Message From the Dean — December 2021


December 22, 2021

Dear GWSB Community,

As we wrap up finals and celebrate this holiday season, I would like to thank our whole community for a wonderful fall semester!

Together, we have successfully navigated fall classes, co-curricular activities, and at times have been able to enjoy each other’s company in person. I am confident that each of us has found reasons to be grateful; and the pandemic has often made us reflect on the things that have made an impact on our lives. I want to recognize some of our GWSB students who were featured in the GW Holiday video, sharing what they are grateful for:

[video:https://vimeo.com/655503628 width:560 height:315 align:center lightbox_title:What Are You Grateful For, GW?]

As the uncertainty and anxiety resulting from the extended pandemic continue, this demonstrated resilience, kindness, and care are comforting and promising, and serve as a reminder that we will be there for each other to advance our mission and figure out any appropriate adjustments together.

As you will see below, our accomplishments and impact continue to be remarkable. A special shoutout for our most recent alumni to be - our students who are completing their degree requirements this semester. I look forward to seeing you at the spring commencement celebration!

GWSB Good News

  • 30 Under 30: Congratulations to alumnae Brooke Nakatsukasa, (BBA ‘14), and Jillian Tessler, (BBA ‘14), for both being selected for Forbes 30 Under 30. Brooke, vice president at Vista Equity Partners, was among Forbes 30 Under 30 in Finance and Jillian, director Of Portfolio Strategy And Operations at Newco, was among Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Technology. See the full list and read more about our GWSB changemakers!
  • Chief Diversity Officer: Senay Agca, Ph.D. will succeed Leo Moerson as our new Chief Diversity Officer in January chairing the Dean’s Diversity Council and leading the School’s diversity, equity, and inclusion activities. Dr. Agca has worked as a mentor for women in finance and economics, spoken on diversity, equity and inclusion both in the U.S. and Europe, and worked as a program director for the Science of Broadening Participation program at the National Science Foundation (NSF), advancing research on understanding the factors that advance and the barriers that limit ability of participation in science.
  • GWSB Alumna helping lead GW innovation: Welcome back Kate Heath, (MBA ‘10) to GW, in her new role as director of student entrepreneurship at GW Kate will lead the New Venture Competition among other OIE initiatives at GW.
  • Partnering to Advance Women: GWSB will co-host the Women in Business Education (WiBE) Create annual conference in June 2022.
  • Top of Washington: Congratulations to Russ Ramsey, (BBA ‘81), and Deborah Ratner Salzberg,( BA ‘75), for being inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame.

Awards & Recognition

  • Herman Aguinis, Chair of the Department of Management and Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar & Professor of Management, has won an award for Outstanding Paper in the 2021 Emerald Literati Awards for his article, “Understanding Employee Responses to COVID-19: A Behavioral Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective.”
  • Wenjing (Wendy) Duan, Associate Professor of Information Systems & Technology Management, won the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) Best Paper in Track Award for her paper, “Does Social Media Accelerate Product Recalls? Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry,” with Y. Gao and H. Rui.
  • Yixin Lu, Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Technology Management, has been selected as an Association for Information Systems (AIS) Early Career Award recipient recognizing individuals in the early stages of their careers who have already made outstanding research, teaching, and/or service contributions to the field of information systems. Professor Lu is also the recipient of the INFORMS Information Systems Society (ISS) Design Science Award for research conducted in collaboration with Alok Gupta, Wolfgang Ketter, and Eric van Heck on the research project, "Designing Next Generation High-Speed Auction Market."

Publications 

  • Janne Kettunen, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences, will have an article published in a forthcoming issue of the Production and Operations Management journal on, “Why do Energy Markets in Europe Rely on One Instrument,” with  Kettunen, J., Nematollahi, E., and Y. Zinchenko.
  • Kyle Welch, Assistant Professor of Accountancy, will have an article published in the Review of Accounting Studies on “Do High Ability Managers Choose ESG Projects that Create Shareholder Value? Evidence from Employee Opinions,” co-authored with Aaron Yoon.
  • Elaine Worzala, Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar, Professor of Real Estate and Chair of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA), will have an article in the Journal of Property Valuation and Investment entitled,  "The Human Factor: The "Unknown Unknowns" in the Real Estate Development Process," published in a forthcoming issue.

Faculty Expertise

  • James Bailey, Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development and Professor of Management, co-authored the article “Hypersensitivity And The Return To Work: Post-COVID Anxiety, Uncertainty And Irritability,” with Anca Alexandrescu for the International Business Times. Sharon Hill, Associate Professor of Management, and Isabel Villamor, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Management, co-authored with Professor Bailey an article in Fast Company entitled, “2022 needs to be the year virtual leadership gets better. Here are 5 ways to make it happen.”
  • Vikram R. Bhargava, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy, was cited by the Acting Chair & Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission in the article “Algorithms and Economic Justice: A Taxonomy of Harms and a Path Forward for the Federal Trade Commission” (Information Society Project, Yale Law School, August 2021). Professor Bhargava’s paper was on social media addiction and appeared in Business Ethics Quarterly.
  • Patrick Hall, Visiting Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences, co-authored an article in the American Bar Association Journal  entitled, “Five Things Lawyers Should Know About Artificial Intelligence.”
  • Stuart Levy, Associate Teaching Professor of Management, was featured in the Harvard Business Publishing Education Faculty Lounge newsletter and an Harvard Business Publishing Inspiring Minds  article on interactive learning involving business simulations. Professor Levy and GWSB event management students Gwen Loeber and Isabella Day were featured in the BizBash podcast on “The Future of Events and Meetings, Through the Eyes of the Next Generation.”
  • Annamaria Lusardi, University Professor of Economics & Accountancy and Academic Director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC), was quoted by Barron’s Market Watch in the article, “How Everyday Decisions Affect Your Wealth, According to an Economist,” and authored research that was featured in the article, “A Study Guide for Stronger Financial Stability,” for Scripps Media.
  • Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Director of the MS in Sport Management Program and Associate Professor of Sport Management, was quoted by Reuters in an article covering the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics as well as providing expert commentary for Canada’s CTV News Channel.
  • Elaine Worzala, Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar, Professor of Real Estate and Chair of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA), provided expertise in a first and second op-ed for The Property Chronicle.

Events & Reminders

  • January 17 (Monday): Join GW's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. The day will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET with an opening program in the University Student Center. Participants will be able to choose from virtual, on-campus, or community projects. Register to participate.
  • Reminder: Submit your Spring 2022 Events to the GWSB Event Calendar in advance to increase awareness of your event and ensure that our GWSB Community makes plans to participate.
  • New Student Service: GW Listens is officially open Sundays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.GW students can call (240) 801- 6291 or chat at go.gwu.edu/gwlistens for free, anonymous, peer support hotline.

I wish you all a restful break. Good luck and safe travels to all in our community who are traveling. Please stay up to date on the university advisory throughout the break by monitoring your email and the GW Onward site which maintains past communications and posts all the latest updates.

Wishing you and your loved ones the best for the holidays and a very healthy and happy new year. Stay safe and stay well,

image - Dean Anuj Mehrotra signature

Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D.

Dean