Dean Ken Eastman recognizes a number of Spears Business employees during the Faculty/Staff Meeting held prior to the start of the 2019-20 school year.

Spears Business faculty, staff honored for teaching, research and outstanding service

Monday, August 19, 2019

Dean Ken Eastman recognized a handful of Spears School of Business faculty and staff for outstanding teaching, research and service during the 2018-19 school year at the annual Faculty/Staff meeting Aug. 16.

This year’s honorees are:

Engagement with Practice Award: Jennifer Coonce, assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Management, and Rachel Cox, instructor of professional practice in the School of Accounting;

Innovation in Pedagogy Award: James Stapp, lecturer in the Department of Management;

Power of Personal Award (faculty): Goutam Chakraborty, professor in the School of Marketing and International Business and founder of the SAS and OSU Data Mining Certificate program;

Power of Personal Award (staff): Moriah Ramirez, an administrative support specialist in the Michael and Anne Greenwood Center for Online Excellence;

Best Paper Award and Online Teaching Award: Owen Parker, assistant professor in the Department of Management;

Richard W. Poole Faculty Outreach Excellence Award: Dave Carter, professor in the Department of Finance;

Steve Miller International Excellence Award: Jose Sagarnaga, director of the Center for Advanced Global Leadership and Engagement (CAGLE) and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Management;

Outstanding Staff Awards: Angie Jungermann, administrative associate in the Dean’s Office, and Vanessa Owens, academic advisor II in the Chesapeake Energy Business Student Success Center.

“We are delighted to recognize these enthusiastic and talented individuals,” said Eastman, dean of Spears Business. “We are proud of them and of how they worked to create positive change here at Spears. We are very fortunate to have so many very dedicated staff and faculty who make Spears Business such a special place.”

Coonce and Cox share the award for Engagement with Practice, granted for new or extended engagement activities with practice (e.g., businesses, business people, recruiters, etc.). As the primary instructors of the management and accounting department’s ethics courses, the pair create unique opportunities for students to connect with professionals and navigate real life ethical dilemmas. They are founding a student chapter of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) Center for Public Trust at OSU.

Stapp’s Innovation in Pedagogy Award is presented to a full-time faculty member who applies a new pedagogy or one already in use in a new way. He plans to offer to students the six-week Virtual Business Professional (VBP) project that gives students real-world experience using communication and collaboration technologies employed in today’s corporate environment.

Chakraborty and Ramirez were presented with the Power of Personal Award, which recognizes those who most exemplify the Spears Business brand statement, The Power of Personal, through their attention and care for students, faculty and external constituents.

“(Dr. Chakraborty) takes a vested interest in each of his student’s lives, viewing their success as his own,” a former student wrote in talking about the longtime Spears Business professor, who developed the business analytics program in 2004 as a certificate program from which more than 950 certificates have been awarded in the last 15 years. Also, 79 students have graduated from the master’s of business analytics program at this time.

“To me, Dr. Chakraborty represents what a teacher should be like and a leader should be like,” another student wrote. “And if all of us can learn from him and apply that passion and compassion toward others in our career paths, we’ll make a wonderful world.”

Ramirez has been on the staff in the online learning office for four years and has had an impact on everyone she comes in contact with during the school year. “Every day I see Moriah go above and beyond for every student, staff and faculty member she interacts with,” said one person who nominated Ramirez. “She practices exceptional hospitality, patience and service to each of the countless phone calls she fields every day. Moriah exhibits every attribute of the Power of Personal Award to a T.”

Parker is the winner of the Best Paper Award, presented to the faculty member who has the best paper accepted or published during the academic year. The paper, “How Firm Reputation Shapes Managerial Discretion,” written by Parker and co-authors Ryan Krause and Cynthia Devers, was the lead article in the Academy of Management Review in April 2019.

Parker is also the recipient of the Online Teaching Award given a faculty member who has developed an outstanding online course, with high quality teaching, student experiences and support. Parker’s attention to design, layout and presentation of his online course was outstanding, resulting in a positive learning experience for his students.

Carter, who has taught at OSU for 21 years, is the recipient of the Richard W. Poole Faculty Outreach Award, which recognizes contributions made by faculty through the outreach mission of Spears Business. He has led Spears Business study abroad trips since 2006, taught online credit courses for more than 10 years and traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to conduct executive education presentations.

Sagarnaga was given the Steve Miller International Excellence Award. He has been at OSU since 2004, and has spent the last four years as director of the CAGLE office, which is the hub of all Spears Business international initiatives, including directing nearly 15 study abroad trips for about 500 students. He “does so much for the Spears School of Business, not out of duty but because he actually cares. He is on the front lines with hundreds of students through the CAGLE office and those students are given one-on-one care that they wouldn’t receive anywhere else,” said a Spears Business faculty member.

Jungermann, who has worked in Spears Business since 2011, is the recipient of the Outstanding Staff Award (classified employee). “She is unquestionably the go-to person for knowledge on most all functions and procedures in (the Dean’s office) and throughout the Spears School of Business. Her willingness to help and assist others is a true testament to the Spears Power of Personal,” according to one of Jungermann’s nominations.

Owens, an academic advisor who joined Spears Business in 2017, was presented the Outstanding Staff Award (A&P employee). “Although she is not the loudest member of the team, her words are highly respected and carry a lot of weight among the members of our office. Her kindness and desire to assist students are unparalleled,” one nomination said.

In addition, the following faculty were also recipients of the Richard W. Poole Research Excellence Award: Federico Aime, Matt Bowler, Lindsey Greco, John Holden, Kimberly Houser, Jason Kiley, Lisa Lambert, Anna Lennard and Curt Moore.

MEDIA CONTACT: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2703 | terry.tush@okstate.edu