Faculty of Business Administration - University of New Brunswick

A crowd of over 400 people attended the Faculty of Business Administration’s 19th Annual Business Awards Dinner at the Delta Hotel in downtown Fredericton on November 9.

The event was highlighted by the Certificate of Achievement presentations to alumni Andrew L. Steeves (BBA ’78, MBA ’93) and Basil Hargrove (BBA ’73) and the Certificate of Appreciation presentation to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for their support of the faculty.

In his acceptance speech Steeves spoke primarily to the students in attendance and told them to have confidence in themselves and their skills and they could go far. Hargrove spoke to his international experience with McCain Foods as proof that UNB grads can go anywhere in the world and excel if they so choose.

Another centerpiece of the evening was the achievements of the faculty’s current and graduating students from both the BBA and MBA programs. Many of the 141 Dean’s List students were in attendance and were recognized for their efforts along with the faculty’s award recipients.

The faculty also presented awards to three of its members for their contributions to business research.

Receiving the Annual Research Award was Issac Otchere, professor in finance, for his work in the areas of privatization and emerging stock markets over the past academic year. Dr. Otchere’s research has allowed him to work with the World Bank and others.

Santosh N. Kabadi and Basu D. Sharma were named recipients of the Faculty’s Excellence in Research award, given to faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding scholarly activities over a six-year period. Prior to this year, the award had not been given out since 2003.

Kabadi, a professor in the Quantitative Methods area, had an outstanding record including publication in many highly regarded journals, presentations at numerous conferences and ten invited talks at conferences and universities, as well as co-authoring a textbook. Dr. Kabadi also supervised doctoral and post-doctoral candidates.

Dr. Sharma, a professor in the Organizational Studies and Management of Technology areas, had, among other things, conference proceedings and an edited book of readings published over the past six years. In addition to his published works, Sharma is the founding editor of the Journal of Comparative International Management and sits on the editorial boards of four others. Dr. Sharma was also part of the research alliance that earned a $2.7 million grant from the Atlantic Innovation Foundation.

Other notable events from the dinner include the announcement of a partnership with the Faculty of Engineering to launch and MBA in Engineering which is planned to open in September; the ongoing accreditation process with the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) which has accredited the top 15 per cent of business schools around the world; and the last major announcement was that John Dunsworth, better known as Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys, will be the keynote speaker for the annual CIBC Business Plan competition later this month.

In addition to his role on the Trailer Park Boys, Dunsworth is a successful entrepreneur who has opened various types of businesses. His presentation is open to the public with a cost of $20. People interested in tickets should call the main business faculty office at 453-4869.

Pictures from the event are available online at:
http://www.unb.ca/AVS/galleries/1106/business_awards/

Posted at 9:26 AM

The University of New Brunswick’s Student Investment Fund (SIF) is continuing to set records. On Oct. 25, the fund topped $2 million, doubling what it started with eight years ago.

The SIF program was launched in 1998 with a $1-million contribution from the New Brunswick Investment Management Corp. This money allows students in the program to experience real investing, in real-time, in the capital markets.

The fund’s growth is due exclusively to investment performance. No new funding has been acquired.

“The student investment success showcases the high-quality students who are accepted into this rigorous experiential learning program,” said Glenn Cleland, program founder and director of UNBF’s Centre for Financial Studies. “The students are responsible for adding value to the portfolio.”

This financial milestone is the most recent in a series of successes the prestigious program has achieved. In 2003, UNB became the first Canadian university to win an investment category and placed second overall in the Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) symposium, a global competition for student-managed funds. The following year, UNBF, with a new cohort of SIF students, continued to outperform much larger schools with another first-place ranking in the hybrid investment category at RISE.

Prof. Cleland says that another performance measure of the program’s achievements is the pass rate on the industry standard Chartered Financial Analyst Level One exam.

“The SIF program separates itself from most other North American student-managed funds in that it has an embedded study program for the CFA exam,” he added.

SIF students have consistently outperformed global average pass rates on the uniform exam. They excelled at the June 2006 Level One exam recording a 78 per cent pass rate compared to a global success rate of 40 per cent.

Feiber Omana, a 2006 graduate of the business administration program, is the first SIF student and faculty of business administration alumnus to be accepted into Harvard Business School. His deferred admission to Harvard until 2008 will allow him to gain meaningful business experience as an analyst with the investment firm Peters & Co. Ltd. in Calgary, Alta.

He credits the SIF program with getting him started.

“Through my participation in the SIF, I was able to gain valuable skills, knowledge and experience that are the building blocks for a successful career in finance,” said Mr. Omana.

The SIF program’s financial learning lab, the TSX Group boardroom, is set up to replicate a small investment firm. Sophisticated, leading-edge, industry-standard equipment, such as the Bloomberg professional dual monitor terminal, allow students access to current information to make informed investment decisions. Students work individually and in groups, learning group dynamics and collaborative team-building.

For more information on the SIF program, contact Glenn Cleland at 506-458-7510 or Susan Boyce at 506-453-4895.

Posted at 3:07 PM