Haslam Magazine is the premier publication of the Haslam College MAGAZINE of Business at the University of HASLAMSummer 2021 , Knoxville.

The Franchising Genius of SHELLY SUN The possibilities? Endless.

#1 US EMBA Program Overall Alumni Satisfaction #1 (Financial Times, 2020) Supply Chain # Management 17 UT's Largest Major Best Business (2019 – 2021) Schools Among US Publics # (U.S. News and World 7 Report, 2021) # Worldwide 26 for Alumni Rating of # Among US Public MBA Career Services 17 Undergrad Schools (The Economist’s Academic WhichMBA, 2021) Experience (Poets&Quants, 2021) (Poets&Quants, 2021) #20 Worldwide # Archival Accounting 6 Research Worldwide # (Brigham Young Archival Audit Research 19 MBA University’s Research (Brigham Young Rankings of Accounting Among US Publics University’s Research Programs, 2020) Rankings of Accounting (The Economist’s Programs, 2020) WhichMBA, 2021)

Be what’s possible. SUMMER 2021

DEPARTMENT NEWS | 4 Thought Leadership Contents 4 Haslam College of Business faculty are cited and featured by global news sources News 5 News from our Departments and Centers 8 Scott Roark is building up real estate Faculty Spotlight 6 Laura Cole, Sharon Pryse/The Trust Company of Tennessee MILC Director Research 12 Predicting Businesses’ Brain Power Needs Is Possible 14

STUDENT NEWS | 22 Student Spotlights 22 Taylor Boyer The Franchising 27 Tyler Young News Genius of Best Business 23 News from our Schools student body Among US Publics 24 The Haslam Volunteer (U.S. News and World Impact program Report, 2021) SHELLY ADVANCEMENT REPORT | 28 Leaders in Philanthropy 28 Diane Walker Markarian SUN & Raffi Markarian

A 18 SUCCESS

Ben Weprin’s adventurous journey

Donors 30 2020 Donor Report 34 Newly Established Endowments News 32 The Richard L. Townsend Chair of Accounting

ALUMNI NEWS | 36 News 36 Alumni Update Recent Graduate Spotlight 40 Haslam Alumni Inspire in Podcast LETTER //////// FROM THE DEAN HASLAM MAGAZINE

Haslam Magazine is the alumni publication of the Haslam College of Business at the , Knoxville.

dependable, experienced care. BrightStar, HASLAM COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Sun’s entrepreneurial brainchild, connects EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP local caregivers and medical personnel with STEPHEN L. MANGUM those in need of services in their area. Its Dean and Stokely Foundation national support network keeps overhead Leadership Chair and anxiety low for franchisees. BRUCE K. BEHN Associate Dean for Graduate and Diane Walker Markarian (HCB, ’83), Executive Education and Deloitte Professor and her husband, Raffi, have leveraged in Accounting their success to remove worries of MICHAEL “LANE” MORRIS entrepreneurial-minded current students. Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Student Affairs and Their connection with the Anderson Center Ergen Professor for Entrepreneurship & Innovation allows CHARLES NOBLE more students to attend pitch competitions Associate Dean for Research and Faculty by alleviating some of the financial burden BETSY ADAMS involved with travel. The competitions open Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration doors for students in their careers and give them the confidence to move forward with HASLAM MAGAZINE their dreams. TANYA G. BROWN Executive Director of Marketing and Public In yet another example, a large group Relations | Editor-in-chief of connected alumni have come together SETH REAGAN CONNECTION…IS THERE EVER TOO MUCH? to honor the professor who encouraged Executive Director of Advancement If so, how much is too much? After months them on their paths to success. In MEREDITH HULETTE of waving to grandparents through windows acknowledging the impact and expertise of Senior Director of Advancement Operations and depending on spotty internet for work Dick Townsend’s 42-year career teaching JESSICA LEIGH BROWN Writer and family get togethers, some feel that more accounting, Marty Brown (HCB, ’85) and connection is not only necessary to thrive other beneficiaries of Professor Townsend’s JILL KNIGHT Design and Production but to survive. Others may find themselves expertise and devotion have memorialized his impact through a “happy beginning.” CHARLES BROOKS looking back upon time spent this past year Photographer Their fundraising efforts have created the in gardens, books, and computer screens, and STACY ESTEP feel more complete with less connection. Department of Accounting and Information AND SCOTT MCNUTT Connection often hinges on “what ifs?” If Management’s first endowed chaired News Lists and Compilations we connect with this, then we do not connect professorship, the Richard L. Townsend Haslam Magazine is published twice a year with that. If that connects us, then this may Chair of Accounting. by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s As summer comes into full swing, may Haslam College of Business and is printed by pull us apart. In the 1990s writer-director University Printing & Mail. Peter Howitt dedicated an entire movie to you find ways to connect with those around the idea of connections–how losing them or you and encourage fresh outlooks and new WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! making them changes not only one person’s beginnings. Haslam College of Business life–but the lives of all those around them. In 408 Haslam Business Building With gratitude, Knoxville, TN 37996 - 4140 an interview with The Ringer in 2018, Howitt 865-974-3955 | haslam.utk.edu talked about his movie “Sliding Doors” and Fax: 865-974-1766 | email: [email protected] the moments that make us by saying, “It’s a happy beginning rather than a happy ending.” FACEBOOK.COM/ HASLAMCB We celebrate the joys of making strong

ties and finding happy beginnings in this HASLAM COLLEGE OF issue of Haslam Magazine. For our cover BUSINESS subject, Shelly Sun (HCB, ’92), a struggle Stephen L. Mangum INSTAGRAM.COM/ with her grandmother’s illness inspired a Dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair HASLAMUT business that meets a need felt nationwide– Haslam College of Business TWITTER.COM/ HASLAMUT 2 | HASLAM MAGAZINE DEAN’S ADVISORY Council

MOLLY ADAMS DENNIS R. HENDRIX MINTHA E. ROACH EVP, Chief Integration & Chairman (retired) President & CEO (retired) Transformation Officer PanEnergy Knoxville Utilities Board Fanatics , TX Knoxville, TN Tampa, FL JOSEPH E. JOHNSON MARTIN ROBINSON TOM BELL President Emeritus General Partner Chairman The University of Tennessee Wedge Capital Management Mesa Capital Partners Knoxville, TN Charlotte, NC Atlanta, GA WILMA JORDAN KING W. ROGERS, III CHRISTI BRANSCOM Founder and CEO Attorney, Of Counsel, Commissioner JEGI Glankler Brown, PLLC Tennessee Department , NY Memphis, TN of General Services Nashville, TN REED A. KELLER A. DEAN SKADBERG Vice Chairman (retired) Director of Industry Affairs SHIRLEY PIH BROADBERY PwC (retired) Global Finance Transformation Atlanta, GA P&G Director (retired) Knoxville, TN The Coca-Cola Company CHRISTOPHER P. KINNEY AS A PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL, the Bay Harbor Islands, FL CEO GREG SMITH Haslam College of Business at the SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund EVP, Global Operations & RICHARD W. CARDIN Knoxville, TN Supply Chain University of Tennessee must keep Managing Partner (retired) Medtronic in touch with the world in which its Arthur Andersen CHRIS LaPORTE Fridley, MN Loudon, TN Executive Vice President graduates will function. One important FTN Financial DAVID STEVENS PAUL A. CASTAGNA Houston, TX Private Equity avenue for maintaining this contact is Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Healthcare Services the Dean’s Advisory Council. Golden Gate Financial Group, LLC WILLIAM LEE Knoxville, TN San Francisco, CA Since its formation in 1975, this Principal (retired) Killarney Securities Corporation WILLIAM B. STOKELY, III council has played an increasingly vital AGENIA CLARK Robbinsville, NC Chairman and President President/CEO The Stokely Company role by developing plans and strategies Girl Scout Council of A. DAVID MARTIN Knoxville, TN to guide the college’s future. The advice Cumberland Valley Chairman & Founder (retired) Nashville, TN Martin & Company MICHAEL STRICKLAND and insights of these leaders have Knoxville, TN Chairman proven invaluable to the college as it DAVID EVANS Bandit Lites Managing Partner, Advisory JACK MILLS Knoxville, TN strives to improve its reputation as a DHG Partner national leader in business education. John’s Creek, GA JB&B Capital HOLLY SULLIVAN Knoxville, TN Vice President, Worldwide These professional and business JOSEPH A. FIELDEN Economic Development executives meet with the deans and President/CEO JIM NEWSOME Amazon J.A. Fielden Co. Inc. President & CEO Rockville, MD faculty each year to discuss current Knoxville, TN South Carolina State business issues. Through the years, Ports Authority R. ANDREW TAYLOR DEE BAGWELL HASLAM Charleston, SC Partner (retired) this continuing dialogue has shaped CEO, Haslam Sports Group Gerber/Taylor Associates the college’s choices of action in order Founder & Executive Producer, JOSEPH M. O’DONNELL Memphis, TN RIVR Media Private Investment to improve its response to the current Knoxville, TN Boca Raton, FL MIKE WEST issues and the anticipated demands of Chairman JAMES A. HASLAM, II ED PERSHING Lirio, LLC the marketplace. Founder & Chairman Emeritus Founder, Healthcare Horizons Knoxville, TN The Deans and Executive Pilot Company President & CEO, PYA Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN ALAN WILSON Committee of the Haslam College of Executive Chairman, Board of Directors Business thank each member, past RALPH D. HEATH SHARON PRYSE EVP, Aeronautics (retired) Chairman & CEO McCormick & Company and present, for their service and Lockheed Martin The Trust Company of Tennessee Naples, FL Fort Worth, TX devotion to the college. Knoxville, TN

Lifetime Member

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 3 DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS //////// THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

“Losing small businesses artificially — meaning The Tennessean not because they’re not good at what they do, March 18, 2021 but because they can’t survive 12 months of extreme economic conditions — is a tragedy.”

Marianne Wanamaker, associate professor of economics, George A. Spiva Scholar, Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research Faculty Fellow, and Kinney Family Faculty Research Fellow, on how COVID-19 has changed the small business landscape in the South.

“The three biggest factors I see driving trading WalletHub shifts are interest rates, inflation expectations, March 11, 2021 and government intervention, all of which are highly related. We may see yields level off, reducing asset correlations. Even then, I expect downward pressure on valuation multiples, threatening returns to growth stocks.”

Ryan Z. Farley, assistant clinical professor of finance, on how the pandemic may affect stock prices.

“Ultimately, their business is based on that Supply Chain workforce, so it’s in their interest to keep them Brain safe and coming to work.” March 11, 2021 Andrea Sordi, clinical assistant professor of supply chain management, on the importance of fast-food companies ensuring the health and safety of their “Suppose that business is good and you could workers during the pandemic. The Great probably double earnings over the next couple Courses Daily of years if you could open a branch office and April 25, 2021 manufacturing facility in another part of the country. That sort of expansion isn’t cheap; “In the beginning, it was new and they spent where are you going to come up with, say, SHRM.org more time with family, which was a good thing, $300 million?” February 10, 2021 but now they feel isolated.”

Ramon Degennaro, Haslam College of Business Debbie Mackey, distinguished lecturer of Professor in Banking and Finance, explaining the role initial management and entrepreneurship, speaking about the public offerings can play in helping firms raise funds and rise in anxiety and loneliness among young professionals gain access to capital markets. during the pandemic.

“Part of the use of part-time workers was “Just go through the list of things that have Yahoo Finance related to optimizing flexibility at a time Memphis been challenges for the labor force during April 15, 2021 when there was a lot of uncertainty. And my Commercial COVID, and you don’t have these problems with guess is the uncertainty surrounding spending Appeal AI and with autonomous vehicles.” January 14, 2020 patterns is starting to recede.” Bill Fox, Randy and Jenny Boyd Distinguished Professor of economics and director of the Boyd Center Marianne Wanamaker, associate professor of for Business and Economic Research, on the ways in economics, George A. Spiva Scholar, Boyd Center for which the pandemic has accelerated the use of artificial Business and Economic Research Faculty Fellow, and intelligence. Kinney Family Faculty Research Fellow, on Walmart’s decision to promote more of its workers to full-time employment. “Part of the curriculum strategy included young Freight Waves women who are top college supply chain “Companies are so much smarter now than December 18, 2021 students at UT to talk about why they chose Supply Chain a year ago. Those that were not so well the field. Videos and live interaction with these Brain prepared learned some really hard lessons students, alumni, and veterans like myself, made April 13, 2021 over the last year.” the program fun and relevant for the girls.” professor of supply chain management and Tom Goldsby, Mary Long, managing director of the Global Supply Dee and Chair of Supply Chain, on how supply Chain Institute’s Supply Chain Forum, speaking about a chains might be permanently changed by the pandemic. pilot program that helps Girl Scouts earn merit badges in supply chain.

“The requirement for the audit committee The Wall Street to be 100 percent independent is really “We will rely on professionals across the full Journal important. As soon as you relax it even a little, NBC News spectrum of the supply chain from the military April 5, 2021 you start to lose the benefit.” November 9, 2020 to civilian sector manufacturers, distributors Terry Neal, accounting and information ... transportation providers … and the health management department head and Richard L. care organizations called upon to achieve Townsend Chair of Accounting, speaking about this Herculean effort. Vulnerabilities at any . As the company prepared to go public, its audit committee included two major shareholders, point in this chain can seriously reduce the one of whom was a founder. effectiveness of this whole effort.”

Tom Goldsby, professor of supply chain management and Dee and Jimmy Haslam Chair of Supply Chain, on Pfizer’s roll-out of its COVID-19 vaccine.

4 | HASLAM MAGAZINE DEPARTMENT& FACULTY News

A grassroots IN THE SPRING, HASLAM BEGAN COLLABO- fundraising campaign RATING WITH from alumni resulted in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL the department’s first TO PROVIDE FREE ACCESS TO THE OUTLET’S endowed chair, the FULL SUITE OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS FOR ALL Richard L. Townsend STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF. Chair of Accounting. Department head Terry Neal is the first person to hold the COLLEGE-WIDE chair. (See story, #28 #26 page 32.) The Haslam College of Business Haslam came in In Poets&Quants’ 2021 rankings partnered with the Precious No. 28 among of top business schools, the ACCOUNTING & Prints Project in UT’s College public institu- undergraduate program rose of Nursing to launch a new tions and No. to 26th among public US INFORMATION MANAGEMENT business course focused on 44 nationally in universities. The college ranked philanthropy. Nursing student the U.S. News 64th among all institutions and leaders are collaborating with & World Report 17th in academic experience among publics. s students in the course, BUAD 2021 rankings. g in In Brigham Young University’s 102 Service–Learning Seminar, k n research rankings of accounting to benefit the project, which a #6 R programs for 2020, Haslam tied for No. 6 presents families that have worldwide in archival audit research and lost a child with a charm made placed at No. 20 world-wide in archival from their child’s fingerprint. accounting research. The college’s PhD program ranked No. 15 in archival research and No. 3 in audit research, based on the s Awards research productivity of its graduates. g Haslam College of Business Celebrates Faculty and Staff at Virtual Awards Ceremony in k n The Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, recognized Ra the accomplishments of faculty and staff at its annual awards celebration. The honors were announced during a virtual ceremony in late April. ECONOMICS Outstanding Staff Award for Superior Outstanding Doctoral Researcher: Customer Responsiveness: The Richard Beem (Economics) Financial Information Office team, Don Bruce has joined a new including Jessica Bartlett, Lindsey Allen H. Keally Excellence in Teaching think tank established by the Brown, Jenny Colson, Jennifer Horner, Award: Kimberly Sims (Economics) US Olympic and Paralympic Vickie Killion, Brittany Permaul, David Committee to help sustain Price, Ben Scheffler, Sherry Snider, Richard C. Reizenstein Outstanding Olympic and Paralympic Juliana Troxler and Denise Watson. Commitment to Students Award: Adam programming opportunities in Petrie (Business Analytics and Statistics) college athletics. tiny.utk.edu/IaRt3 Tim Williams Staff Award for Bruce Professionalism: The Undergraduate Rising Star Research Award: Wenjun Zhou Celeste Carruthers received the Advising team, including Amy (Business Analytics and Statistics) 2020 Georgescu-Roegen Prize Anderson, Robin Anderson, Marg for the best paper in the Southern Basehart, Kendra Duncan, Brian Francis, Vallett Family Outstanding Researcher Economic Journal for her paper Betsy Gullett, Lindsey Herrell, Cindy Award: Chris Craighead (Supply Chain with Kara Smith, “Are ‘Education Keyes, Megan Laverty, Beth Maney, Kam Management) Lotteries’ Less Regressive? Manuel, Karson Marsh, Ellie Mulherin, Evidence from Texas.” Brenda Perry, Ryessia Russell, Alysa Volunteer Spirit Award: Shay Scott Carruthers Schoenfeld, Dwight Stooksbury, Keima (Supply Chain Management) Marianne Wanamaker spoke to Talley, Laura Trainer, Tracy Trentham, POLITICO’s Global Translations Merrill Walker, Jennifer Washick and Diversity and Inclusion Award: Tom podcast about the future of Quannah Washington. Van Dorselaer (Marketing and PSF) the global workforce in a labor market disrupted by COVID- Outstanding Staff Award for Innovation Bank of America Faculty Leadership 19. The Tennessean asked and Creativity: The Technology- Award: Mark Collins (Marketing and TEE) Wanamaker why some businesses Enhanced Education team, consisting in the South have succeeded of Mark Collins and Jason Greenway. Martin & Carol Robinson Excellence in Wanamaker during the pandemic while others Teaching, Research and Service Award: have not. On the first Friday of Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher Lauren Cunningham (Accounting and each month, Wanamaker joins Award: Tyler Milfeld (Marketing Information Management) Sam Chandan on the Urban Lab podcast for an analysis of the Richard Sanders Award: Mary Holcomb George Miller Jr Award: Jody Crane current labor market.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 5 DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS //////// FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

LAURA COLE Investing in People In addition to leading the center, Cole teaches undergraduate courses aura Cole is passionate about in the Smith Global Leadership L investing—in her work, her Scholars program and graduate students, and her community. courses in the Physicians Executive Cole came to the Haslam College MBA program. Teaching isn’t a career of Business as a PhD student in for her. It’s a choice. “I love helping finance with a background in my students learn financial skills, wealth management. Just as she particularly the basics of personal was finishing the program, the finance, budgeting, and making college opened the Masters Learning investing decisions,” she says. “Those Investment Center (MILC) and hired are things every college student Cole to be its director. “During my should know. They can be life- first year of running the MILC, I was changing.” also finishing my dissertation,” Cole Cole’s research interests focus recalls. “I don’t recommend that, but on behavioral finance, or why people the accounting department was very make particular investment decisions. supportive.” “I’m really interested in how gender Some 11 years later, the MILC and generation impact investment has grown from offering two decision making—for example, why Bloomberg terminals to 20. “Today Gen Zs invest differently than Baby we have 200 students using the Boomers.” center on a weekly basis,” says Cole. In her spare time, Cole enjoys Providing students with training riding her Vespa, spending time they might not otherwise have access with her Boston Terrier, baking, to is rewarding. “It’s very impactful and volunteering in the community. for them to have Bloomberg She serves on the board for the certification on their resume after Women’s Fund of East Tennessee, a graduation,” she says. “It helps them nonprofit that promotes education stand out.” Today, Cole remains opportunities for low-income women the MILC’s director and in 2020, and girls. she became the first recipient of the Grace Yagodich, a senior in Sharon Pryse/The Trust Company of finance and international business, Tennessee MILC Directorship. says working with Cole in the MILC has left a lasting impression. “She’s one of the most intentional people I’ve ever met,” Yagodich says. “She really invests in her people, and will go the extra mile to lend a hand in the classroom or the community.”

6 | HASLAM MAGAZINE NEWS //////// DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS

an award that supports the advancement and NEEL CORPORATE certification of qualified next-generation data GOVERNANCE scientists. CENTER

Amazon committed $750,000 for an Lauren

endowed distinguished professorship Cunningham, Julie Ferrara an- in business analytics and statistics, director of nounced that Trimble is research for which will receive a one-to-one match a new premier partner the center, and from the Haslam family, for an and Radio Systems/ Jacob Leidner endowment totaling $1.5 million. PetSafe is now a basic from the partner with the Busi- Universität Würzburg presented ness Analytics Forum. Yang Liu and co- virtually to the CFA Society of authors published Germany about the SEC filing "Predicting Labor review process. BUSINESS ANALYTICS Market Competition: Leveraging Interfirm AND STATISTICS In a Wall Street Journal exclusive, Network and Employee Terry Neal, head of accounting Skills" in Information and information management Systems Research. The at Haslam and director of the paper also was selected Journal of Marketing will patient wait times Neel Corporate Governance as the Best Paper publish Michel Ballings, at a local free clinic Center, weighed in on the need Jordan Gill was hired as Award runner-up at the Neeraj Bharadwaj, and through a Haslam for neutrality on Coinbase’s audit a lecturer and co-director WITS 2020 conference. their co-authors’ paper, Scholars Program committee. “A New Livestream research grant. of the MSBA program, Retail Analytics while Nana Bryan joined The latest American Corporate Framework to Assess the department as a Governance Index from The the Sales Impact of lecturer. Institute of Internal Auditors and Emotional Displays.” the Neel Corporate Governance Decision Sciences Center found that, despite the Michel Ballings received accepted Paolo Letizia unprecedented challenges of the MSBA faculty and Wenjun Zhou’s the COVID-19 pandemic, US “Excellence in Teaching” “Three Cobblers Worth corporate governance remained Bobby Mee and co- award from MSBA the Mastermind? healthy. students for commitment Missie Bowers’ “The author Chunyan Wang’s to excellence in the Recession’s Impact Innovation with Potential paper, "Two-Level Parallel classroom and steadfast on Analytics and Data to Ensemble.” Flats Designs," will be MASTERS Science” was MIT Sloan published in Annals of emphasis on curriculum INVESTMENT content, innovation, and Management Review’s Paolo Letizia and his co- Statistics. delivery. most downloaded authors’ “Governance of LEARNING CENTER article of 2020 in the AI/ Collective Entrepreneur- Brian Stevens and ML category. Bowers ship” was accepted by Sean Willems’ paper, Sharon Pryse received the MSBA Journal of Economic Be- “World of EdCraft: (HCB, ’72) and faculty “Outstanding Challenges and havior and Organization. her investment Commitment to Students” Opportunities in firm, The Trust award from MSBA Synchronous Online students for outstanding Teaching,” is under Company of service to students consideration for Tennessee, beyond the classroom. publication. endowed a directorship for the Bogdan Bichescu Masters Investment Learning Center is working with Emre Demirkaya’s Harvard Business (MILC). As the MILC’s current graduate student “Large-scale model Publishing Education director, Laura Cole is the first Varun Rangnekar to selection in misspecified published a version of beneficiary of the Sharon Pryse/The investigate the impact generalized linear mod- ChuanRen (Charles) Liu Sean Willems’ paper, Trust Company of Tennessee MILC of technology and a els” will be published in was named an IEEE Next- “How I Designed My Directorship. (See story, opposite.) digital workflow on Biometrika. Generation Data Scientist, Home Teaching Studio.”

PROFESSIONAL SALES FORUM Under the leadership of its executive director, Having raised $5,000 or more from its five inaugural diversity scholarship Tom Van Dorselaer, partners, E&J Gallo Winery, Lutron Electronics, PepsiCo, Ryder, and Enterprise, the Professional Sales the Professional Sales Forum is seeking $5,000 in support from five additional Forum continues to corporate partners that share its commitment to salesforce diversity. As part of grow and currently the 5 x 10 initiative, Dell Technologies and ALKU have agreed to be the newest has the support of 30 contributors to the forum's diversity scholarship fund. corporate partners.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 7 Building Up Real Estate

n response to growing demand Ifrom students and employers, the Haslam College of Business is building a real estate program. The Department of Finance recently hired Scott Roark as a clinical associate professor to lead the endeavor. With Roark at the helm, the department has created a new series of real estate courses, plans for a certificate program, and a real estate club for students. Department Head Tracie Woidtke, the Sharp/Home Federal Bank Professor, said students have expressed great interest in the plan of study, especially in commercial real estate. While real estate pairs well with other offerings in finance, she says there’s potential for expanding to a cross-disciplinary degree or graduate program in the future. “We’ll continue to assess the demand, evaluate the skills needed, and grow from there,” Woidtke says. Benjamin Spears, a senior in supply chain management and finance who’s interested in real estate development, is ready for the new emphasis area. “I decided to help start the real estate club,” he says. “I’m excited to see future students gaining more opportunities in this area.”

8 | HASLAM MAGAZINE NEWS //////// DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS

Many of the nation’s fastest growing real estate markets are in our geographical“ region. We’re excited“ to give students high quality exposure to the real estate industry and to alumni who are excelling in this economic sector. —DEAN STEPHEN L. MANGUM Certificate Program and Collateral The college’s existing course in real estate has been reworked and two more added to create a series of three. The first course will offer a basic introduction to the field, followed by to speak to students. “In the future, we also a course on real estate finance and hope to bring back Haslam alumni to pitch investment analysis, and finally a what they’re doing and drum up interest in capstone with experiential learning real estate careers,” says Roark. “Alumni elements. “It’s going to be very involvement and financial support will be hands-on,” says Roark. “Students will essential to what we do with real estate at participate in at least two national the college.” real estate competitions as part of the Students also have the opportunity to capstone.” The competitions ask teams learn the basics of ARGUS commercial real of students to create or analyze a real estate modeling software. Roark hopes estate project and present their plans to to provide a certification course for the a panel of real estate experts. software because those skills are in high All three courses are now approved, demand in the industry, particularly in and students can take them in a series larger real estate markets. “If students are beginning in the fall. Upon completion wanting to work in big markets such as of the series, they will receive a real Nashville or Atlanta, knowing ARGUS is a estate certificate. The department also necessity,” he says. is pursuing the possibility of offering a Case competition opportunities will real estate collateral. continue to be offered to interested students, whether or not they’re enrolled in Experiential Learning the capstone course. Opportunities Roark sees a strong employer demand Roark and a small group of students, for graduates who understand real estate. including Spears, started a real estate “It represents about 25 percent of the club last year with the goal of providing economy, so there are lots of jobs out more exposure and experiential there,” he says. learning opportunities for current Stephen L. Mangum, dean and Stokely students. In their bimonthly meetings, Foundation Leadership Chair, notes that the club invites real estate professionals Haslam has a geographic advantage in the field. “Many of the nation’s fastest growing real estate markets are in our region,” Mangum says. “We’re excited to give students high quality exposure to the real estate industry and to alumni who are excelling in this economic sector.”

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 9 DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS //////// NEWS

BOYD CENTER FOR The department ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1 ,400 now has more than 1,400 students (up from 1,200 last year) making it UT’s No. 1 major for three years in a row.

Registration is now open for the SCM Leadership Academy, a 14-week program that develops managers, directors, and other key stakehold- Bruce Permaul ers into supply chain leaders through Haslam's industry-leading supply The Boyd Center launched a new website for Business and that aims to make the chain curriculum the peer connec- Economic Research lab’s research about tions and group learnings from inter- named Don Bruce higher education in action with faculty formed during the and Brittany Permaul Tennessee simple to class. tiny.utk.edu/scmacademy its new associate access and easy to In Memoriam director and assistant understand. Mary Holcomb, Gerald T. Niedert director, respectively. SUPPLY CHAIN Professor of Supply Chain A survey conducted the Management and Martin and Jean Boyd’s Larry Kessler and Boyd Center indicated MANAGEMENT Matt Murray are lending that Tennessee business Mills Faculty Research Fellow their expertise to the leaders continue to in the department of supply Substance Misuse be more optimistic Supply chain management faculty continue chain management, died Friday, Community of Scholars, about the state’s to be go-to sources for supply chain trade February 12, 2021. Born and raised a research collective economic outlook than and mainstream publications, being focusing on issues the nation’s, while in in Oak Ridge, Holcomb received quoted in media such as Freight Waves, related to opioid use. another report, the DC Velocity, Supply Chain Brain, NBC News, her bachelor’s, master’s, and tiny.utk.edu/EF8g6 center said positive, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal, doctorate degrees from UT. A if sporadic, economic among others. true Vol for life, she taught at UT Tennessee growth is expected Postsecondary over the next year for In a column for The for more than 28 years. Evaluation & Analysis the state. Wall Street Journal, Research Lab explained If you would like to join UT in Alan Amling (TN-PEARL), In a third study, the Boyd that distribution honoring the life and legacy of a partnership of the Center reports that the changes during Mary Holcomb by supporting Boyd Center, the percentage of uninsured COVID-19 may be the newly established Dr. Mary C. Peabody College of children in Tennessee pushing parcel Amling Education at Vanderbilt stayed low and TennCare carriers to reexamine Holcomb Scholarship Endowment, University and the recipients’ satisfaction last-mile strategies. please visit giving.utk.edu/ Tennessee Higher with the program Holcomb Education Commission, remained high in 2020. Four new supply chain faculty members will start August 1: Yemisi Bolumole, John- GLOBAL SUPPLY Goldsby Patrick Paraskevas, Chain Brain. In another interview, with CHAIN INSTITUTE Alex Scott, and Jeff NeXxus UTK President, Jessica Thomas, Trombly. Sordi discussed elements of economic and education. Randy inclusion and supplier diversity. Boyd, president of the Tom Goldsby spoke University of Tennessee to local TV news Ted Stank and Stephanie Eckerd were System and founder station WVLT about recognized by the Journal of Business and executive chairman the challenges of Logistics in 2020—Stank as Outstanding of Radio Systems Stank transporting, storing, Associate Editor and Eckerd as Corporation, delivered and distributing the Outstanding Reviewer. a talk outlining four COVID-19 vaccine. things that organizations Kate Vitasek was named 2021 World need to be successful Andrea Sordi, Commerce and Contracting Fellow, the The Global Supply Chain and shared a collective clinical assistant highest accolade the not-for-profit Institute published its vision for creating the professor of supply confers. 24th and 25th white greatest decade in UT chain management, papers: “Advancing E2E history. Jimmy Haslam, Eckerd discussed the Eunae Yoo partnered with Humanitarian Agile Resiliency in Supply COB of , risks and rewards OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) to conduct Chains” and “When Is(n’t) co-owner of the Cleveland associated with Taco research examining the relationship Right?” Browns of the National Bell’s decision to add between users’ experience levels and Football League, and a major new product, two outcomes of interest to HOT and The Global Supply Chain’s the SC Beyond Meat, to its organizations that use the Tasking successful, virtual spring of , menu during the Manager: project completion and 2021 Supply Chain covered “Network pandemic with Supply retention. https://hubs.la/H0LSWcD0 Forum was headlined Strength, Reinvention, Yoo by two prominent Partnerships, and figures in business Community Connections.”

10 | HASLAM MAGAZINE NEWS //////// DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS

Alex Ricardo Zablah was According to research scholarship as a Mark Moon won the in international promoted to department head done by Dan Flint and representative of the 2021 Lee and Allison marketing (Journal of marketing. PhD candidate Tyler Academy of International Herring Endowed of International Milfield, companies Business. Hewett's 2016 Teaching Fellowship in Marketing), and Since June of 2020, 11 peer- were more reluctant to Journal of Marketing Marketing. Charlie Noble Zablah reviewed journal articles present positions on publication, “Brand Buzz in new product authored by marketing social issues in their in the Echoverse,” was The marketing development faculty and doctoral students Superbowl game-day named a finalist for the department is now (Journal of have been accepted for advertising this year. 2021 Sheth Foundation/ home to the editor Product Innovation publication in quality journals. Journal of Marketing or co-editor of Management). More than a third of the Kelly Hewett was Award. these leading published articles involve invited to join the Sheth Marketing journals: Stephanie Noble a collaboration between Foundation Board, where Hewett and Alex Zablah Stephanie Noble in will co-chair the department fac- she will help promote have been selected to services marketing 2021 Frontiers in MARKETING ulty and current or initiatives related to receive the 2020 Journal (Journal of Service Doctoral former UT doctoral emerging markets and of Marketing Outstand- Service Research); and Early Career students. international marketing ing Reviewer Award. Kelly Hewett Consortium.

Annika Abell won a 2020 Association for Consumer Research grant for her Melissa Cardon was awarded a proposed work on the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Flint influence of social media on Entrepreneurship and Innovation grants underprivileged consumers. at Royal Melbourne Institute of Jessica Jones received two grants: the Technology for the Spring 2022 Abell’s digital marketing class Diversity Challenge Grant (with PhD semester. She also published was featured in local news student Ace Beorchia) to study Latino a new book, The Psychology for its unique approach to immigrant business owners in Knox of Entrepreneurship: New teaching students social media County, and a Project Grant from the Perspectives, and presented at marketing, data analysis, Community Engagement Academy. Hewett advertising, SEO, and email the Leading the Integration of marketing, for WearKnox. Faith & Entrepreneurship Conference, hosted virtually com, an e-commerce site by Miami University of Ohio. she created to help students develop an appreciation for digital marketing. MANAGEMENT Moon The Haslam College of & ENTREPRENEURSHIP Business International Case Rittenhouse Samba Competition Team, coached by Eddie Armbrister, Russell Crook’s paper, “The evolution Personal Selling & Sales Management achieved two top-three of resource-based inquiry: A review and gave a presentation at the finishes this year. and meta-analytic integration,” Tennessee State Society for Human Noble co-authored with PhD alumna Lara Resource Management conference. D’Oria (HCB, ’17), was accepted at In Memoriam Penelope "Penny" Beasley the Journal of Management. Tim Pollock pub- was the assistant director in the Office of lished a book, How Undergraduate Programs. She was a valued Crook David Gras published “Socially to Use Storytelling member of Haslam for more than 15 years and oriented shareholder activism in Your Academic served as an advisor and BUAD 100 instructor targets: Explaining activists’ Writing: Techniques to many students. Beasley died December 23, corporate target selection using for Engaging Readers 2020, after a year-long battle with pancreatic corporate opportunity structures” in and Successfully cancer. She is survived by her the Journal of Business Ethics. Navigating the father, John Beasley; Heather Writing and Pub- STAFF (sister) and Jeremy Sandell. Terry Leap’s book, Phantom lishing Processes, with Edward Elgar. Gras Billing, Fake Prescriptions, and the High Cost of Medicine (Cornell Jennifer Rittenhouse spoke to honored Lauren University Press), has been the Rising Tide podcast about Jacobs as Advisor selected as part of a National imposterism, her passion for HR of the Year during Endowment for the Humanities and coaching, and more. its Haslam College open-access grant. of Business Awards Codou Samba’s paper, “Audit com- Week. Jacobs Debbie Mackey won the mittee diversity and financial restate- advises the Inter- Mackey Chancellor’s Award for Excellence ments,” was accepted at the Journal Jason Greenway of national Business Club. in Advising. She also spoke to of Management and Governance. Haslam’s Office of the Society for Human Resource Technology-Enhanced Shannon McCloud Management (SHRM) about the David Williams and Russell Crook’s Education graduated with the management struggles young workers face “Unpacking the age at initial from the Haslam and entrepreneurship during COVID-19. tiny.utk.edu/Qangc internationalization-performance Professional MBA support staff relationship: A meta-analytic program in 2020. passed her Certified Tim Munyon had papers accepted investigation,” was accepted at Administrative Munyon at the Journal of Applied Social the Journal of Business Venturing Haslam’s Office of Professional (CAP) Psychology and the Journal of Insights. Student Engagement exam.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 11 DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS //////// RESEARCH

Cracking the Labor Market PREDICTING BUSINESSES’ BRAIN POWER NEEDS IS POSSIBLE

uppose a fortuneteller could gaze into a crystal Human capital competition Sball and foresee which high-value employees is not so obvious. Liu uses companies would lose to competitors in the next the example of data scientists: year? Could the prediction be used in taking steps to Who needs data scientists? Tech retain valuable workers? companies, and the auto industry’s Managers could soon have access not only to forecasts needs are growing. What may be less like this, but also to the crystal ball that generates them. obvious is that data scientists can work In a study in last November’s Information Systems in the agricultural industry (Consider precision Research, Yuanyang Liu, a professor in the Department agriculture.). What makes the labor market competition From of Business Analytics and Statistics, and two colleagues challenging is that a firm’s competitors are not analyzing applied conventional data analytics tools such as data necessarily the same as its product market competitors. scraping, text mining, network analysis, and machine past talent This is because some skills can be applied to produce learning to publicly available information. The result? migration, different products, and a product can be produced in The researchers mapped “human capital flow” between it’s a short different ways (e.g., natural vs synthetic diamonds, companies including Amazon, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., step to digital camera vs smart phone). Thus, analysis of labor and IBM from 2000-2014. predicting market competition, especially the so-called knowledge Liu, with Gautam Pant () and Olivia future worker competition, has been elusive. R. L. Sheng (University of Utah), used data from online human “Naturally, we thought about employees’ profiles profiles of 89,943 employees, tracking their careers posted online: we can find their profiles, which shows capital across 3,467 public businesses over 15 years. Through what skills they have and where they have worked, and this analysis, they formulated the human capital flow flow. we can scrape them for data,” Liu says. They used search network (i.e., tracking workers’ movement among firms) engines to search for employees of a given company, and identified “firm-pair” similarities derived from the returning many LinkedIn profiles. employee mobility pattern between firms. That simple search gave the analysts a static data Using employees’ reported skill terms, they could picture of employees with certain skill sets at specific associate a firm with its employees’ skills and identify companies in a given timeframe. By applying common pairs of firms that have employees with similar skill sets. data analytics tools, the team moved from a single-year This means those “firm-pairs” are likely to compete in snapshot of firms’ human capital assets to a dynamic the same human capital pool. Their work in “Predicting view of talent movement among the companies over Labor Market Competition: Leveraging Interfirm Network time. From analyzing past talent migration, it’s a short and Employee Skills” utilizes these two set of information step to predicting future human capital flow, Liu says. It to predict businesses’ future competitors for high-value can be done with the same tools his team used—publicly employees. available data and algorithms. Liu says that while much research has been done It’s just a question of who wants that crystal ball on businesses’ competition in the product market, enough to expend the effort to get it. —Scott McNutt comparatively little has been done on the labor market.

“The competitors in the cookie market, for example, Note: Yang’s team is not the first to conduct this kind of research. A are obvious,” Liu says. “There are many different cookie data analytics firm in California conducted similar scraping to alert its clients when employees might be seeking new jobs. LinkedIn sued, producers, but all the cookies are on the market shelf claiming the data in their profiles was proprietary. A lower court where the consumer can see them.” It’s clear which ruled against the social network, but the case is ongoing. Precedent in cookies are being picked and therefore easy to identify such suits has the potential to ignite larger data ownership dust-ups between social networks and the users who post to them. competitors as well as which are succeeding. tiny.utk.edu/linkedindatacase

12 | HASLAM MAGAZINE NEWS //////// DEPARTMENT & FACULTY NEWS

Clarence L. Vaughn, III, director of the Office of Diversity and Community Relations, spoke on the importance of diversity, inclusion, and awareness to a number of organizations and events, such as the Regional MEDIC Board Leadership Retreat, the Rankings Junior League of Knoxville’s Leadership series, the Professional Sales Leadership Forum, UT’s student-led In Poets&Quants’ latest rankings, the full- Management Society, Delta Sigma Pi, and the ORNL time MBA program rose to 47th among #47 all US institutions and 24th among all Women’s Leadership Conference. US publics. Also, according to Poets&Quants, despite the challenging environment of COVID-19, Haslam led the country’s business schools in GMAT score improvement for OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND the second year in a row.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS In The Economist’s WhichMBA 2021 MBA and Business School rankings, the At the sixth annual Women in Business, Entrepreneurship and Leader- #19 MBA climbed to No. 19 among US public ship Summit, hosted virtually by Haslam, female leaders (including institutions and No. 54 worldwide. It also ranks No. 7 former mayor of Knoxville Madeline Rogero) shared their knowledge worldwide for alumni rating of career services. about issues women face in the business world. Haslam's Executive MBA program is now ranked among the London-based Financial The ODCR hosted a Lunch & Learn discussion titled, “Using Change as an #97 Times’ Top 100 international executive Opportunity.” with guest speakers Timothy Munyon and Chancellor Donde MBA programs. In the Times’ 2020 list, Haslam placed at Plowman sharing best practices on transitioning and managing change. No. 97. Only 29 US EMBA programs appeared in the top 100, and the Haslam EMBA was one of just 11 US public institutions to make the Financial Times’ list. Additionally, within the Times' subcategories, Haslam ranks as the No. 1 Ramon DeGennaro provided Informativeness of Management US EMBA program for overall alumni satisfaction. MoneyGeek.com with expert Earnings Forecasts,” is forthcoming commentary for two recent studies in the Journal of Accounting Research. In the latest U.S. News and World Report on car insurance. Best Business Schools rankings, Haslam Matthew Serfling’s papers with #17 placed 17th among public schools (up Ryan Z. Farley and Laura Cole John (Jianqui) Bai and Wang Jin, five spots from 2020) and39th among all institutions organized a finance career panel “Management Practices and Mergers (up seven spots from 2020). Haslam’s Supply Chain featuring alumni at Goldman Sachs. and Acquisitions” is forthcoming in Management MBA concentration marked its sixth The panel was Management Science. Serfling also is consecutive year in the top 10. hosted by the the recipient of the 2020 Journal of Tennessee Financial and Quantitative Analysis FINANCE The Princeton Review again included Haslam on its Capital Outstanding Reviewer Award. Serfling annual list of best full-time MBA programs. Markets is also the 2021 recipient of the Society student organization and Sharon Miller Pryse/Trust Company faculty advisor, Phillip Daves. Farley Outstanding Finance Faculty Award. Modern Healthcare placed Haslam’s Physician Executive also was featured in a WalletHub MBA program (PEMBA) and Executive MBA for Healthcare Leadership (EMBA-HL) at the top of article about hedge fund holdings, Andy Puckett’s paper with David s top stocks, new buys, and more. Cicero, Albert Wang, and Shen its annual ranking of largest program enrollment in g in

healthcare MBA programs. Zhang, “Do Mutual Funds Exploit k an Eric Kelley Information on Local Companies? R created an Evidence from Fund-Firm Taxi interview series Trips in NYC,” was accepted for with friends presentation at both the Western of the finance Finance Association Conference department, and the China International Finance GRADUATE AND former students, Conference. Puckett also is the EXECUTIVE EDUCATION and faculty 2021 recipient of the Dr. John colleagues about M. Wachowicz, Jr., Outstanding issues in the Teaching Award. finance world. Haslam held its annual celebration of graduate and professional Many of these Scott Roark is the faculty advisor for students in conjunction with Tennessee’s Graduate Education conversations the newly formed Real Estate Club. Week, during which more than 650 students were honored. pertain to relevant (See story on page 8.) career paths for In January, the undergraduate and graduate career offices finance students. Department head Tracie Woidtke collaborated to host a Career Leadership Academy for a second presented a talk for the Women's year in a row, although virtually in 2021. Alumni participated as Ted David Maslar’s Fund of East Tennessee, exploring Talks speakers and five top employer partners and Matthew the question of whether women can conduct career immersion seminars for students. Serfling’s paper be both happy and successful in with Sarah Shaikh, male-dominated fields. Woidtke also David Ecklund, retired lecturer and founding “Economic was invited to join the Topic Board director of the Executive MBA – Global Supply Downturns of the Journal of Risk and Financial Chain, received the Innovation Award from and the Management. Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 13 14 | HASLAM MAGAZINE The Franchising Genius of SHELLY SUN In less than two decades, Shelly Sun (HCB, ’92) has built a $569 million home care company, BrightStar Care, using a franchise model to grow from a local business to a national enterprise.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 15

COVERAGE MAP: Since its start BrightStar Locations

as a single business operating in the Chicago area, BrightStar has

expanded to operate across

75 percent of the US, totaling

345 franchises to date. 15+ 10–14 6–9 1–5 0

From Accountant Franchise Success to Entrepreneur

hile in a training session for new

un enrolled in the University of Tennessee, W owners and managers at a hotel she’d SKnoxville, starting out as an engineering invested in, Sun had an epiphany. Franchising student but soon switching to business. As an her business model made perfect sense. “The undergraduate, she worked part-time jobs to services we provide are so personal, you really

pay her way through school and did summer need someone in charge who knows the local

internships at DuPont and EY, gaining valuable community they serve,” she says. “Franchising experience along the way. makes way for those local teams.”

After earning a master’s in accountancy Sun and her team laid the foundation for

in Colorado, Sun spent 10 years working for enfranchisement in 2005. Within five years,

different companies before eventually moving to the company generated more than $100 Chicago to take a job at an insurance company. million in revenue and served thousands of While in the city, Sun helped her family cope families annually. Today, BrightStar Care has with her grandmother’s illness. “We were trying 345 locations and is able to serve 75 percent of to put together resources for her to receive the from one of their locations.

Franchising home care, and needed the dependability of an “Franchising has given us the opportunity to has given exceptional care provider,” Sun recalls. “I was be local, yet scalable and consistent,” Sun says. us“ the really surprised by the lack of options.” The “This type of growth would have been difficult difficulty of the situation weighed on Sun’s mind, opportunity to achieve as a corporate entity.” to be local, and eventually inspired BrightStar Care. Most franchise owners don’t come from yet scalable Around the time of the 9/11 attacks when a healthcare background, but Sun says

and the transportation industry was undergoing many have personal experience with finding consistent. major changes, she was on the move again, homecare for family members and are This type of working for a subsidiary of United Airlines. After passionate about making a difference in their growth would proving herself invaluable to the company, she local community. BrightStar Care has worked have been negotiated a generous severance agreement with hard to give franchisees ongoing support to difficult her entrepreneurial venture in mind. “That gave expand their businesses and requires everyone to achieve as me a nest egg to start from and I already had a to become Joint Commission accredited to help a corporate passion to pursue my idea, knowing that other ensure consistency across the country. entity.” families were looking for higher-level home care During the COVID-19 pandemic many for their family members,” Sun says. “Within a BrightStar Care franchise owners have year of being a consumer of the industry I set continued to thrive and grow, due in part about to upend, we were the first company that to Sun’s leadership. “We pivoted to where did homecare and staffing for both nonmedical the business was going to be, particularly in and medical services in a way that’s led by screening and then vaccinations,” she says. nurses.” “For example, our nurses were tracking those Sun’s initial Chicago-based business expanded who were vaccinated to make sure there were quickly, opening a second location in 2003 and no adverse effects. It felt really good to help a third in 2005. BrightStar Care was poised to our franchisees make a difference and get their scale widely using a franchise model. communities operating again.”

16 | HASLAM MAGAZINE

FRANCHISING

AT HASLAM

After receiving Haslam’s Entrepreneur

of the Year Award in 2017, Sun became

involved with plans for a new program on franchising within the college, led by the

Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Tom Graves, distinguished lecturer and operations director for the center, says the program will expand the awareness of business opportunities for new entrepreneurs. “Franchising is an integral part of entrepreneurship Prioritizing People and a major driver of economic growth, creating $1.6 trillion, or about 5.8 percent of GDP, in the United States each year. hen she started BrightStar Care, one of Sun’s It’s an important opportunity for students priorities was ensuring that nurses and W to be aware of, because franchisees caregivers were paid adequately for their work. Today, receive much more support than they the company’s caregivers are consistently paid 5 to 20 would if they started a business from percent more than the local market average. scratch.” Over the past year, BrightStar Care made further efforts to support caregivers, purchasing $2 million Sun has partnered with Haslam faculty of PPE including 100,000 N95 masks to distribute to in an advisory position to develop plans franchise owners early in the pandemic. “We really try Everything for a franchising initiative. Eventually it to do the right things for the right reasons,” says Sun. is grounded will include a certificate program and “Everything is grounded in our core values.” in“ our core introductory graduate level courses. The company also makes provision for two-way values.” Last year the college launched an communication between franchise owners and the undergraduate course in franchising. corporate team, hosting quarterly town hall meetings, Graves, who teaches the course, says performance groups, an advisory council, annual the students have been engaged and conferences for both franchisees and frontline leaders, enthusiastic. “It’s really opened their and personalized training for new franchise owners. The eyes to the wide variety of business goal is to clear a path to share best practices across the opportunities available under the network. Sun credits a strong C-suite team with freeing franchise model—not just restaurants and up her time for leadership training with new franchisees. hotels but many other types of business She also meets periodically with several owners at a time as well.” to learn about challenges and opportunities in their local Sun’s penchant for franchising is markets, which allows her to prioritize resources at the reflected in the continued growth of national level. her business, but she says her greatest Carrying on a constant conversation with franchisees reward is the number of families and frontline workers means BrightStar Care’s business BrightStar Care has been honored to model continues to evolve. “We want to provide plenty serve. “That’s why I started the business of opportunities to deliver consistent messaging to and it’s what still gives me the greatest franchisees—and to hear what they have to tell us.” joy, drive, and passion to keep working as hard as I do.”

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 17 18 | HASLAM MAGAZINE Weprin in Saloon 16, the Western- inspired, high-end watering hole handcrafted by Peyton “The Sheriff” Manning to uniquely tell the narrative of his University of Tennessee experience. From coveted, unseen memorabilia from Manning’s personal collection to more subtle nods to the people, places, and experiences that had the most impact on his college years. Even the jukebox features tunes selected by Manning.

A

SUCCESS

Even as an undergraduate student, Ben Weprin (HCB, ’01) had an optimistic vision of success and a talent for leadership. Those traits, combined with a strong work ethic, have taken him far. Launched during the economic recession in 2008, Weprin’s hospitality company, Adventurous Journeys, now represents more than $5 billion in holdings includ- ing a successful collection of 30 boutique hotels.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 19 COLLEGE STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR A NATIVE OF OHIO, Weprin fell in love with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on a campus tour and decided to apply. “It was a magnetic campus in 1997 with Peyton Manning returning for his senior year on the football team,” Weprin recalls. “I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.” Weprin’s desire to be an entrepreneur began at age 10, when he and his brother started their own business selling baseball cards. As an undergraduate at Haslam, pursuing a general business degree was a natural fit. “The college provided me with great opportunities to figure out my passions.” Within a year, Weprin dove into leadership positions for campus events as an orientation leader for new students and eventually as president of the Interfraternity Council. He and a friend, William Kirkland, also launched a side hustle selling ads for a campus telephone directory. Jerry Adams, associate director of residence life for university housing, worked with Weprin during that time. “I found him to be an authentic leader and a really hard worker,” Adams says. “Not worried about getting his name in lights, he just wanted to get the job done.” While at UT, Weprin met and later married his wife, Mary Ann, and the day after walking in a graduation ceremony, he drove to Chicago to start his career.

20 | HASLAM MAGAZINE our visitors to walk in and think, ‘These OPPOSITE, L–R, TOP TO BOTTOM: Design throughout the hotel boasts Rocky Top lore, with a palette of Tennessee people really get me. This feels like home.’ Orange, complemented with blue and white accents; the That builds loyalty and trust, the most exterior entrance of Saloon 16 faces campus; the family suite The goal features camping gear and timber loft beds to appeal to the important values in hospitality.” hotel's younger guests; late-night inspired items such as Cheese was to create Bings and Rooster Sliders hint to classic Knoxville eats; Jim The chain’s twenty-fourth hotel opened a place where Haslam, Peyton Manning, and Ben Weprin at the hotel's private in Knoxville last August, designed with opening; in Saloon 16; Manning’s memorabilia everyone who adorns the walls and tells the narrative of his University of comes in can help from football icon Peyton Manning. Tennessee experience; the hotel's front desk, reimagined as a One of Manning’s brothers, Eli, is Vol Navy-inspired tailgate boat. THIS PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: reminisce about The hotel's king suite; the hotel entrance's Smoky Mountain their time Weprin’s longtime friend and another welcome; the University of Tennessee’s beloved mascot in college. brother, Cooper, works for Adventurous Smokey is a prominent fixture throughout the hotel. —PEYTON MANNING Journeys. When Weprin acquired property for Graduate Knoxville on Cumberland Avenue, he asked Peyton for input. “He developed every single item on the restaurant menu, chose every musician CHARTING A COURSE and song on the jukebox, and selected TO REAL ESTATE every photo and piece of memorabilia on the walls,” says Weprin. “His love for WEPRIN FIRST WORKED as a real estate broker in the low-income housing market, Knoxville and commitment to this project then moved to Nashville where he started were obvious.” another business with Kirkland, this time The hotel’s bar and restaurant, Saloon buying and renovating properties. A few 16, has a cozy atmosphere with dark years later, he returned to Chicago to work walls and warm colors. Handcrafted for an established real estate investment firm. by Manning, it tells the story of his UT In 2008, he had the opportunity to purchase experience. “For me, it was fun to go down interest in a luxury hotel and decided to take memory lane and celebrate the people who a chance despite the economic downturn. have been part of my Tennessee journey,” Adventurous Journeys, Weprin’s fledgling Manning says. “The goal was to create a company, grew from resorts to urban place where everyone who comes in can development to a hotel chain in 2014 that reminisce about their time in college.” is now expanding internationally. Two As he worked on the project, locations will open in Cambridge and Oxford Manning was impressed with this summer. Graduate Hotels use college Weprin’s abilities. “Ben had this great memorabilia and local art from the university vision of where everything was going towns where they’re located. “I loved college to go,” says Manning. “He could see it and didn’t want to give up the excitement it before it was there.” brought,” says Weprin. “How that all comes Weprin’s longtime friend and together is a huge credit to the towns and the colleague William Kirkland agrees. “Ben local voices who help us. Starting Graduate sees potential where others don’t see Hotels was a great way to spread that anything at all, and has the work ethic to excitement on a national and global scale.” match his vision,” he says. “He also has an amazing heart for others—he wants HOTELS THAT a project to succeed not just for himself, TELL STORIES but for the community it will impact.” TO CREATE A GRADUATE HOTEL, Weprin’s Reflecting on his entrepreneurial team puts together a local focus group to success, Weprin is amazed at how share ideas. Such groups help the team everything has come together. “For me, discover the heart of the market, both in the the best part is the impact we can make on present and the past, finding the nostalgia employees, guests, and the community,” of the university and surrounding areas. The he says. “Opening a property in Knoxville, process of discovery and design takes one to home of my own alma mater, has really three years before the hotel opens. “We want brought it full .”

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 21 STUDENT NEWS //////// STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

about a residence staff member who encouraged her to take a leadership role in her dormitory. “I know I’m where I am today because of mentors and others pouring into me, and I’ve made it a personal goal to pay it forward.” Boyer has turned that investment around, expending her energy serving TAYLOR BOYER others in leadership roles within the Haslam College of Business, Student Success and Alumni Associates, and Leadership Knoxville Scholars. In 2019, she Service founded a new organization, Women of aylor Boyer’s enthusiasm for Haslam, which is open to both business Tthe University of Tennessee, and non-business majors. “I wanted to Knoxville, is infectious. “I’ve always create a space that provides networking loved UT,” Boyer says. “I grew up a opportunities and inspires women to Volunteer, watching the leadership develop personally and professionally,” of Coach Pat Summitt.” she says. “Our priority is to bring Boyer arrived on campus as a together students and businesswomen freshman determined to meet new who serve as role models.” people, grow as a person, and find While working to bring alumni back her passions. She entered Haslam’s as mentors, Boyer similarly enjoyed accounting program, but switched connecting with younger students as gears after interning with a bridal a peer mentor over her college career. designer’s marketing department “It’s been so rewarding to help them while in London with the Global fill out applications for programs or Leadership Scholars program. “I fell prepare for job interviews,” she says. in love with marketing,” she says. “I know firsthand that the voice of “There are so many ways you can encouragement—having someone apply those skills.” say, ‘I see these qualities in you’—is As an undergraduate, she’s powerful. I love helping others discover pursued a whole-hearted passion for their capabilities and passions.” business, her fellow students, and Now a senior marketing student the Haslam community. “I wanted to with an international business make an impact and make the most of collateral, Boyer plans to pursue a law my four years here,” she says. “Some degree and will enter UT’s College of opportunities I knew I wanted to Law this fall. be part of, while others I discovered In recognition of her hard work along the way.” and achievements, Boyer was named From the start, Boyer says she one of the university’s Torchbearers received support and encouragement for 2021. from the university community. “I The Torchbearer is the highest student honor am grateful for those who saw in me conferred by the University of Tennessee. Torchbearers the ability to lead,” she says, talking are seniors who have served their alma mater with overall excellence. The Torchbearer is awarded for academic achievement and outstanding commitment to others as demonstrated by the student’s various activities and significant contributions to the university and the community. Students chosen for this award embody the Volunteer spirit, displaying initiative and service in the best interests of both the university and their fellow students.

22 | HASLAM MAGAZINE UNDERGRAD& GRAD STUDENT News

Seniors Taylor Boyer, In spring 2021, student members a marketing major, and of the Professional Sales Tyler Young, a supply chain Leadership Program received 25 management major, were full-time employment offers and named 2021 Torchbearers. eight internship opportunities The Torchbearer, the highest from Professional Sales Forum student honor conferred by partners the University of Tennessee, alone. From is awarded for academic MARKETING non-forum achievement and outstanding partners, commitment to others. another 21 students received full- (Read more about Boyer and time job offers and nine received Young on pages 22 and 27.) internship offers.

In April, Haslam’s Office of Student Engagement presented the Haslam Kelly Hewett’s Marketing Insights class spent College of Business Student Organization Awards. The student honorees the fall 2020 semester analyzing data to help Twiddy & Company, a property management were: Marshall Summar (Member of the Year), American Marketing and vacation rental firm in the Outer Banks, Association - UT Chapter (Organization of the Year), Women of Haslam navigate the pandemic. (Event of the Year), and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) - UT Chapter (Innovation of Year).

JAEWOO JUNG AND ASHLEY ROCCAPRIORE, COLLEGE-WIDE PHD STUDENTS, BOTH DEFENDED THEIR DISSERTATION PROPOSALS THIS SPRING.

Students from Haslam’s course in corporate social responsibility—senior marketing major Kiley Dibble, junior marketing major Michael Rodriguez, senior marketing major Will Slate, and senior finance majorZach Yunger— The Haslam team of R.J. Clemmons, Michaela Faunce, and Drake teamed up with P&G’s nonprofit Children’s Oberholtzer placed third in the Marketplace Challenge at the 2020 Global Safe Drinking Water program to demonstrate Conference of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization club. a simple, affordable, and convenient way to purify water.

The American Marketing Association - The team of UT Chapter, advised by Cindy Raines, Zach Adkisson, received the Outstanding Commitment to Innovative and Creative Programming Award Mckenzie Cossette, from UT’s Center for Student Engagement and Karli Ailshie, and the Service to Students Award from the UTK Jonathan Henry Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. placed second in the 2021 University In his last year in the doctoral program, Riley Krotz (now joining the faculty at Texas of Missouri– Tech University) was honored with a variety of St. Louis Inter- prestigious awards, including: national Business • Finalist for the AMS Mary Kay Dissertation Proposal award Institute Case • First Place for the KU BESH Doctoral Competition, Research award held virtually • Awarded the Dr. Marva Rudolph Award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from in March. the University of Tennessee

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 23 STUDENT NEWS //////// NEWS

FIRST PLACE Four supply chain seniors took home first place in the Conexus Indiana Case Competitions: Ashlyn Bowman, Maikel Mikaiel, Spencer Strei and Jessica Thomas. The Haslam Community Makes a Volunteer Impact

nitiated in 2018 by the Haslam required for all Haslam undergraduates, IUndergraduate Cabinet, the Haslam challenges students to consider how their Volunteer Impact (HVI) program education will help them make a positive recognizes community service by impact. “That includes teaching them to Bridgette Larsen was awarded both the prestigious Richter students, faculty, and staff. The program identify needs, find service opportunities, Scholarship and the Traffic Club acknowledges participants when they and volunteer,” says Stott. “We focus on of Pittsburgh Scholarship. reach 40, 80, 120, and 160 hours of skills-based volunteering, knowing that service. This year, 213 Haslam students business professionals have many talents have progressed from one tier to the to offer to nonprofit organizations, such as SUPPLY CHAIN next, and six of these were honored at marketing, accounting, or analytics.” a recognition ceremony on April 29 for Another initiative, Haslam Serves, MANAGEMENT volunteering more than 160 hours during provides a monthly opportunity for students, their time at college. staff, and faculty to volunteer together. Lailah Blackwell, a senior studying The program has worked with Beardsley supply chain management and finance, Community Farm, KARM, and the Ben was one of the honored. She’s volunteered Atchley Tennessee State Veterans Home. with several local nonprofit organizations, In addition, the Office of Student Senior Jessica Thomas, NeXxus including Keep Knoxville Beautiful and Engagement often relays opportunities president, helped the Global the FISH Hospitality Pantry. “Using my to Haslam students from the campus- Supply Chain Institute, Ryder abilities to help someone else is a great wide Clay and Debbie Jones Center for System, Inc. and Girl Scouts of Tropical feeling and a great way to spend my Leadership and Service. Including all the Florida to develop spare time,” Blackwell says. “I think it’s college’s programs, 1,718 Haslam students a curriculum important to serve the community because have recorded 15,311 hours of service tracing cookies’ as students, we’re part of the community.” during the 2020–2021 academic year. journey through the supply chain, Ramo Stott, professional development Mark Willoughby, director of student enabling scouts to earn coordinator for HVI, says the program engagement at the college, says these service a badge in supply chain. She recognizes that being a volunteer is part initiatives plant the seeds of community explained that “this patch was of who students are while at Haslam and engagement within students. “The university created to teach girls about exciting opportunities in supply beyond. “It guides our experiences in the has a focus on experiential learning, and we chain and imagine themselves as world,” Stott says. recognize service as a high-impact practice leaders in the industry one day. The college’s Office of Student that deeply impacts students,” Willoughby I’m eager to see how this patch Engagement has several ways to connect says. “We want to make sure they have the continues to grow and inspire the next generation of women in students, faculty, and staff with volunteer opportunity to reflect on their experiences supply chain.” opportunities. BUAD 405, part of a series and take what they’ve learned to their of professional development courses future communities.”

24 | HASLAM MAGAZINE NEWS //////// STUDENT NEWS

Spencer Payne’s Brotallion, pad to prevent injury to a military aviation apparel healthcare professionals. FIRST ACCOUNTING & company, won first place Mary Warchol received in the spring 2021 Vol third place for WrapItUp, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Court pitch competition. a wrapping product PLACE Second place went to John designed to save time Philip Nelms for SIP Pad, and improve the gift- an enhanced incontinence wrapping experience.

ANDERSON CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

Four student-owned businesses were awarded a total of $30,000 in seed funds in the spring 2021 Boyd Venture Challenge. Clay Franklin’s Arid Delivery Products and Mekal Smith’s Sleepy Owl Company were awarded $10,000 each. BusiCard, co-founded by Jonathan Henry and Tiho Nikolic, and Fluffy Friends for Children with Chronic Conditions, founded by Allison Campbell, each received $5,000.

Browning Clark Caroline McDougal

Haslam accounting students Browning Clark, Caroline McDougal, Mason Tincher, and Lukas Jaktas represented UT at this year’s Deloitte R.I.S.E. (Risks, Issues, Solutions, Experiences) case competition in April. In the competition’s final results, Clark was part of the first-place team and McDougal was on the team that placed third. GRAVES The team of Kainat Bhayani, Peyton Boord, BUSINESS PLAN Mitchell Maxim, Caroline McDougal, and Collin COMPETITION Wilcox placed second in the region in Deloitte’s FanTAXtic case competition. This was the first time a team from UT has participated in the annual contest.

Top Row: Abhishek Ravi, Allison Campbell, Tyler Bears, Ricky Chen, Jordan Scott; Middle Row: Nathaniel Hendry & Isaac Sheets, Kishan Tailor, Sean Utley; Bottom BUSINESS ANALYTICS Row: Mekal Smith, Tiho Nikolic, Heidi Whitaker, Spencer Payne, Matthew Shaver AND STATISTICS The Graves Business Plan Competition awarded cash prizes to 12 student start-up businesses during the 2020-21 academic year:

HARRY CHANNING, BUSINESS In the fall competition, Heidi Whitaker’s In the spring competition, Allison ANALYTICS STUDENT, School Bus User System (S.U.B.S.) and Campbell’s Fluffy Friends for Children Matthew Shaver’s Rocky Top Engraving with Chronic Conditions and Cogni, MCCLAIN VALUE TORCH received first-place prizes of $5,000 each in founded by Abhishek Ravi and Kishan FUND MANAGER, the growth business and lifestyle business Tailor, received first place prizes of categories, respectively. In the growth business $5,000 each in the lifestyle and growth AND MELTON category, second place and $3,000 went to business categories, respectively. In SCHOLAR, WAS Emerald Strategy Group - BusiCard, founded the lifestyle category, second place ACCEPTED by Tihomir Nikolic and Jonathan Henry, and $3,000 went to Spencer Payne’s with Tyler Bears’ Server placing third and Brotallion, with Sean Utley’s SDU Auto INTO MIT’S receiving $2,000. Among lifestyle businesses, Detailing placing third and receiving MASTERS IN PaintSplash Production, founded by Isaac $2,000. In the growth category, Jordan BUSINESS Sheets and Nathaniel Hendry, won second Scott’s “to you, for you” received ANALYTICS place and $3,000, and Mekal Smith’s The $3,000 for second place, and Ricky Sleepy Owl Company was awarded third Chen’s Quarters took third place and PROGRAM. place, receiving $2,000. received $2,000.

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 25 STUDENT NEWS //////// NEWS

THE UT CENTER FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT HONORED THE SOCIETY ECONOMICS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (SHRM) 2021 Economics PhD AS THE STUDENT Eunsik Chiang accepted ORGANIZATION OF THE a position as assistant YEAR IN THE SMALL professor at Mississippi DIVISION. State University.

2021 Economics PhD Hieu Nguyen accepted A symposium at the Academy of Management’s a position as assistant annual conference this summer, “The Art of Storytelling MANAGEMENT AND professor at Illinois in Academic Writing” (Tim Pollock, with Ashley ENTREPRENEURSHIP Roccapriore and Ace Beorchia, SEO PhD students) Wesleyan University. won the OMT Division Best Symposium award.

Two senior human resource management majors were recognized at UT’s inaugural Volunteers of Distinction Awards ceremony: Annika Fischer (Professional Promise) and Lauren Watkins (Academic Achievement). OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS Fischer Senior Kaylee Pigott passed her Society for Human Resource Management CP (Certified Professional) exam in January. Students are The ODCR launched the inaugural Sophomore Mentoring Program in eligible to sit for the exam only if they have spring 2021. The program is designed to help students navigate their accumulated 500 hours of an internship or second year at Haslam as they prepare for upper-level coursework and practical HR experience. internships. A support group consists of a student mentor and advisor.

Lucy Buck of the Management Society-UT Watkins (MSUT) won the Spirit of Tennessee award for her continued efforts of Mobile Meals in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. EVENTS Trey Lewis earned his PhD in the Strategy, The ODCR has held several programs, events and speaker Entrepreneurship, and Organizations program in sessions, including: Management and Entrepreneurship in April, and • PepsiCo Power of One: Diversity Leadership Development will join the faculty of Virginia Tech this summer. Pigott Program, in which students examined the business case for diversity and were given tools for managing a diverse Olivia Ray, graduate student in workforce. management and human resources, • Diverse Alumni Speaker Series with Isheeta Mistry, Abel was awarded the Joseph P. Velazquez, Alexandria Hughes and Eliasar Zuniga, in which Goddard state Society for Human students learned how to best navigate the university Resource Management (SHRM) experience from alumni. scholarship for grad students. • Personal Branding Information Session, in which participants were provided with information and best practices related to building interpersonal skills and leadership attributes focused Senior Annika Fischer, on professional development. president of the UT student • Take Off Program “Pitch Competition”: Pamela Sanchez, chapter of the Society for coordinator for retention and education, launched the first Human Resource Management “Pitch Competition” for the Take Off program cohort. Students (SHRM), was named Student participated in a competition outlining their franchise and of the Year by the Tennessee start-up business to a juried panel. Valley Human Resource Association, a professional affiliate chapter of SHRM, where she served on the board. Lewis

26 | HASLAM MAGAZINE STUDENT SPOTLIGHT //////// STUDENT NEWS

TYLER YOUNG Impact and Intentionality in Bristol, Tennessee, teaching yler Young wants to give business principles to fifth Tyounger students the same graders. “I had no idea what support and encouragement he to expect the first year I went, received as a freshman at the but the kids were incredibly Haslam College of Business. enthusiastic and eager to “I had a really impactful peer connect with us,” he says. mentor my first year,” Young “That experience showed me says. “I’ve had other great the impact that one small act mentors as well, and their of service can have.” collective influence has shaped In summer 2020, Young my college career.” worked with Dell Technologies Young’s mentors pushed in Austin, Texas, as a supply him to get involved with many chain intern. “While I was organizations and opportunities, there, I realized that this field is making the most of his college definitely the right fit for me,” experience. “That kind of he says. “It was cool to be at a encouragement is something I large company at an interesting wanted to give back to others.” time in history, when they had A senior studying supply to meet the needs of many chain management and business customers while facing supply analytics, Young has spent the chain challenges from the last three years volunteering pandemic.” as a peer mentor for first-year After graduating this spring, students, focusing on helping Young will return to Austin them make a successful to work in Dell Technologies’ transition. He’s also mentored supply chain development high school juniors and seniors program. He’s excited to get through the Haslam Network involved in a new community, program and represented where he’s determined to carry the college as a Haslam on his role of serving others. Ambassador. “I still stay in “The impact you have on touch with a lot of the students others just comes from being I’ve mentored,” he says. “It’s intentional,” he says. “As I get rewarding to watch them involved in a new community, succeed.” I want to continue mentoring In addition, Young volunteered as well as working with at Emmett Elementary School homeless populations.” In recognition of his extensive service, Young was named one of UT’s 2021 Torchbearers, the university’s highest undergraduate honor.”

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 27 DIANE WALKER MARKARIAN & RAFFI MARKARIAN Supporting Young Entrepreneurs

he daughter of two University of Tennessee alumni, activities, the couple enjoyed attending football games. TDiane Walker Markarian (HCB, ’83) grew up on a “UT gave me a whole new perspective on college life working farm in Maryville, Tennessee, before studying and the color orange,” Raffi says. “It satisfied something literature and journalism at UT. While working as a I missed in my own undergraduate experience—the freelance writer for a local publishing company, she exhilaration of college athletics.” developed an interest in business. “Many of the stories A few years ago, Diane and Raffi attended a social I wrote were about young entrepreneurs,” she recalls. event in Chicago for UT alumni where they learned “That captured my attention and I decided to go back about new initiatives at the university. As they explored to school.” opportunities to be more involved, they learned about Walker earned a master’s of accountancy from the the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Haslam College of Business with the goal of working “We came down and spent time attending the pitch for a large accounting firm. PwC hired her to work in competitions,” says Diane. “We were very impressed with London, England, for six months following graduation, both the events and the students involved.” and then she moved to Chicago to work in the firm’s When the couple asked where their investment might international tax department. She met her husband, be best used, Lynn Youngs, executive director of the Raffi Markarian, there. “We worked together, making Anderson Center, and Tom Graves, director of operations, presentations on a new software product, and we had to suggested an endowment to help students travel to pitch travel to clients all over the country,” she says. “It was competitions outside the local region. The idea struck a different from the usual accounting culture—very fast- chord with Diane, who loves to travel. “It’s important to paced, and it felt like an entrepreneurship venture within me because it’s broadened my life experience,” she says. a large company. I loved it.” “We thought that was a great place to invest and feel that Walker eventually left PwC to work in management the money has been well spent on something we’re both consulting for the software industry, including for IBM very interested in.” and several startup technology companies. Today, Diane and Raffi divide their time between their With a background in science and technology and an home in Chicago and Diane’s family farm in Maryville. MBA in accounting and finance, Raffi enjoyed working “We love it here,” she says. “The four seasons, the nature, at PwC for about five years, but says meeting Diane was the birds, and wildlife make Tennessee a special place for the highlight of his early career. He eventually moved both of us.” to Deloitte, where he’s worked for 22 years. “It’s a very Longtime friends Mark and Maria Lazzaro say fulfilling and dynamic organization,” he says. “The rapid Diane and Raffi have always shown an interest in changes of pace in many areas have been very dramatic, entrepreneurship. “They enjoyed exploring local especially related to technology and globalization.” businesses when we traveled together, and now they Over the years, Diane and Raffi enjoyed frequent have that same excitement for rediscovering East trips from Chicago to visit Diane’s family. Among other Tennessee.”

28 | HASLAM MAGAZINE DONOR PROFILE //////// ADVANCEMENT REPORT

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 29 CALENDAR YEAR 2020 Donor Report

OVER $500,000 Scott A. & Dianna Roe Clay S. & Anita G. Davis Jr. Ryder DCLI Marketing Amazon SouthEast Bank Dell Technologies Charles C. & Moll Anderson Jr. R. Andrew Taylor Jeffrey J. Dilullo F. Robert & Vicki B. Hall Dominion Resources Inc. The Haslam Family LISTED ON THE Duraline Ralph D. & Janet S. Heath following pages are $25,000-$49,999 E2open Charlie A. & Nancy G. Wagner III Eastman those individuals, R. Gregory & Lisa West William Abington David K. & Kathleen A. Ecklund Rose B. West Thomas D. & Jennifer Bell organizations, corpora- James W. & Murray Benz Milton H. & Mary L. Ellis III tions, and foundations BNSF Railway Foundation Mark & Conchi Emkes Ronald D. Ford whose gifts of $250 or $250,000-$499,999 John H. Boll Martin D. & Ann E. Brown Fourkites Randal D. & Jenny H. Boyd more were received by Leigh A. Burch III Genesco Inc. Robert M. & Nancy A. Patterson Larry W. & Vivian Carroll Paul F. & Patricia A. Green the Haslam College of William H. Vandergriff Michael S. & Anna K. Coggin Tom S. & Constance E. Hawkins Jr. Business in 2020. Green Mountain Technology Healthtrust Purchasing Group Each and every gift, John D. & Renee D. Hawkins Holly Corporation $100,000-$249,999 Hyster-Yale Materials Handling regardless of amount, Knaster Charitable Trust — John D. & Laurel A. Campbell Michael Lobel, Trustee Intertape Polymer is sincerely appreciated. Helen Cummings Lockheed Martin Jabil Circuit Company S.C. Johnson & Son The generosity of our FedEx Maine Pointe LLC First Horizon A. David. & Sandra L. Martin William H. & Janet M. Keith alumni and friends Wilma E. Jordan Patrick G. & Cristina M. Min James J. & Penny R. Keras Jr. allows the college Christopher P. & Donna G. Kinney Nissan North America Kimberly-Clark Corporation Ralph A. & Donna J. Korpman Michael A. & Pamela R. Koban to provide the best Perry O. & Elaine J. Ozburn Jr. George R. & Margaret A. Melton Gary M. & Susanna S. Pratt Christopher L. & Quinita LaPorte possible educational Pfizer Foundation PYA Joseph & Hope C. LaPorte III Sam J. & Marlo LaPorte opportunities for our Regal Foundation RadioSystems Corporation Gregory L. & Lisa V. Smith David L. & Sharon R. Ramsey Stephen J. & Elizabeth LaPorte students. William B. & Kay H. Stokely III Regions Bank La-Z-Boy Inc. Although every James C. & Corinne P. Ward III Joseph & Dana Robinette Leidos Logility Inc. effort has been made Dane & Meg Scism Jim & Laurie B. Seabury Stephen L. & Troba Mangum to ensure the accuracy $50,000-$99,999 Shaw Industries Group Inc. Martin-Brower John F. & Johanna M. McCormick and completeness of James B. Baker Smithfield Support Services Corp. McCormick & Company Inc. Bush Brothers Tennessee Valley Authority our list of contributors, Jack P. & Patricia H. Mills Caterpillar Inc. William L. & Anita J. Vallett Jr. Jim & Kathy J. Newsome III we acknowledge that Colgate-Palmolive Company Heath E. & Mistye A. Wilson Jerald A. & Kimberly M. Nine Jr. G. Mack & Nancy R. Dove the following list may PepsiCo Foundation Inc. Farm Bureau Insurance of Pilot Company contain inadvertent Tennessee $10,000-$24,999 Donald G. & Kimberly Pounders errors; please contact Lyle D. & Rhonda Gardner Jeff S. & Jacqueline G. Abbott Jerry T. Ratledge Geodis Bayer Healthcare us with any corrections. Martin L. & Carol F. Robinson Greg & Barbara Hagood Bridgestone Americas King W. & Judy P. Rogers III Jerry & Kay Henry David A. Brown & Kathryn M. RSM US Foundation Lee Herring Brown-Wolfe SAIC Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Don & Joan Bruce David W. & Jane Schumann IBM James J. & Celeste A. Butler Ronald & Stephanie D. Seybert Jeffrey J. & Cynthia L. Joyce Capital One N.A. Randall E. Smith JTV C.M.H. Services Inc. Richard A. & Ann S. Smith Kenco Coca-Cola Company Smith & Nephew William C. & Kerry H. Kirkland Colliers Bennett & Kahwiler LLC South Carolina Ports Authority Mondelez International Inc. Crowe LLP David H. & Beverly C. Stacey III Gerald T. & Terri Niedert Cummins Inc. John A. & Leslie M. Stout Joseph M. & Barbara L. O'Donnell Terry & Juanita Cowles Michael H. & Rebecca Sutton Sr. P&G Jesse M. & Elaine M. Curtis

30 | HASLAM MAGAZINE CALENDAR YEAR 2020 DONOR REPORT //////// ADVANCEMENT REPORT

Mark E. & Keri Tasman Terry L. & Robin A. Neal Scott A. & Kathryn W. Selbach Philip E. & Kelli H. Cobble TIWO SAAS LLC Norfolk Southern Matthew D. Serfling Mark E. Collins & Sharon K. Cooper Tractor Supply Company Inc. Northwestern Mutual Jennifer S. Shinpaugh Michael T. Crotty Trust Company of Tennessee Paychex of New York LLC Marisa Sladek Helen W. Crotty Montgomery G. & Martie P. Turner James S. & Patricia C. Pendergrass Aaron J. & Eva Snyder William C. & Lauren M. Cunningham Walgreens Edward V. & Karen D. Pershing Stephen P. & Christina M. Stern Don D'Anna Jr. Wal-Mart Market James A. Schwab & Kyle Spaull Herman J. Tallman Phillip R. & Mary B. Daves XPO Logistics Inc. Howard W. & Barbara W. Sherrod Tennessee Valley Human Resource James W. & Sydney Deitrick Samuel A. Watson Taylor & Jean S. Simonton Association Deloitte Foundation Timothy W. & Amy Williams Mike & Mickala Sisk Arthur A. & Hasseline Thompson Jr. Tyler B. Dempsey A. Dean & Ann H. Skadberg Sr. Neal & Cathy Townsend Shawn W. & Stephanie Devine David M. Snapp Peter J. & Sarah L. Turner John R. & Diana J. Doss III $5,000-$9,999 Solomon IT LLC US Bank Deana L. Drewry John G. & Donna Adams Jr. Normand D. Turgeon Arthur J. & Dena W. vonWerssowetz Jeffery S. Drummonds ALKU LLC Thomas M. & Traci A. Van Dorselaer Brian D. & Bonnie D. Wantling Eastman Credit Union Adrian & Robin Altshuler Paul A. & Lori Vetter Miburn H. & Sandra D. White James B. & Sharon H. Edwards Glenn C. & Suzanne W. Andrews Anne S. Elliott James H. & Beverly K. Atchley Jonathan & Sarah Emkes $2,500-$4,999 $1,000-$2,499 Axle Logistics LLC Christopher & Elizabeth S. Etheredge Earl R. Bouldin 21st Mortgage Corporation Jerome M. Allen Jr. Michael J. & Kelly Faris Karen M. & Mark S. Bowling Edward A. & Roberta T. Adams Jr. Howard B. & Wendy C. Allenberg Michael M. Flanary Steve R. & Jill Brown DeWayne M. Allen Anonymous Shirley A. Flynn Thomas P. & Sandra L. Brown Adam J. & Jamie Bean Todd E. & Periann Archer Ronald R. Franklin Andrew N. Burns Lewis R. & Karen A. Belote III Theodore E. & Elizabeth K. Arnold IV Keith D. & Tracy Frazier Georgia Callum Dwaan C. & Ellen T. Black Kelvin M. & Sheryl Ault J. Lee & Connie Fry III Samuel R. & Sharon S. Carter Douglas B. & Lori W. Blalock John W. & LeeAnn M. Bailes General Shale Brick Inc. Robert Chinchar G. Fenn & Susanne Church Thomas V. & Janet I. Baudry Nan M. Given Kevin E. & Jacquelyn Clark Michael C. & Kimberly Copperthite John E. Bell Thomas J. & Kathleen Goldsby Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC William M. Coulter Gary W. & Julia A. Bentley Susan Golicic Coyote Logistics LLC James W. & Mira L. Craine Leonard J. & Laura B. Berlik R. Keith & Karen Googe Reaves M. & Helen P. Crabtree Jeffrey W. & Janet P. Davis Stacey & Elizabeth Berner Clifford T. & Lori A. Gordon Matthew D. & Mary Dallas Kerry A. & Martha Dodd Mike A. & Nancy M. Berry Joseph W. & Sandra D.R. Grant Marc D. & Kelli S. Davenport John D. & Melissa K. Doster Jr. David & Vanessa Birdwell William B. & Edwina Greer DeRoyal Industries Inc. Robert W. & Catherine Ford Andrew N. Blevins & Jama Johnston John E. & Stefanie Griffin David M. & Dana M. Evans William E. & Lynn P. Freeman II John H. Bond Ronald L. & Barbara W. Grubbs Jr. Alan Fan E&J Gallo Winery Christi M. Branscom Christopher M. & Susan Hadorn Ferguson G. Gregory & Mary H. Gilbert Jake & Beth A. Breazeale Gary A. & Vicki B. Hall Joseph A. & Ruth Fielden Michael D. & Elizabeth J. Greene Charles W. Brinkley Jr. Allen P. & Grace M. Halliday Lester E. Finnell Jr. Jean Gwin Kent M. & Stacey C. Bristow Melinda C. Hardy James C. & Marcia L. Foxworthy Ted B. & Nancy D. Helms Paul & Shirley Pih Broadbery Matthew S. & Christy Harrison Kostyantyn L. & Karmen Grabovskyy Logan & Johnnie R. Hickman Jr. Michael L. & Lynn Brookshire Clayton W. & Karly W. Hart James D. & Ashlie A. Henderson Christopher & Jennifer G. Hillenmeyer H. Carey Brown John L. & Candace L. Hendrix Damon & Carrie Hininger Kyle W. & Amy E. Johns Andy & Sheila Bruner Rosalyn L. Hess Andrew T. Holloway Jenneen M. Kaufman Roger S. Bush & Larry Young H. Jerry & Linda Holder William F. & Bennie P. Johnson Joseph V. & Stephanie Kelly III Frank T. Callaway Kolin B. & Misty Holladay Robert M. & Beverly P. Johnson Carolyn Key Kimberly C. & Angel A. Norman David D. Hollins David P. & Jeanne Claire Jones Mark S. & Lindy Kinser Dick W. & Nancy S. Cardin Daniel W. & Natalie Hudson Michelle C. Keasler William E. & Pamela R. Lee Danielle R. Casson & P.J. Martin Robert R. & Sharon Huette Ben S. & Beverly A. Kimbrough Jr. Herbert S. Logan Robert R. & Amy S. Cathey Joseph Hull Paul D. & Tammy P. Koonce Paul A. MacDonald Lillian H. Chaney Stanley G. & Teresa L. Hurt Lawrence M. & Mary J. Leahy Steven R. & Annette K. McBrayer James W. & Melissa P. Charles III Info Tech for Enterprises LLC Michael K. Littlejohn Corey D. Moles Milt & Carol A. Childress II David G. & Stacy Hestily Jacobi Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. Thomas & Cynthia Monahan Robert E. & Margaret Christopher Robert & Marilyn J. Jake Raffi & Diane Walker Markarian Mark A. & Carol Moon James A. & Somer Chyz Decosta E. & Marion Jenkins Joseph D. & Penny W. McDonald Michael D. & Jennifer B. Morgan Alan A. & Kim Ciukowski Mason & Emily W. Jones F. Wade & Mary L. McGregor Lamar J. & Dedra B. Partridge Paul E. & Terri S. Clark Dean M. & Laurie A. Jones Chad A. Moore Samuel J. & Corinne Perry Gary F. & Marsha K. Clayton Gregory A. & Ruth Kellick Grubbs Michael J. & Kimberly A. Musso Richard B. & Jane M. Ray Jr. David Cline & Belinda A. Sharp Barron D. & Elizabeth M. Kennedy IV HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 31 ADVANCEMENT REPORT //////// ENDOWMENT PROFILE

DICK TOWNSEND Honoring A Legacy of Compassionate Mentorship hen Marty Brown (HCB, W’85) took his first accounting class from professor Dick Townsend, he hadn’t decided what he wanted to do after graduation. He credits Townsend’s genuine compassion for his students and skill at teaching complex accounting concepts with setting him on his career path. “There are UT accounting grads all over the country who have benefited from his kindness and leadership,” Brown, who is now president and CEO of PYA, says. That legacy is why Brown felt it was important for PYA to make the leadership gift in this fundraising effort for the Richard L. Townsend Chair of Accounting, the first endowed chair for the college’s Department of Accounting and Information Management (AIM). Townsend has had an impact on many of PYA’s partners and clients, and the company regularly recruits Haslam AIM students. “We’re so proud of the accounting program and what it has become over these last decades,” Brown says. “The current stewards of that department

32 | HASLAM MAGAZINE CALENDAR YEAR 2020 DONOR REPORT //////// ADVANCEMENT REPORT

Rufus B. & Rebecca K. King Jason M. & Jean M. Scheffer Walter L. Lacy Louis C. & Sherlene C. Schumacher Michael W. Langenberg Gregory M. & Cheryl P. Sekelsky James S. & Joan S. Lattimore Jr. Eugene T. & Elizabeth G. Seymour have benefited greatly from past Thomas R. Lawson Jr. & Carol A. Haynes Benjamin H. & Lindsay E. Sharpe leadership.” Ronald P. & Ann Layne William & Laurie R. Shimp Terry L. & Carolyn Leap Barrett V. & Betsy K. Simonis As the current head of Haslam’s Levadata Inc. James F. Smith Jr. AIM department, Terry Neal is the Carol Littlejohn Travis M. Smith & Deborah R. Stairs first person to hold the new chaired Michael A. & Tina A. Lobel Kevin R. Snyder professorship. William M. & Brenda G. Locke Ronald D. Spurlock Jeff D. & Sena Longmire Elizabeth P.B. Stanford “We are very excited that our Jonathan R. & Blair Steakley Lund Keith G. & Josie B. Stanga first chaired professorship in AIM Richard E. & Patricia M. Mallicote Theodore P. Stank & Lori Nash is named after Dick, and we are so O. Pat & Mary P. Marsh C. Lee Steinhouse III appreciative of the incredible number Michael J. & Betsey K. McCall Robert T. & Jeanmarie Stevenson Robert C. & Ann McMahan Carrie V. Strickland of his former students who have David W. & Lisa McMillan Michael T. Strickland contributed to make the Richard L. Bob & Stacy A. Mertz Christopher Summerlin Townsend Chaired Professorship of Dustin & Kim Meyers Sharon M. Taylor Accounting a reality,” Neal says. Harry F. & Suzanne M. Miller Jr. Joe P. & Sheryl S. Teague There Joseph & Julia Moore TeamHealth Inc. The endowment comes as the are UT Karen J. Moore Scott A. Thomas “ result of a grassroots fundraising Thomas Moore Dick & Irene Townsend accounting campaign from Townsend’s former John R. Moore Willie O. & Edith W. Turner grads all James M. Moore Robert K. Turner students. In 2009, hundreds of over the Mark E. & Kathryn Mosteller Sr. Jamie R. Underwood alumni contributed toward an country Matthew F. & Allison Musso James R. & Teresa N. Van Frank Jr. endowment in honor of Townsend’s James M. & Linda A. Myers D. Houston & Sherry Vaughn Jr.

who have 42-year career at UT. That effort grew James W. & Angela Y. Namkung James H. & Connie P. Vavalides benefited Alan J. & Jules Natowitz David C. Verble quickly, and in 2015, the campaign

from his Thomas H. Neal Jr. Jerry W. Walker committee organized a successful kindness George C. & Carolyn J. Newcomer Jr. Karen Walters push to fund a professorship. In Todd A. & Ashley Nickloes James W. & Candy P. Wansley and“ 2020, a new campaign kicked off to Steven A. & Amy F. Noland William E. Waugh leadership. Brian W. & Deborah J. O'Rourke Charles Westmoreland upgrade the professorship to the AIM —MARTY BROWN Charles W. & Carolyn Pearson III Kay L. & William M. Whitman (HCB, ’85) department’s first chair. R. Paul & Barbara Perutelli D. Brent & Tanya Wilder The highest faculty award a Phillip S. & Kathy J. Piper Richard V. & Deborah D. Willmarth professor can hold, a chair requires a Donde L. Plowman & Dennis J. Duchon Paul A. & Mary L. Wilson minimum endowment of $2 million. Rob P. Power Jr. Shane & Tracie M. Woidtke Rob N. Power III & Kai-yan Lee James M. & Nadine C. Woodall To reach this goal, the campaign Nelson C. & Natalie P. Pratt Christopher F. & Melissa F. Wyatt committee reached out to alumni Patricia G. Pratt Joseph T. & Suzanne Wyrick for gifts of any size. PYA pledged Donald B. & Nancy O. Preston Douglas A. & Sara B. Yoakley a leadership gift of $100,000, and John W. Prugh David K. & Sarah B. Youngblood Gina Pruitt dozens of alumni contributed $5,000 Tom C. & Kimberly A. Quillen or more. Michael K. & Julia S. Rafter $500-$999 “It would be hard to imagine Edith S. Rayford Justin M. Alexander another UT accounting faculty S. Seth & Loren L. Reagan Robert P. Alexander Michael J. & Shannon Reeves member who has impacted more Kyle B. & Mary K. Allen David A. & Ibis C. Reynolds Steven A. & Deborah J. Anderson students—accounting and otherwise Russell B. Richards Dave & Kathleen J. Anthony —over their career than Dick Jon G. & Mintha E. Roach Gregory Antoine Townsend,” says Neal. Ronald R. & Marta P. Roberts Jean D. Arrants Charles M. & Kelly L. Robinson Thomas M. & Midge O. Ayres Gary L. & Donna G. Rose James M. & Corinne M. Balthrop Brett W. Rousch David K. & Janine N. Barber Robert E. & Anne E. Sandlin Dolores P. Barr J. Scott & Cara W. Sandlin Mike & Janice Belbeck Eric M. Saul John & Lauren N. Belcher M. James & Susan A. Sayrs

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 33 ADVANCEMENT REPORT //////// CALENDAR YEAR 2020 DONOR REPORT

Michael T. & Lisa M. Berry Mallory Hayes Shay D. & Shanle G. Scott John T. & Denise P. Billings Jr. Robert J. & Roberta L. Head Eric E. Siegel Judy B. Birchfield Tabatha L. Helm Russell T. Sites & Laura Joseph NEWLY Zora E. Bivens J. Scott & Mary Ellen G. Herbert Tyvi T. & Tammi M. Small ESTABLISHED Timothy M. & Mary T. Blair Brady D. & Mary Holcomb Rick Smith Charles J. Blalock I. Regina Holt Charles G. Smith Jr. ENDOWMENTS April Blalock Richard & Melba W. Jackson Rickey A. & Nancy W. Snoddy JANUARY 1, 2021 – JUNE 1, 2021 John C. & Mary R. Bolton Molly Lotter J. Ryan & Shannon Sowell Nathaniel A. & Virginia I. Borghi Robert B. & Sandra L. Kirkman Wade St. John Charlie & Moll Anderson Edward J. & Patricia G. Bouwer John N. & Kerry D. Klein Brenda Steakley Accelerator Endowment Christopher & Rebecca S. Bray Timothy R. & Renee R. Kovick J. Gary & Temple C. Stevenson Ralph L. Brickell III Kevin C. & Nicole Krushenski Wade R. Stonebrook John Beard Family MAcc Kevin & Christie Brogan Kent D. Kurkiewicz Nelle I. Strange Scholarship Endowment Joseph R. & Carmelita G. Brown Jr. Betty A. Lewis Justin C. Stringfield Coggin Family Accounting Faculty John J. & Catherine M. Bunch R. Bruce & Jill F. Long Michael L. & Sheryl L. Taber Endowment Lindsay Burke-Melton Bin Long & Bo Yang Melanie D. Taosuwan Charles T. & Vicki P. Carlisle Jr. Ronald J. & Lindsay E. Mahony B. Lance & Anne Marie Taylor Ellis Family UT Promise Scholarship A. Steven & Claudia J. Carmichael Livesay Norman G. & Wendy A. Templeton Endowment Allen M. & Tiffany U. Carpenter Sarah M. Mallicote Lucas L. & Terri W. Tennant Stanley M. Chervin & Barbara F. Robin G. & Val C. Manley David R. Thomas Amy Foster Memorial Research Richards Kimberly A. & Jeff J. Maples Samuel H. & Peggy A. Thompson Fellowship Endowment Joel M. Chusid Frances R. Marbury Matthew T. & Summer B. Tucker Craig C. & Keri W. Cochran Heather L. Martin Michael S. & Jill M. Turner Vicki Babb Hall JTV Center for Michael P. & Stacey R. Corley Michael W. & Suzanne S. Masters E. Graham & Ann B. Vaughan III Applied Business Analytics Eva L. Cowell Kenichi & Yuki Matsuno Andrew J. Venable Endowment Scott D. & Jill E. Craig Shelley C. Mayfield Thomas W. & Kimberly O. Wade III David W. & Barbara L. Crippen James S. & Lynn D. McCallie James L. & Patricia G. Walsh Wilma Jordan JTV Center for David H. & Linda D. Crumpton John W. & Lois M. McKeever Charles B. & Charlotte White Applied Business Analytics Michael J. & Carolyn E. David Jeff & Regina Nicks Gordon D. & Susie Whitener Endowment Michelle C. Davis Nancy W. Nix Jack W. & Rhonda K. Wiley Michael E. & Mindy M. Dixon Charles H. & Stephanie M. Noble Rod A. & Karen C. Williams JTV Center for Applied Business R. Joshua Dobbs Benjamin M. & Kelly Nye David W. & Julie A. Williams Analytics Endowment Tanner J. Dobrucky Finis S. & N. Lucretia Patton Mark E. Willoughby Ryan & Sarah W. Dodd Brainard S. Patton Jr. Yarbrough Family Foundation McKinley Family Accounting Daniel H. Dougherty Gary E. & Kathleen W. Peck Gillen E. & Michele Young Professorship Endowment James R. Doyle David P. & Cheryl M. Perrot Willy M. & Miu F. Yue Bruce D. & Maria Duggins Bradley D. & Wendy W. Petty Wenjun Zhou PEMBA Faculty Fellowship Taylor D. & Melissa Dunn Jeffrey Phillips & Jane E. Campbell Arthur L. Zucker Endowment Ashleigh M. Eldemire-Poindexter Edward L. & Susan M. Poore Curtis A. & Deborah O. Ernsberger Thomas A. & Anne M. Power Sharon Pryse/Trust Company MILC $250-$499 Bichaka Fayissa W. Andy & Meagan Puckett Directorship Endowment Walter & Patricia Y. Flowers W. James & Angela C. Pugh Jr. Jennifer A. Accolti-Gil Jeffery T. & Cindy A. Adair Ryder Supply Chain Professorship Justin W. & Kristen Follis Brad J. & Lindsay Ranley Gary D. & Carol M. Adams Endowment Edwin B. & Karen Fort Daryl D. Ray Duncan M. & Karol Fort III Andrew M. & Peggy Rector Jr. William M. & Sarah Addis Schumann Family BETS Scholarship Geoffrey A. & Barbara A. Freeman Joel E. & Melissa D. Reeves Jr. Ifedapo L. Adeleye Endowment Caroline J. Friedrich Refreshments Inc. Ronald L. & Jean A. Alexander Phillip M. & Jinny B. Furlong Hector Reyes Brent H. & Lawrence D. Charles Wagner Family Fellows Donald D. Garretson & Marla Mason Joseph L. Richardson Alexander Endowment Robert C. & Angela B. Gibson L. Glynn & Victoria L. Riddle Jr. Hannah G. Alexander David C. Gilbert Byron H. & Pat Risner John R. & Patti F. Allen R. Gregory & Lisa Hair West JTV Martin P. & Lori Gillespie John K. & Martha H. Roach Nevin R. Aragam Center for Applied Business Charles A. & Sandy Gillespie III Worrick G. & Leslie A. Robinson IV Carol L. Arnall Analytics Endowment Benjamin R. Goodwin Dick Rockenstein & Jo Ann Adams James L. & Kathryn M. Badgley Bradley R. & Sharon R. Greer John D. & Nannon W. Roosa William & Courtney E. Barlar Roger E. & Rose Baldwin West JTV Chris Griffin Michael L. & Ruth M. Ross Todd L. & Robin R. Bassett Center for Applied Business Landy B. Hair Mark S. Rutherford Benjamin H. & Maggie Bates Analytics Endowment Clifford M. & Barbara Adamson Thomas & Tammi Ryan Tommy R. & Pam Baucom Sr. H.C. & Mary E. Harkleroad Jr. Kevin & Nancy Sanders Michael F. Bedard Wyatt Family Faculty Endowment J. Tom & Pat Harper Ken & Kathy A. Savage Francis J. & Sandy Bedard Rebecca D. Harrell Kelly M. Schroeder James & Ann C. Begley Charles L. & Janice Harrison George H. & Anne J. Schultz Bruce K. & Julianne C. Behn

34 | HASLAM MAGAZINE CALENDAR YEAR 2020 DONOR REPORT //////// ADVANCEMENT REPORT

William F. & Hannah B. Bell Sr. Steven & Tiffanie R. Fittes Jordan R. & Julie Marshall Elizabeth L. Shanton Richard N. & Zinat H. Benson Brian J. & Heather Foley Gregory & Wendy Martin Jonathan L. & Caylee Shell Michael L. & Kathy R. Bevins Joey & Lauren Forbidussi Joseph L. & Allyson R. Matlock Emilia O. Sherfy Hal H. & Kathy W. Bibee Jr. David B. & Ann S. Foutch Phillip R. & Virginia B. Mattox Stephanie M. Sieggreen Dave Bigham & Carol A. Bigham George T. & Charla S. Fox Michael C. & Marie Mazanek William D. Singer John J. Billingsley Monty G. & Denise Fritts Andrew & Samantha G. McCartt Linda S. Skouby Steven M. & Valerie Biss Robert M. & Leigh Ann Fuller John M. & Christina McDougal Ray H. Smallen Wayne E. Blasius Kevin T. & Cynthia Galbreath Mark H. & Susan D. McNeil Charles B. & Robin R. Smith Mary H. Bondurant Tina M. Galloway Tommy G. & Jenny R. Meredith Spencer S. Smith Jr. David & Serna G. Bowman Scott P. & Decindria L. Gibson Stephen J. & Kimberly K. Merrill Revonna J. Smith Fred W. & Jerelyne P. Brady Gary M. Given Charles R. & Sue L. Milazzo Peter K. So Terry W. & Kathy S. Brandon Charles L. Gobble Virgil Mincy Margie L. Sowell M. Stephen Brandon David A. & Martha J. Gordon William A. & Elise Mitchell Bob Sowell Rachel H. Brannon Jeffrey & Lynn Gottke Nick A. Mmbaga S. Blake & Leigh Stinnette Larry G. & Rosemary A. Bray Michael E. Gower Kyle T. Moffatt Bobby R. & Pamela C. Stoffle Michael D. Brice Diane S. Gower Raul F. Montalvo Robert M. & Tanya L. Stokely Sandra R. Brown Thomas H. & Florence F. Graves Benita H. Moore Jevon T. Strasser James F. & Diane V. Brown Jr. Monica M. Greene Bobby W. & Victoria A. Moore William & Diane K. Stumph Donald J. & Jennifer A. Bruce Daniel R. & Kathy E. Hamilton Stephanie Morela Randy R. & Barbara L. Swanson Stephen M. Brumbelow Megan Hargreaves Megan R. Morris Doug & Anne Swartz Caroline Bryan Lindsey A. Hatcher M. Lane & Julie K. Morris Richard & Sharon S. Tannahill Ralph D. & Chari C. Buckner Kevin M. & Mary Heath William D. Morris Wendy L. Tate Tom J. & Laura Burke Yuchan Hendricks Eric J. & Barbara Moses Lawrence C. & Lorrie Taylor Jr. Thomas R. Burkett Warren D. Henry Mark J. Mulloy Jane C. Taylor Stan J. & Kathy P. Butkowski William O. & Susan G. Henry Timothy P. Munyon Robert J. & Leona S. Thomas Jr. James R. Byrd John A. & Teena Hewgley Mark R. & Christine B. Mutchnick William & Amy L. Thomas Patrick W. & Caitlin Byrd William M. & Jan S. Hewgley John W. & Kristin R. Myers Jordan & Ashley Tipton Jim & Melissa S. Cardon Alan L. Hill Sudhir S. Nair Michael W. & Tami K. Touchstone Tom M. & Julie Carpenter Christopher & Elizabeth D. Hipps Daniel M. & Terri Nolan Tool Crib David W. & Mary A. Carringer Hodges & Pratt Company PC Meaghan A. O'Connor Melissa A. Tribble Dave J. & Penny S. Carver Donald A. & Rebecca A. Holt Thomas E. & Lorrie O'Donnovan Jr. Stephen R. & Donna M. Turbyfill Garry L. & Kathy D. Cate Matthew W. Horton Matthew T. & Juanita R. Orth Charles W. & Julie Umsted Jim & Kellie M. Caughorn Stephen K. & Kimberly Huddleston Jack Parker & Esther O. Wong Gregory L. Underwood David Cawrse & Barbara A. Felix Mark E. Hudson Jerry L. & Bernice N. Parker Dwight H. & Sheila Van Inwegan James T. & Mary J. Chandler Kevin J. & Julie Hunsinger Robert & Sheri L. Pfeil Tony & Pamela Vaughn Jillian G. Cherry Ben & Emily Hyman Curt & Holly H. Pierce John M. Wachowicz James H. & Lisa Clement Kirk B. Jensen John T. Pittman III & Alpha Patel Lisa M. Waddell James R. & Renee Cody Andrew C. & Melody Johnson Henry M. Poss Jr. Donald B. & Janet E. Wake Jonathan Cortner & Becky Colburn L. Dan & Linda R. Johnson Sr. Connie Potter William L. Waldrop Robert D. & Johnnye Corey Reid G. Johnston Charles B. & Michelle Powell Matt E. & Elizabeth E. Wallin Gregg G. Crawford William A. & Janet Jolly Robert H. Ralston II Brian & Marianne H. Wanamaker Tony W. & Leah B. Cross Donald E. & Julie Jones Jr. J. Stephen Ramey & James C. & Teresa Wardrop Jr. Michael F. Crum Daniel J. Keddie Kathleen M. Burns Kenneth R. & Lisa O. Wayco Layken C. Culver James S. Keebler Howard W. Ray John L. & Jean H. Wernicki John R. & Lisa J. Cunningham Stephen T. & Andrea L. E. Murrary & Amy F. Reavis Donald D. West Jr. Bobby W. Damron McGillivray King Benjamin C. & Zoe R. Rechter Jacob L. Wheeler Charles E. & Dandris Davis Frank A. & Anne Kocur II Jeffrey T. Redford Michael T. Whitaker Kurt & Nicki Dawson Christopher S. Kronenberger Gregory R. Reed Joseph E. & Susan D. White Dennis & Kim K. Denton Rick B. & Beverley K. Kuhlman Jr. Julia E. Richards van Zyl William W. & Wanda C. White Jr. Joseph & Kristen K. Devine James Lagger Richard A. & Shelley H. Riley Jr. James M. & Linda L. Williams Jr. Sean R. & Katie DeWitt Michael L. Landon Scott M. & Jean A. Robbins Robert L. & Sharon N. Wilson John C. & Lesley Dillon III Trenton & Julia A. Langston James T. & Margaret A. Robert Jeffrey A. & Jody K. Winslow Patrick & Lisa L. Driscoll Jong Seok Lee Frank D. & Mary A. Robinson W. Miller Wood III Nathan W. Duce Fei Leng Randall L. Rose & Kelly S. Hewett Jeffrey B. Wright James G. Dugger Jr. Scotts P. LeTellier Margaret Ross Yazhen Xiao Walter W. & Becky Duncan Charles D. & Marla Little Jacob L. Ruble Paul J. & Agnes L. Yoo Robert L. Ebinger Jr. & Margaret Evelyn J. Lominac Kylar D. & Kathryn Russell William P. & Louise Young K. Thompson Robert R. & Kathleen J. Long Tsutomu Sagawa Alex R. & Ana M. Zablah Byron M. & Carol L. Eiseman Jr. Robert S. & Shannon B. Lowe Marti J. Samsel Douglas R. & Shana Zink Barry A. & Lynn B. Eisenberg Aeron & Catherine M. Lucas Dennis & Charla M. Sartain William & Allison Zotti Melinda L. Fairchild David M. Mann Benjamin M. Schuster Lora G. Fishman Michael R. Marks Roger D. & Carol F. Schwenke

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 35 ALUMNI Update

Dewayne Scott (HCB, Inspired by their daughter ’84), CEO and founder Annie, Pete (HCB PhD, ’70s of TDS & Associates, ’94) and Betsy Brewer LLC, was profiled in are in the process of the Nashville Business opening an Asheville, Journal. North Carolina, Howdy Homemade, a Texas- based chain of ice cream shops that employs Matthew Sibole (HCB, ’99) special needs workers. Stay in touch! has been named the new To share your news ’90s chief financial officer for Classic Brands, a leading with the University Larry Pratt (HCB, ’73), designer, distributor, and CEO of First Savings of Tennessee, Knoxville, manufacturer of sleep Mortgage Corporation, products, accessories, and Haslam College of donated $140,000 to furniture. Business community, cover reduced wages of submit it along with UT athletics staffers who any relevant images took a pay cut because

of COVID-19. Press Free The Chattanooga Times to [email protected]. Guaranty Home Mortgage Please use “Alumni Corporation (GHMC) ’00s News” in your announced the addition Serenity Carr (HCB, ’00) subject line. Fred Clelland (JD/ of Craig Parrish (HCB, and her husband, Joe, MBA, ’90) joined the ’95) as vice president of have seen rapid growth for This update reflects ’80s Chattanooga law firm human resources. information known as their baby food company, of Warren & Griffin, P.C. of June 1, 2021. Serenity Kids Baby Food.

Steve P. Henry (HCB, ’81) was announced (MBA, as president of Lenoir Scott McDaniel Russ Wise (HCB, ’91) is ’96) was appointed chief City's House Hasson In March, Harvard Business now assistant principal executive officer of Oneida Hardware Co. School presented a webinar overseeing curriculum at Hospitality Group, a leading with Chad Foster (HCB, Bearden High School in provider of commercial ’00), author of Blind Knoxville. foodservice and hospitality solutions. Ambition: How to Go from Victim to Visionary.

Eric Ostermeier (HCB, ’97), founder and managing director at Southbridge Access, along with other Southbridge First Bank & Trust executives, congratulated Company appointed Haslam PROMBA students Jimmy Millsaps (HCB, for completing month- ’83) vice president Scott Marshall (HCB, long consulting projects focusing on Chilean and commercial loan ’93) is now a business Garrett Lewis (HCB, officer in Morristown, development consultant companies in the spring ’00) was selected for the Tennessee. with Emovi, a Montreal- semester. newly created role of chief based medical device operating officer for VCA Scott Roe (HCB, company developing Matthew Kendall Animal Hospitals in Los ’87) is now CFO and products for knee joint (ProMBA, ’99) joined Angeles. head of strategy for assessment. Honeywell as chief Tapestry, Inc. technology officer for healthcare.

36 | HASLAM MAGAZINE UPDATE //////// ALUMNI NEWS

Melissa Kestner (ProMBA, ’06) received The961 a promotion to IT ’10s manager at Luke & Associates, Inc. in Rockledge, Florida. The Maryville Daily Times

François Nader Tyrone "TJ" Jordan (PEMBA, ’00) was (ADMBA, ’11) was elected to Trinity Industries, Inc.’s recently honored by the Jeremy Stephens The Chattanoogan board of directors. Lebanese government (MBA, ’02) joined the Stacy L. Leeds (EMBA-SL, for their work in Leadership Blount ’10) has been appointed developing the Moderna County (Tennessee) Foundation Professor of COVID-19 vaccine. class of 2021. Law and Leadership at Spencer Mercer . (HCB, ’07, MAcc, ’09), Leeds will be part of ASU Chris Case (ProMBA, ’03) a CPA and senior Law’s Indian Legal Program. received his professional Memphis Biz Journal manager with Kraft’s engineering license from tax services group, the state of Indiana. Pegasystems spoke to Esra joined the team at Turan Taylor (PhD, ’10) KraftCPAs PLLC's about the transformation Chattanooga location. she led as SMB marketing Ryan Robertson (HCB, ’11) director of Etisalat was named global head of brand marketing for Stuart Cooper (Etisalat Misr), the largest Stephanie Thomas Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. (ProMBA, ’08) telecommunications (HCB, ’00) has been celebrated seven years corporation in the Gulf appointed to the of tenure, in multiple Cooperation Council (GCC) AWESOME (Achieving roles, with C Spire of Arab states. Women’s Excellence Business. in Supply Chain Operations, Management The UT Knoxville & Education) advisory Alumni inaugural board. Volunteer 40 Under 40 class includes Haslam alums Kara Lawson (HCB, ’03), Brent Watts (ProMBA, ’11), Ryan Robertson (HCB, a citizen of the Catawba ’11), and Ashley Smith Indian Nation, is the founder (HCB, ’13). of Red Heritage Medical Alcoa promoted Stephen LLC, which supplies imaging Jim Kitchen Guerrette (HCB, ’11, MBA, technology, orthopedic (EMBA-SL, ’09) is ’15) to vice president of implants, and more to an entrepreneur and North American value-add Indian Health Services. Midwest Communications, passionate traveler product sales, scrap, and Inc., promoted Michael who has visited risk management. Brody (HCB, ’01) to vice every country in the president/market manager world and has his of its Knoxville cluster, sights set on a new which includes Classic frontier: space. In the Rock WIMZ, AC WJXB, Kathleen Gooch (MAcc, meantime, he’s written Adult Hits Jack FM, and ’04) has been named a book on his travels: Classic Country Duke FM. managing director of KPMG’s A Bigger World. business tax services Bechtel Nuclear, Security practice in Nashville. Jared Hill (PROMBA, Sachin Apte (PEMBA, and Environmental, ’08) was promoted ’12) joined the Huntsman Inc., promoted Stanley General Mills promoted Monica Jones (PEMBA, to executive director Cancer Institute and Odom (ProMBA, ’02) Amanda Leuthard ’11) has been named of operations with University of Utah Health to manager of internal (ProMBA, ’04) to senior chief medical officer ionogen. as chief clinical officer of audits. supply chain planning for Erlanger East and HCI and physician-in-chief manager for North Erlanger North Hospitals of the cancer hospital. America. in Chattanooga. (Erlanger Health System).

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 37 ALUMNI NEWS //////// UPDATE

influenced her executive experience.

Barbara Grobicki (ProMBA, ’14) is now executive director of the Strategic Management Society.

OrthoBethesda, a premier The Lipscomb University Plastics News featured HCA Healthcare named provider of orthopedic College of Business Rachel Vickers (MBA, Monique Butler (PEMBA, services in the greater appointed Hannah ’14), global strategic ’16) chief medical officer Washington, DC, region, Stolze (PhD, ’12) sourcing leader for Avient of its North Florida appointed Emil Engels director of its Center for Corporation, as one of division. (PEMBA, ’12) to the newly Transformative Sales and their rising stars of 2021. created position of chief Supply Chain Leadership The Maryville Daily Times Samir Harb (ProMBA, executive officer. and associate professor ’16) is celebrating 10 of supply chain years at Pilot Flying J Maryville promoted Jane management. in July. Groff (ProMBA, ’12) to administrative services Consolidated Nuclear director. Security, LLC which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant, Caleb Alexander promoted (HCB, ’15) has been Megan Trey Klatt (MBA, ’14) (ProMBA, ’13) appointed as the new Houchin and Kesha Waters (HCB, to director of lean six ’18) have joined the CFO for CapWealth sigma. Leadership Blount County Advisors LLC, one of Tiffany Nelson (EMBA- (TN) class of 2021. Financial Times’ 300 Top HL ’16) is now the Registered Investment executive director Jessica Post (HCB, Advisors for 2020. of the Georgia Rural ’12) joined the Yakima, Health Innovation Washington, school Center in the Mercer district as chief strategy University School of officer and a COVID Medicine. Response Fellow, connecting senior talent Kindred, UT Medical, across the US with school and Tennova promoted districts to provide high- Michael E. Stevens’ Garrett Rich (ProMBA, level support to senior (PEMBA, ’13) Scottsdale, Carter Lawrence (JD/ ’17) to be rehab director leaders. Arizona-based primary MBA, ’14) was appointed at the new Rehab Hospital care practice joined to lead the Tennessee Heather Leisy Tri-Venture. Comcast promoted Ralph MDVIP, the leading Department of Commerce (PEMBA, ’15), director Silvan (ProMBA, ’12) to VP network in personalized and Insurance. of preventive medicine of strategy and operations. healthcare. for HopeHealth, helped lead a virtual vaccine town hall in the spring in Florence, South Carolina.

At the digital American Academy of HHM Certified Public Allergy, Asthma, and Ascension's chief Rhonda A. Stewart Accountants hired Immunology (AAAAI) community impact (MBA, ’12) has been Andrew Mayfield (HCB, annual meeting, Michael officer named the new Tamarah ’14) to assist business Tankersley (PEMBA,

executive director for Duperval-Brownlee owners in year-end tax ’17) presented tips on (PEMBA, ’14) spoke to (EMBA, the Western Tidewater planning, succession Cambrey Little preparing for telehealth HealthLeaders Media ’15) is now chief growth Free Clinic in Suffolk, planning, and general tax visits to reduce confusion about how her curiosity, officer for Lirio. Virginia. and accounting services. and stress for patients questions, and servant and staff. leadership style have

38 | HASLAM MAGAZINE UPDATE //////// ALUMNI NEWS

Resource Management Erik Hargis (ProMBA, ’19) Brandon Killen (ProMBA, (SHRM), Billy Spencer has a new role as senior ’20) accepted a new (HCB, ’18, ’19 expressed manufacturing engineer ’20s position with AbbVie his gratitude for his lead with Navistar in Inc. as a clinical sales The Chattanoogan experience in the UT Huntsville, Alabama. representative. chapter and encouraged all HR students and new graduates to get involved with SHRM.

Benjamin “B.J.” Wilkerson (HCB, ’17) Naomi Anderson (EMBA- joined Crye-Leike’s HL, ’20) is using her Downtown Chattanooga degree for the greater branch office as a good by supporting licensed realtor. and advocating for the Tennessee School for the Chavez Golden (ProMBA, Deaf. (EMBA- ’18) will serve as an adjunct Tom Dorsey Elana Ladd (HCB, ’20),

professor of supply chain SL, ’19) launched his Alex Belianinov a graduate of the Heath (ProMBA, ’20) started management this fall. business, RocketCert, Integrated Business a new position as a which was the focus and Engineering Mihir Patel (PEMBA, principal scientist of his Organizational Program (IBEP), is now ’19) and Ruby Sahoo in Sandia National Action Project (OAP). a sales management (PEMBA, ’19) were Laboratory, in associate for PepsiCo recently named to the Albuquerque, New John Ergen (ProMBA, in Columbia, South Society of Hospital Mexico. ’19) now works for Carolina. Clayton Homes Medicine Senior Fellows Technology division as a Class of 2021. Matt Birch (ProMBA, ’20) Josh McMillan (ProMBA, is now global product business analyst lead. ’20) started a new role manager for Morningstar’s as an IT project manager selection and due Logan Hale (HCB, with TVA. ’18) has been named diligence services. president of Winsupply’s newly opened location in Seymour, Tennessee.

Gerhard Schneibel Erich Gertz (EMBA-HL, (ProMBA, ’19) was ’19) was recently featured named director of in an EMBA Council blog communications Nanika Sudheendra post encouraging younger for the UT Office (HCB, Connor Clarke (MS SCM, ’20) spoke executives to consider an of Advancement ’20) accepted a position to Poets&Quants about EMBA. Communications. as a corporate strategy why she chose Haslam analyst with Eastman. Ranjit S. Hundal (EMBA- and how her experience HL, ’18) is joining the helped her career and executive management personal development. team of Huntington Sudheendra, a Melton Hospital in Pasadena, Boston Celtics forward Scholar, was recently California. Grant Williams (HCB, accepted into the full- ’19) is the second time MBA program at recipient of the NBA’s Harvard Business School. Bill Russell Mentoring Legacy Award. Eastman Chemical Company promoted Jordan Ferrell (JD/ MBA, ’20) joined Baker Cody Wilson Donelson in Nashville (EMBA-SL, ’20) as an associate in the to supply chain corporate group. network optimization transformation lead. In an interview with the Society for Human

HASLAM.UTK.EDU | 39 ALUMNI NEWS //////// ALUMNI IMPACT Devin Wilkinson, Project Inspire's creator, is a finance major and recruitment chair for the Heath Integrated Business & Engineering Program. He will graduate in 2022.

Haslam Alumni Inspire on New Student-Led Podcast

hile listening to podcasts as Wa college freshman, Devin Wilkinson found some motivation of Frieson. “The goal is to encourage our his own. Shows produced by other listeners with stories and life lessons,” business schools were popular ways Wilkinson says. “The speakers usually to introduce the student body to talk about their own experiences, giving successful and interesting alumni. He students the opportunity to get a head got to work on a similar podcast for start in their careers.” the Haslam College of Business. Besides Wilkinson, the podcast’s Wilkinson and a few fellow student team includes Nicholas Brodeur, students developed a business plan David Carlton, Brayden White, Morgan and pitched it to the college’s Office of Lewis, and John Turner. They meet Student Engagement, where director weekly to work on current episodes and Mark Willoughby was impressed. review ideas for future speakers. “They’d compiled a list of speakers A finance major set to graduate in and a mocked up script for the first spring 2022, Wilkinson already has a interview,” he says. “It was pretty plan for making sure Project Inspire remarkable.” continues after he’s gone. “Our idea is With backing from college to switch the host every semester, to leaders, Wilkinson and a small team divide the responsibilities and keep the of students assembled the project. project going as a team effort,” he says. “There are a lot of moving parts, “Eventually, we’d also like to expand with a team of students behind the it to include in-person events with question creation, planning, and audience questions and create some editing, and two university offices bonus episodes.” involved in production,” he says. “The While Wilkinson plans to pursue first episode included some trial and a career in investment banking after error because we had to get all our graduation, he thinks his love for branding right, but that was really podcasting will stick around. “I’ll still do educational for me.” something with it as a hobby, if not my The initial episode of Project full-time job,” he says. Inspire, featuring UT alumnus Clay Meredith Hulette, senior director of Jones, released in February 2021 advancement operations at the college, after a few months of planning and has worked closely with Wilkinson and production. Since then a new episode the other students to launch Project has released every month, featuring Inspire. “They have taken time to interviews with Haslam alumni James research their subjects and prepare A. Haslam II, Wilma Jordan, and Don intelligent, articulate questions,” she says. “We’re proud to connect successful alumni with the students for this project.” The Project Inspire podcast can be found on any podcast streaming platform. 40 | HASLAM MAGAZINE I am grateful for the scholarships I have received because they allowed me to focus on my studies and stay involved in the student community. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of alumni.”

Supporting the College Fund supports students like Chloe. giving.utk.edu/haslamfund Non-Profit Org. US Postage 453 Haslam Business Building Knoxville, TN 37996 PAID haslam.utk.edu Permit No. 481 Knoxville, TN

This publication was funded in part by private contributions from the alumni and friends of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. Publication #E01-1410-003-21.

On campus classes begin August 18!