SPRING 2024
Bertolon School of Business
Bertolon School of Business Newsletter
Bertolon School of Business
Bertolon School of Business Newsletter
GREETINGS FROM THE DEAN’S OFFICE
Dear Alumni, Students and Friends,
We began this academic year with more than 800 students enrolled in one of our 16 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs in Business. Ten students from Nanfang University, China, will spend the next two years with us before returning home to finish their respective programs. We look forward to the arrival of a second cohort of students from Nanfang next fall, and we continue to explore similar exchange programs with students from other parts of the world. It is an exciting opportunity for our students and for our visitors.
We continue to offer a full complement of teaching modalities in an effort to meet the needs of our students. As in previous years, classes are offered in-person, online and with the use of various hybrid modalities. We have made data-driven decisions to provide the most effective methods of instruction so that students and faculty can have the best experiences inside and outside of the traditional classroom.
Experiential education and access continues to be a major theme at Bertolon in AY 2023-24. Generous support from our advisory board members and our donors have made it possible for more than 200 students to participate in internships, in-class projects, mentoring and networking opportunities in Fall 2023. Many advisory board members made guest-speaking appearances in classes and offered to mentor interested students. The entrepreneurship panel featuring Will Graylin, Anil Mezini and Jeysi Zuniga was attended by more than 80 students, a few of whom were invited to a mentoring luncheon at Graylin’sIndigo Electric Vehicle R&D Center in Woburn. Students were also provided with an opportunity to tour the Synergy Contracting office in Lawrence and have lunch with their leadership.
Thanks to generous North Shore Chamber members, twenty-three students attended North Shore Chamber Breakfast Forums and networking events this past fall.
Faculty will have access to Riipen in 2024 as a means to provide experiential education opportunities to all students.
This initiative was supported by a donation that has allowed us to purchase access to publicly available projects on Riipen. In addition, Bertolon strategic partners can post their projects on a private network for faculty and student teams to consider for their courses.
Faculty collaboration in research and support through Dean’s faculty fellowships and G-S chair has resulted in multiple research manuscripts accepted for publication in well ranked peer reviewed journals.
Classroom technology was upgraded in all classrooms which now feature multiple screens and LG create boards that allow for more interactive education and engagement of students.
We welcomed Mr. Brent Wilkinson, our first volunteer executive in residence, bid goodbye to Associate Dean Saverio Manago who decided to retire, and welcomed Prof. Leah Ritchie as interim associate dean.
Fall semester completed with our annual Meet, Greet and Celebrate event which as in the past was very well attended by all different stakeholders of BSB.
For more information about the Bertolon School of Business, and/or to support any of our initiatives, please visit salemstate.edu/bertolon or contact us at bsbstaff@salemstate.edu or 978.542.6608.
We look forward to speaking with you!
Raminder Luther Dean, Bertolon School of Business1
FACULTY NEWS
Administration Changes
Prof. Leah Ritchie has joined the Dean’s Office as Interim Associate Dean.
Department Chair Changes
Prof. Sanjay Jain continued as chair of Accounting and Finance, Prof. Mayuresh Kelkar continued as chair of Marketing and Decision Sciences, and Prof. Guorong Zhu will serve as interim chair of the Management.
Executive in Residence: Brent Wilkinson
Mr. Brent Wilkinson joined as our inaugural Volunteer Executive in Residence in Fall 2023. He collaborated with faculty, administration and the advisory board to contribute to the growth of our students and discussions with administrative leaders, department chairs, faculty and the advisory board which were very effective entry points for this role. These discussions led to the exploration of experiential education initiatives and yielded tangible results. Specific activities included guest lectures in three classes, brokering introductions between students and professionals in the field, shaping potential student internships and on-site business tours, and engagement in planning and execution of the Business Pitch Competition.
Mr. Wilkinson has been impressed with the caliber and character of our students and the depth of expertise and personal commitment of faculty and administrators. He will continue in this role through Spring 2024.
Conference Presentations and Professional Service
Profs. Kathleen Barnes, Mayuresh Kelkar, Jean-Paul James, John McArdle and Youqin Pan attended various national and/or international conferences.
Profs. Kathleen Barnes, Linda Coleman, Jean-Paul James and Youqin Pan continued to serve on the editorial boards of various journals.
Articles, Cases, and Book Chapters Published
Blaber, Z. (2023). Institutionalization of sustainability reporting in Pakistan: The role of field-configuring events and situational context. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management.
Tang, Z., Jain, A., & Colina, F. (2024). A Comparative Study of Machine Learning Techniques for College Student Success Prediction. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 24(1).
Pan, Y., Gu, J., & Goodof, D. (2023). The importance of trade openness and logistics performance in economic growth: A Lasso-based Approach. International Journal of Data Science.
Meirovich, G. (2023). Follower role orientation and its interaction with organizational climate in generating leader outcomes. International Journal of Work Organization and Emotion.
INTERNATIONALIZATION EFFORTS
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
Faculty members Prof. Zlatinka Blaber, Prof. Xu (Cissy) Hartling and Prof. Mindy Jeon collaborated with institutions around the world and had their students work on projects with international students via Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). During Fall 2023, students worked collaboratively on projects with students from various universities around the world including Xi’an University of Posts and Communications, China, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, China, and Panyapiwat Institute of Management, Thailand. Prof. Blaber will continue to serve as the COIL coordinator for our school.
1-2-1 Program with Nanfang University
Under this program, every year a cohort of 10 students from Nanfang University is expected to join us to pursue a degree in Business with a concentration in Accounting at the Bertolon School of Business.
Faculty-Led Study Travel Program
Prof. Xu (Cissy) Hartling is bringing ODS 333 students to Hong Kong in Spring 2024. Dr. Hartling’s students will learn about international trade and shipping, warehousing and distribution, global operations, and supply chain management.
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
Internships
More than 25 students completed internships for credit in Fall 2023. Thanks to our generous benefactors, more than half of those students received financial support to compensate for their additional tuition and costs while interning. Students participated in internship programs with various businesses in diverse industries including Mass General Brigham, Northshore Children’s Museum, OV Loop, State Street Corporation, North Shore Chamber of Commerce, Finer Wealth Management, Atomic Coffee Roasters, and Four Seasons Hotel.
Career Readiness
Based on feedback from internship supervisors in the field, an AI-based software was purchased to help students create professional resumes and improve interviewing skills. Since spring 2023, 267 student resumes have been revised with an improvement score of 100% and more than 32 mock interviews have been scheduled by students. Faculty voted to require a 1-credit course in Career Management and Professional Development of all Business majors which will be effective Fall 2024.
In-Class hands-on projects
Our efforts to provide experiential education to all students were boosted by an anonymous donation. Thanks to this donation, we signed a one-year contract with Riipen that allows faculty to choose real life projects that align well with their courses. Five faculty members will be using this platform to incorporate experiential education in eight courses, thereby allowing all students to gain confidence by interacting with business leaders and applying what they learn.
Student Managed Investment Fund
Eighteen students from the Advanced Financial Analysis class of Fall 2023 assumed the roles of investment managers and analysts. Under the guidance of Prof. Sanjay Kudrimoti, they used Bloomberg terminals to research and decide on stocks to be added to the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF). The SMIF portfolio value at the start of Fall 2023 was $414,456 and through market gains ended the semester with $433,275. Multiple benefactors and SSU Foundation’s Investment Committee members attended the students’ final presentations and were impressed by their caliber and confidence.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Prof. Mindy Jeon’s hospitality courses visited The House of Seven Gables, The Hawthrone Hotel, and Hamilton Hall.
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BSB students attended Amazon Robotics Career Summit.
Dean Luther shared her expertise with local media and the Northshore community about the importance of personal financial education as a panel member for the Thrive conference attended by more than 250 women. She also authored an article “Financial education is imperative to a healthy work environment” for the Impact magazine that reaches all members of the regional Chamber.
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CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP NEWS
Global Entrepreneurship Week Panel Discussion
On November 14th, the Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its Annual Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) panel discussion, featuring a distinguished panel of three accomplished entrepreneurs from the North Shore area. The esteemed panelists included Will Graylin, a prominent tech entrepreneur, Jeysi Zuniga, the founder of a successful construction company, and Anil Mezini, the founder of Jaho Coffee and a distinguished Salem State alum.
The event garnered significant attendance, attesting to its success, and provided a platform for the panelists to share profound insights into the entrepreneurial journey. They shared the highs and lows inherent in the entrepreneurial experience, the challenges they encountered, innovative methods of financing, and the pivotal role that university education played in shaping their aspirations.
The students exhibited remarkable enthusiasm by actively engaging with the speakers during both the formal Q&A session and informal interactions thereafter. The panelists generously offered special prize drawings for students, providing them with unique opportunities to gain deeper insights into their respective businesses. These prizes included Jaho gift cards, a field visit to Graylin’s Indigo Electric Vehicle R&D Center in Woburn, and a tour of Zuniga’s Synergy office in Lawrence. This event not only fostered knowledge exchange but also facilitated meaningful connections between aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned industry leaders.
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Upcoming Viking Business Pitch Competition
The 4th Annual Bertolon Business Pitch competition is scheduled for Monday April 8th. All current Salem State University students, both graduate and undergraduate, day and evening students are invited to submit their business ideas to a panel of judges chosen from the local entrepreneurial community. There will be cash awards of five to six thousand dollars in total for the three winning teams or individuals for this competition. Three regional business leaders will serve as judges and give constructive suggestions to competitors. As in the past, the competition will continue to welcome participants from outside of Bertolon School of Business.
