August/September 2019

Golf for a Good Cause

Looking for a fun (and charitable) way to spend a summer afternoon away from the office? The School of Management Board of Advisors Golf Outing is just the ticket.

Open to SoM alumni and their guests, the event takes place on Thursday, September 5 at the private Trump National Golf Club-Hudson Valley in nearby Hopewell Junction. The day begins with a barbecue lunch on the clubhouse patio followed by 18 holes on a picturesque course flanked by the Stormville Mountains. At the conclusion of the scramble-style round, attendees enjoy a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception.

More importantly, the golf outing will serve as the official launch of the School of Management Scholarship Program. Nearly half of each player’s attendance fee will go toward funding this new initiative, which aims to reduce the loan burden for qualified and deserving SoM students.

The fee for the day — including 18 holes of golf, greens fees, use of a cart, lunch and cocktail reception — is $250 per person or $1,000 for a foursome. Non-golfers can support the scholarship fund efforts, and enjoy hobnobbing with fellow alums, by attending the cocktail reception (tickets are $50 each).

Deadline for registration is Friday, August 30. Click here for more information and to register.

Shifting into high gear

It’s going to be a busy fall semester for the School of Management Career Center.

Although it was established last spring, the center will officially celebrate its opening with a kickoff event on August 29 from 6-8 p.m. at the Cornell Boathouse on campus. Attendees — including faculty, staff, alumni and employers — can enjoy light refreshments while learning about the center’s many services and resources. Director Linda Haas Manley will be introduced along with three recently appointed internship coordinators: Associate Professor Pamela Harper; Erin McGuiness, an HR professional and adjunct instructor; and Joseph Porter, Jr., a retired IBM executive and visiting assistant professor of management. Information on upcoming events (see below) and academic clubs will be available along with Marist swag items.

The center will host Meet the Firms on September 11 from 6-8 p.m. in the Murray Student Center. Specifically organized for those who are interested in a career in accounting or finance, this event brings representatives from a number of firms — 23 are confirmed so far — to meet with students, review resumes and discuss opportunities for internships and/or employment. Among the A-list firms on the roster: Bloomberg LP, EY/Ernst & Young, IBM, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Merrill Lynch and PepsiCo.

Another Career Center happening takes place on September 19, when current students — along with local alumni — are invited to attend the JCPenney Suit-Up Event from 6-9 p.m. at the retailer’s Poughkeepsie Galleria location. Choosing professional apparel will be the order of the day; JCPenney staffers and Marist volunteers will assist shoppers with helpful advice on appropriate business attire. Better still, the store will offer deep discounts on professional clothing and related items such as briefcases, costume jewelry, ties, scarves, shoes and luggage.

Mr. Hogan Goes to Washington

Like many business students, Spencer Hogan ’20 has spent a considerable amount of time and effort searching for an internship that would (with any luck) springboard him into a successful career. “I applied for dozens of internships and had a few interviews,” says Hogan. “I worked really hard at the process for months.”

Ironically, the position he landed — a three-month internship at the White House in Washington, D.C. — was one he applied for “on a whim,” says Hogan, a double major in business and economics and a participant in the college’s Honors Program. “I’ve always been excited by the political process. I had space in my schedule, so I thought, why not take the chance and see what happens?”

“What happened” was that Hogan — after a lengthy selection process that involved an interview, answering a number of essay questions and gathering letters of recommendation — was chosen last fall to take part in the prestigious program. He was placed in the White House Office of American Innovation, and he credits his SoM coursework with helping to land him there. “I felt that business and strategy classes were part of the reason why I was given that role,” says the Middletown, New York, resident. “And in fact, the skill sets I learned in those classes are what put me in a place to succeed there.”

Although there was no such thing as a “typical day,” Hogan stresses that “boring tasks” were not often on his agenda. “Within a few weeks, I was diving into what I felt was really genuine work,” he says. “I was able to research, support and even contribute in policy-related meetings and discussions.” Education opportunity policy and criminal justice reform were two areas where Hogan applied his efforts.

Along with assisting staff, White House interns attend a weekly speaker’s series, which hosts cabinet members and senior administration officials. “I had the honor of introducing [Secretary of Housing and Urban Development] Dr. Ben Carson to the rest of the group when he was the speaker,” Hogan says. The intern program’s photo op with Vice President Mike Pence “was one of the most special moments I’ve ever had,” Hogan admits. “Pence surprised us all when he spent time chatting and getting to know us.”

The internship has had an impact on both Hogan’s short- and long-term plans. “I’m coming back to Marist with a different mindset on how to spend my senior year,” he says. “There’s so much more in terms of faculty mentorship and opportunities within the SoM that I want to take advantage of. I’m still just as interested in finance and consulting; but having this unique perspective from spending time in Washington, I want to apply that and use it in the private sector.”

Although a number of members of the Marist community helped Hogan secure his internship, he offers special thanks to SoM Dean Lawrence Singleton; Joanne Gavin, professor of management and associate dean for undergraduate programs; Director of Executive Programs Jay Pantaleo; and economics faculty members Ann Davis, Christy Caridi and Della Sue.

All in all, how does Hogan rate interning at the White House? “From the time I started until I was finished, this internship was my life — I felt like everything else was put on pause. It was totally rewarding.”

Career Management courses debut

This fall, the School of Management offers two courses that focus on the skills students need to kick-start a successful career.

Career Management I and II are one-credit courses that will guide underclassmen in their personal and career development, says Linda Haas Manley, Career Center director and the instructor for both courses.

Aimed at first-years, Career Management I will help new students become comfortable on campus and “leverage academic support services,” says Manley. Bimonthly class meetings will include presentations by representatives of the campus library, the study-abroad program, academic advising, the Career Center and business-focused student clubs (such as Beta Alpha Psi and the Business Club); other lessons include a strengths-assessment exercise and an introduction to a business analytics software program. Attendees will also meet twice a month with a student mentor.

The second course, Career Management II, aims to help sophomores “learn about the internship and job-search process,” says Manley. “The objective is to teach students how to market themselves.” Company research techniques, resume writing, interview practice and etiquette are all covered in detail; additionally, students will become certified in the use of the Bloomberg terminal software by the end of the semester. Each course will fulfill either a general or liberal arts elective.

In the future, the SoM hopes to round out the sequence with an additional two courses, Career Management III and IV, which are currently in development.

Faculty Focus

The School of Management welcomes four new faculty members to its ranks this fall:

• Alexander Henderson will teach in the MPA program. Henderson earned both his BA and MPA degrees at Villanova University, and completed his Ph.D. in Public Administration at Rutgers University. He comes to Marist after serving as an associate professor at Long Island University for eight years; previously, he worked as an EMT and firefighter in Pennsylvania.
• Andrew Kosenko joins the economics department. After earning his bachelor’s in economics at NYU, Kosenko completed both his master’s (in Quantitative Methods) and Ph.D. in economics at Columbia University. While at Columbia, he worked as a research assistant for Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Most recently, Kosenko was a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
• The newest member of the accounting faculty, Zhaokai Yan studied for his bachelor’s degree in Shanghai, earned his master’s in accounting from Pace University, and completed his Ph.D. in accounting information systems at Rutgers University this year. He has been a lecturer in accounting at Rutgers since 2017.
• Visiting Professor of Management Christopher Reck spent more than 20 years with IBM; most recently, he served as vice president and chief financial officer for IBM Industry Platforms, including IBM Blockchain and Watson Financial Services. Reck graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and earned his MBA at the University of Rochester.
• While not new to the faculty — he’s been an adjunct instructor at Marist since 2015 — Joseph Porter, Jr., has been appointed visiting assistant professor of management and internship coordinator for the SoM Career Center (see above).
• Among the school’s current faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas S. Wermuth announced the following promotions and appointments:
• Li Li has been granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of accounting.
• Roy Merolli, who recently retired, has been designated as professor emeritus of public administration.
• Affiliate Professor of International Business Detelin Elenkov recently co-authored “Subcultural Identity and Its Effects on Differences in Social Values and Preferred Workplace Rewards: A Theoretical Exploratory Study in an International Domain,” which was published in the Journal of Strategic and International Studies. The professor also authored a second paper, “Subcultures and Their Social and Organizational Consequences,” which won the Best Paper award at this year’s International Multidisciplinary Academic Conference in Key West, Florida. Last March, Elenkov was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Orlando (Florida) International Academic Conference on Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting.
• Associate Professor of Finance and Investment Center Director Brian Haughey will teach three finance elective courses this fall: Investment Practicum: Equities (aka The Greystone Equity Fund); Investment Practicum: Fixed Income; and Derivatives and Risk Management. “These classes help equip our students with the skills required to compete successfully for positions in investment banks, hedge funds, asset management firms and rating agencies,” Haughey says.

Alumni Profile: Morgan Carey ’18

A native of Stockholm, New Jersey, Morgan Carey completed her BS in business administration, with a concentration in international business and a minor in fashion merchandising, in 2018. Upon graduation, she enrolled in a three-year joint degree program at Villanova University in Philadelphia, where she is concurrently studying for both her MBA and JD degrees. When she’s not hitting the books, Carey works with her father in two different companies. While she admits to having precious little free time, when she does kick back, she enjoys watching classic films and running (“it’s the best feeling ever”).

Q: How did you get from international business and fashion merchandising into law?

A: It wasn’t until I took the Legal Foundation of Business class at Marist that I got interested in law. I realized how intertwined everything is. I grew up watching my father run his company – and then started working with him – and so much of it has to do with the law and what you can do legally. The idea that, as a business person, you might be able to “skip” a step and advise yourself, was very appealing to me.

Q: How challenging is it to work and go to school at the same time?

It’s very challenging — I have flexibility and can fit the work in around my schedule. But it’s a juggling act.

Q: When you were at Marist, you were involved with the Greystone Equity Fund. Is studying law harder than studying, say, finance?

A: I think they’re different. What’s hard about finance is that things are always changing, and you have to constantly monitor the external environment. With the law, there’s a massive amount of information and interpretation that can be hard to wrap your head around. I’ve had to train my brain to think in a new way.

Q: Besides going to school, you are a partner of Willis Avenue Group, a real estate investment company, and a project assistant at J2 Construction Solutions. Would you tell us about that?

A: J2 Construction is my father’s company, which he started in 2008, so I grew up in it. When I was older, I took on a role within the company that has become more prominent as time goes by, especially with all the knowledge that I’ve gained through my education. The real estate company was just an interesting happenstance. We happened to find a property that had a lot of potential, so we bought it. I’m the property manager; I take care of all the middle men, write the leases, etc. We’re looking into buying more properties in the New York/ New Jersey area and also in Delaware, which has an increasing population and lower taxes.

Q: Once you’ve earned your MBA and JD, what are your future plans?

A: I’m going to practice law for a little while. Eventually, I’d like to get back into business, either going full-fledged into my father’s company or to a corporation – or maybe out on my own. I’d love to be a strategic consultant.

Q:  A new batch of seniors returns to the SoM this fall. What do you know now that you wished you’d known when you were a senior?

A: How fast the year goes by: In the blink of an eye, you’re in what’s going to be the rest of your life.

Q. And what advice do you have for those new seniors?

A: Always be ready to learn. Don’t think that, just because you’re out of school, you’re done learning. There will always be more that will come your way.