Faculty of Business Administration celebrates recent accomplishments
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/