 Dean Eric Johnson (left) with David Farr (right) Nashville, Tenn. — Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management celebrated Commencement Day ceremonies for its Class of 2018 today. Gathered in the Vanderbilt Student Recreation Center, 172 students received their Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree; 51 earned a Master of Finance (MSF) degree; 40 were awarded a Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree; 15 students were awarded a Master of Marketing (MMark) degree; and 40 students were awarded an Executive MBA (EMBA) degree. Students from the Master of Management in Health Care program also participated in the ceremony.
M. Eric Johnson, the Ralph Owen Dean and Bruce D. Henderson Professor of Strategy, opened the day’s ceremonies, urging students “to return often, and seek out Owen family wherever you go….It’s what Owen is all about.”
Commencement speaker David Farr (MBA 81), Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Emerson offered insights and leadership lessons from his career. “Now, more than ever,” he told the graduates, “the world needs leaders like you, as we enter the next evolutionary change in U.S. manufacturing, innovation, and the business world.” |
Awards and Recognition for Graduating Students
 Morgan Flanders, Founders Medalist
University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos awarded Morgan Flanders (MBA’18) the Founder’s Medal for the Owen School in a morning ceremony on Alumni Lawn. 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.
Awards and Recognition for Faculty
 Cleon Rice (MBA ’18), President of the Owen Student Government Association, presented the James A. Webb Excellence in Teaching Award to Michael Stuart, Assistant Professor of Accounting.
 Jeremiah Lewis (EMBA ’18) presented Brian McCann, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, with the EMBA Faculty Teaching award.
Richard Willis, Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, announced the recipients of the Dean’s Faculty Awards:
  Jessica Kennedy and Tim Vogus
Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Management, and Vogus, Brownlee O. Currey, Jr., Professor of Management, each received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Innovation for their work incorporating diversity and inclusion in the core MBA course, Leading Teams and Organizations.
 Michael Lapré
Michael Lapré, E. Bronson Ingram Research Professor of Operations Management, received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Innovation for developing his elective course that applies quantitative methods in the context of sports.
 Jennifer Escalas
Jennifer Escalas, Associate Professor of Marketing, received the Dean’s Research Impact Award for her work on the role of narrativity in consumer reviews.
Salvatore March
Salvatore March, David K. Wilson Professor of Management, received the Dean’s Award for Research Productivity.
Other awards and recognition
 Dean Johnson (left) and Cleon Rice (right) prepare to lead the graduates to the main Commencement ceremony At a ceremony held at Owen on Thursday, May 10, several other students were recognized for their achievements:
- Morgan Flanders (MBA’18) 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.
- Charlie Cook (MBA’18) received the Matt Wigginton Leadership Award, awarded for outstanding performance in finance.
- Cleon Rice (MBA’18) was presented with the H. Igor Ansoff Award, which recognizes original and creative contributions to the school.
- Leonidas Cuenca (MBA’18) was awarded the Flournoy A. Coles Jr. Prize in recognition of international studies.
- Evan Hutto (MBA’18) was chosen to receive the Financial Executives Institute Award for outstanding academic performance in both accounting and finance.
- Brendan Rice (MACC’18) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Accountancy.
- Emma Willsky (MSF’18) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Science in Finance.
- Katherine Pisarek (MMark’18) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Marketing.
- Jason Linder (EMBA’18) received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in the Master of Marketing.
- Jeremiah Lewis (EMBA’18) received the Martin S. Geisel Award for Leadership in the Executive MBA program.
Twenty-five graduating students were presented with the Owen Service Award for outstanding effort and energy in leadership, community involvement and student life. They are:
- Kayla Armgardt (MBA’18)
- Alex Borowski (MBA’18)
- Joshua Carlisle (MSF’18)
- Anna Chandler (MBA’18)
- Jonathan Cobb (MBA’18)
- John Elam (MAcc’18)
- Morgan Flanders (MBA’18)
- Hunter Flint (MBA’18)
- Mabel Gomes (MBA’18)
- Andreas Guentner (MBA’18)
- Philip Hathorn (MBA’18)
- Bennet Hayes (MBA’18)
- Cameron Huddleston (MBA’18)
- Jose Hurtado (MBA’18)
- Yoshinori Koizumi (MBA’18)
- Xiaoyu Liang (MBA’18)
- Tomohiro Nara (MBA’18)
- James Northcutt (MBA’18)
- Carys Petrie (MBA’18)
- Maria Jose Rodriguez (MBA’18)
- Thayer Rosenberg (MBA’18)
- Olivia Rovelli (MMark’18)
- Tori Samples (MBA’18)
- Michael Warburton (MBA’18)
- Shanshan Zhang (MBA’18)
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Watch the Commencement Address
View Photos from Commencement Activities
