By Nathaniel Luce
On Friday, May 13, 2011—”Being a successful business person…takes more than just being a success in the marketplace,” Jim Bradford, Dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management told the 249 members of the Class of 2011 gathered on Magnolia Lawn for Commencement Day ceremonies. Of these students, 183 received their Master of Business Administration degree; 38 earned a Master of Finance degree; and 28 were awarded a Master of Accountancy degree. (Master of Management in Health Care and Executive MBA candidates will receive their degrees at a later date.)
Delivering remarks to the graduating class, Kent J. Thiry, Chairman and CEO of DaVita, Inc., a leading provider of kidney care, spoke of the need to build community within a for-profit company. “People understand that companies need to have profits, just like they understand that their community needs to have jobs,” Thiry said. But in return, company employees must receive a sense of mutual caring, transparency, and a shared sense of loyalty. “I ask you to consider the notion of using your business, your company, your job as a vehicle for your values,” he said. “It is more fun to contemplate all that potential for good … especially when doing good and being good is positive-sum, not zero-sum.” Leadership, Thiry continued, “is not a function of position; it is a function of behavior.”
Friday’s Commencement Day ceremonies also included awards for graduating students and well as faculty.
Awards and Recognition for Graduating Students
University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos awarded Alison Crawford, who participated in the joint BA/MBA program, the Founder’s Medal for the Owen School in a morning ceremony at Memorial Gymnasium. This award, originally endowed by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1877,is given to the MBA graduate who achieves the strongest record in personal, professional and academic performance. (Photo-right: Alison Crawford with family, 2011 Vanderbilt Founder’s Medal for the Owen School.)
At Owen’s Commencement Day exercises, Associate Dean of Students Jon Lehman also recognized the winners of the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in two other Owen programs..
- MS Finance—Ding (Crystal) Li (MSF ’11)
- Master of Accountancy—Lauren Page (MAcc ’11)
Awards and Recognition for Faculty
Yuri Mamchur (MBA ’11), President of the Owen Student Government Association, presented the James A. Webb Excellence in Teaching Award to Brian McCann, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Business Economics. McCann’s class on Corporate Strategy is among the most popular in the MBA program.(Photo-left: Brian McCann, 2011 James A. Webb Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient)
Ray Friedman, Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, announced two recipients of the Faculty Research Productivity Award:
Dawn Iacobucci, E Bronson Ingram Professor of Marketing, received a Faculty Research Productivity Award. In the last two years Iacobucci has published eleven articles and chapters in the most prestigious outlets, including the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Psychology. In addition to research articles, Iacobucci is a prolific writer of textbooks used at the world’s best universities.
Ranga Ramanujam, Associate Professor of Management, received a Faculty Research Productivity Award. In the last five years, Ramanujam has published 16 papers in the most prestigious outlets of organization studies, including the Academy of Management Journal and Journal of Applied Psychology. He has also published in journals such as Medical Care and the International Journal of Medical Informatics.
Other awards and recognition
At a ceremony held at Owen on Thursday, May 12, several other students were recognized for their achievements:
- Hoyt Halvorson (MBA ’11) received the Matt Wigginton Leadership Award, awarded for outstanding performance in finance.
- Kate Haffey and Kristen Schaefer (both MBA ’11) were both presented with the H. Igor Ansoff Award, which recognizes original and creative contributions to the school.
- Amrita Dutta-Gupta (MBA’11) was awarded the Flournoy A. Coles Jr. Prize in recognition of outstanding performance in international management studies and global awareness.
- Alison Crawford (MBA ’11) (Founder’s Medalist, see above) was chosen to receive the Financial Executives Institute Award for outstanding performance in both accounting and finance.
- Sean Cunningham and Adam Peter (both MBA ’11) were recognized with the Award for Academic Excellence in Marketing.
- Lauren Reus (MBA ’11) received the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award in Marketing for demonstrating a unique entrepreneurial spirit.
- Andrew Sartoris (MBA ’11) received the Health Care MBA Award for academic excellence and outstanding contribution to the Owen Health Care program.
- Eleven graduating students were presented with the Owen Service Award for outstanding effort and energy in leadership, community involvement and student life. They are:
- Alexa Bensy (MAcc 2011)
- Lee Berliner (MAcc 2011)
- Michael Chao (MBA 2011)
- Toshinao Endo (MBA 2011)
- Tsutomu Hiramatsu (MBA 2011)
- Todd Johnson (MBA 2011)
- Jake Lin (MSF 2011)
- Yuri Mamchur (MBA 2011)
- Hiromasa Shimomoto (MBA 2011)
- Hideaki Suga (MBA 2011)
- Adam West (both MBA 2011)
Contact Person: Ryan Underwood
Business Editor
Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management
Contact Phone: (615) 322-3469
Contact Email: ryan.underwood@owen.vanderbilt.edu
