public policy ; Brian Tomaszewski , professor in the school of interactive games and media; James Fugate , assistant professor in the department of engineering studies; and researchers from the University of Rochester, “Disability inclusion in local emergency management: Evidence from a national survey of emergency managers” in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. This work is part of the NSF- and Department of Energy-supported project “Bridging the Gap between Essential Emergency Resources and Services and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in Monroe County, NY: A Geospatial-Visual Approach.” September 2025 Soon Hyeok Choi , assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , published an essay, The real-estate ‘winner’s curse’: Study of nearly 14 million home sales over 20 years shows you don’t want to win that bidding war in Fortune . The piece originally appeared in The Conversation. Sriniwas Mahapatro , assistant professor in the department of accounting and finance , presented his paper “Does Systemically Important Bank Status Affect Loan Performance” at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ’s annual bank research conference. Archana Jain , associate professor in the department of finance and accounting , hosted 29 high school students as part of Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) , which introduces young people to the accounting field, May 30 through June 1, 2025, at RIT. Learn more on our blog . Edwin Torres Areizaga, associate professor and chair, department of international hospitality and service innovation , and Dan Jin , assistant professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation took a group of students on a company visit to the Rochester Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Rochester, September 17, 2025. dt ogilvie , dean emerita and professor emerita , was elected to the board of The PhD Project . Aisha Faiq ‘24 (international business management) joins the department of Executive Education as Senior Admissions Officer beginning September 15, 2025. Sriniwas Mahapbatro , assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance, was featured in University News, “ Mahapatro presents at European Accounting Association Annual Congress ,” regarding his paper, “Impact of Stringent Regulation on the Ratings Market: Evidence from the Death of a Rating Agency.” Anthony Testa ‘96 (MBA) joins the department of finance and accounting as a visiting lecturer beginning August 18, 2025. August 2025 Sriniwas Mahapatro , assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance, presented his paper “Impact of Stringent Regulation on the Ratings Market: Evidence from the Death of a Rating Agency” at the European Accounting Association Annual Congress in Rome, Italy, and at the American Accounting Association Annual Meeting in Chicago. Evan Vershay ‘17 (marketing) joins the department of Executive Education as Program Manager of the Executive MBA program beginning August 29, 2025. Joe Boyd ‘04 (chemistry) joins the department of finance and accounting as an adjunct professor beginning August 25, 2025. Nicholas Bucciarelli ‘04 (MBA, MS software engineering) joins the department of MIS, marketing and analytics as an adjunct professor beginning August 25, 2025. Léonie Lindsley Stone joins the department of Finance and Accounting as an adjunct professor beginning August 25, 2025. Nikisha Alcindor , Ph.D., joins the department of Management as an assistant professor beginning August 13, 2025. Dan Jin , Ph.D., joins the department of International Hospitality and Service Innovation as an assistant professor beginning August 13, 2025. Jilian Qian , Ph.D., joins the department of finance and accounting as an assistant professor beginning August 13, 2025. Guilherme D. De Alencar Ramos , Ph.D., joins the department of MIS, Marketing & Analytics as an assistant professor beginning August 13, 2025. Muhammet Kesgin , professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation , has facilitated a strategic partnership between Saunders College of Business and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance . Saunders and the Alliance will “ take collaborative action to enable the hospitality industry to have a lasting positive impact on our planet and its people.” Muhammet Kesgin , professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation , published a co-authored (first author) article, “ Legacy matters: Encouraging willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly off-premises food packaging ,” in the International Journal of Hospitality Management . Kristin Bain , assistant professor in the department of management , published a co-authored (first author) article, “ Silenced by Incivility ,” in the Journal of Business Ethics . The articles discusses how incivility can silence women in corporate settings. Sriniwas Mahapatro , assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting , published  a co-authored article, “ The co-CEO model: Addressing the needs of a dynamic business landscape ,” in California Management Review . The article explores the pros and cons of having co-CEOs. Ali Tosyali , assistant professor in the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics , published a co-authored article, “ Explainable Artificial Intelligence for mental disorder screening: A computational design science approach ,” in the Journal of Management Information Systems . The article introduces an AI application for screening patients with mental disorders. dt ogilvie , dean emerita and professor emerita , published a co-authored article, “ Does the emperor have new clothes?: Toward a critical analysis of African management writers ,” in Academy of Management Proceedings (June 2025). She also presented a paper of the same title at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, July 29, 2025, in Copenhagen, Denmark. July 2025 dt ogilvie , dean emerita and professor emerita , gave an invited talk to the faculty of Centrum Business School, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, on AI & Entrepreneurship: Using AI to Empower Startups and Small Businesses for Success. Quang “Neo” Bui , associate professor in the department of MIS, marketing, and analytics , has been awarded a Fulbright-University of Vaasa Scholar Award . The prestigious award is administered through the U.S. Department of State and jointly funded by the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the University of Vaasa . Bui will study cybersecurity in Vassa, Finland. Kalan Horton , Ph.D. , joins the department of Management as an assistant professor beginning July 1, 2025. 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