Commencement 2016

John Stein (MBA '75), Tennessee state President for Bank of America, delivers remarks to Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management's Class of 2016.

By Nathaniel Luce

Nashville, Tenn. — Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management celebrated Commencement Day ceremonies for its Class of 2016 today. Gathered in the Vanderbilt Student Recreation Center, 175 students received their Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree; 49 earned a Master of Finance (MSF) degree; 31 were awarded a Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree; 29 students were awarded a Master of Management in Health Care (MMHC) degree; and 51 students were awarded an Executive MBA (EMBA).

Salvatore T. March, David K. Wilson Professor of Management and Associate Dean of Faculty, opened the day’s ceremonies saying, “this has been a wonderful year at Owen, and today we celebrate the achievement of our students, faculty and staff.”

He then asked those in attendance to join him in a moment of silence to remember Taylor Force (MBA class of 2017) and Justin and Stephanie Shults (MAcc ‘09), who were tragically killed in the spring in acts of terror.

Commencement speaker John Stein (MBA ’75), National Market Executive for Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s For-Profit Healthcare Industry, shared major leadership lessons he’s learned during his career, telling graduates, “Be real. Be honest. Be truthful always. Your integrity is everything.”

Watch the Commencement Address

View Photos for Commencement Activities

View Photos from Awards Reception

View Social Media Highlights

Awards and Recognition for Faculty

Will Pendleton (MBA ’16), President of the Owen Student Government Association, presented the James A. Webb Excellence in Teaching Award to Brian T. McCann, Associate Professor of Strategic Management.

Sal March, Associate Dean of Faculty, announced the recipients of the Dean’s Faculty Awards:

Debra Jeter
Jeter, associate professor of accounting, received the Dean’s Research Productivity Award for her substantial recent work in the field of accounting. She has been a member of the faculty since 1995 and has published numerous articles on topics including the market for audit services, audit pricing, industry specialization, auditor reporting decisions, components of earnings and quality of earnings.

Mumin Kurtulus
Kurtulus, associate professor of operations management, received Dean’s Teaching Innovation Award. He teaches operations management classes in both the MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, and he was also the recipient of the Faculty Teaching Award by the EMBA class of 2015. His research focuses on retail supply chains.

Gary Scudder
Scudder, the James A. Speyer Professor of Production Management and the Faculty Director of International Programs, received the Dean’s Research Impact Award. He research speciality is in the field of operations management and strategy and came to the Owen School in 1990.

Other awards and recognition

At a ceremony held at Owen on Thursday, May 12, several other students were recognized for their achievements:

Andy Niemeier (MBA ’16) received the Founder’s Medal. 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.

Ryan Stierwalt (MBA ’16) received the Matt Wigginton Leadership Award, awarded for outstanding performance in finance.

Will Pendleton (MBA ’16) and Ryan Stierwalt (MBA ’16) were presented with the H. Igor Ansoff Award, which recognizes original and creative contributions to the school.

Ryan Keith (MBA ’16) and Mukesh Maguluri (MBA ’16) were awarded the Flournoy A. Coles Jr. Prize in recognition of international studies.

Anil Nagpal (MBA ’16) was chosen to receive the Financial Executives Institute Award for outstanding academic performance in both accounting and finance.

Yuyang Chen (MAcc ‘16) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Accountancy.

Daniel Palacios (MSF ‘16) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Science in Finance.

Twenty-one graduating students were presented with the Owen Service Award for outstanding effort and energy in leadership, community involvement and student life. They are:

Alneada Biggers (MBA ’16)
Meg Branson (MBA ’16)
Olivia Burns (MBA ’16)
Navjot Dhillon (MBA ’16)
Trisha Fridrich (MBA ’16)
Cale Genenbacher (MBA ’16)
Francis Huynh (MBA ’16)
Matthew Inbusch (MBA ’16)
John LaCerda (MBA ’16)
Pete Lavorini (MBA ’16)
Keith Loo (MBA ’16)
Yasuyo Mikami (MBA ’16)
Jordan Miller (MBA ’16)
Kayla Miller (MBA ’16)
Casey O’Neill (MBA ’16)
Jarrod Rickman (MAcc ’16)
Imogen Roberts (MBA ’16)
Leah Robinson (MAcc ’16)
Dustin Rohrer (MBA ’16)
John VonEuw (MBA ’16)
Jaclyn Winterhalter (MBA ’16)

Contact Person: Brett Israel Director, Business News & Communications Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management

Contact Phone: (615) 322-NEWS
Contact Email: brett.israel@owen.vanderbilt.edu

Press Releases

Written By

Nathaniel Luce

Director of Business News and Communications, 615.322.3469