The Sloan School of Management celebrated its 11th annual Student/Faculty Appreciation Day on Sloan Plaza on May 13. Originally created by Sloan students to recognize the importance of superior teaching and honor the faculty, the day was expanded in 1993 to include student awards as well.
This was also the first year for the "Diversity Day Return on Investment (ROD)" award, which went to three teams of staff and students with the best plans for making diversity work to the advantage of a business or organization. The Sloan community was invited to generate business plans, case studies or research proposals designed to explore the value of diversity in organizations, or to enhance Sloan's diversity and community spirit.
Three teams' plans were chosen to split the $10,000 prize. Graduate students Drew Terry of Woods Cross, UT and Beverly Tyler of Richmond, VA were third-place winners and will share a $2,000 award for developing a multifaceted approach for incorporating diversity into Sloan's educational and extracurricular activities.
Graduate students Jennifer Himelfarb of Baltimore; Judson Johnson of Binghampton, NY; and James Wolters of Sacramento, CA took second place ($3,000) for their case that examined obstacles to valuing diversity in a high-pressure environment by analyzing the experience of women being integrated into combat roles in the armed forces.
Graduate students Joel Serface of San Angelo, CA; Jason Garoutte of Minneapolis; and Tom Corbett shared the $5,000 first prize for working with a team in an urban school district including senior managment and community representatives to explore how class, ethnic diversity and other policies interact to drive the dynamics of achievement for the students and community.
MERIT AWARDS
MBA Program Merit Scholarships recognize second-year MBA students who have had a significant impact on their classmates and on the Sloan experience. Students are chosen on criteria including outstanding leadership in the Sloan community, successfully balancing classroom and extracurricular activities, giving notable service to the student body, implementing initiatives that impact student life and achieving a standard of excellence in academic endeavors. Six groups of these awards were given:
The Thomas R. Peterson Memorial Award was established by the class of 1989 in memory of their classmate who died shortly after graduation in a car accident for contributors of overall growth and experience of their classmates. Kristin Nixon of Boston, president of the Envestment Management Club, and Michael DelCiello of Naperville, IL, co-president of the Media Telecom Club, each received $1,000 for their contributions.
The Martin Trust Community Fellowship Program, established by the Martin Trust (SM 1958), recognizes students whose contributions, through extracurricular or academic participation, have had a profound impact on the lives of their classmates and the Sloan community. This year's winners were Laura Paglione of New Rochelle, NY; Scott Blankstein of New York, NY; Harold Simanski of Brookline, MA; Vinay Bhargava of Rochester, NY; and Gianmarco Broggini of Lugano, Switzerland, who each received $2,000.
The Miriam Sherburne Scholarship was established by the alumni/ae of the Sloan School to honor its namesake, a woman who, through 51 years of service to the School and the master's program, consistently worked to create the best environment for the students. Stephanie Kivett of Wellesley, MA, a member of the Sloan Senate and chair of the Computer Committee, was awarded the $5,000 scholarship.
The Henry B. DuPont III Scholarship was endowed at Sloan specifically to honor students for leadership and achievement. Mike Dubrowski of Belleville, IL, founder of the Sloan Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders networking and support group and co-leader of the Responsible Business Club, received the $5,000 annual award.
The Henry Ford II Scholarship was established by the Ford Foundation to honor leadership and contribution. Sloan Senator and leader of an intercollegiate Arab student conference, Rami Elkhatib of Amman, Jordan took the $5,000 award.
The $1,000 Seley Scholarships were established by Louis Seley, a longtime friend of Sloan, to recognize students who consistently showed outstanding leadership and an exceptional level of contribution to the lives of others. This year's Seley Scholars are Alison Savitz of Washington, DC, a Sloan Senator and co-chair of the Ambassador program and member of the Sloan MBA Survey Committee; and Robert Bailey of New Milford, CT, head organizer of the MIT E-Commerce Awards and president of the Media Technology Club.
TEACHING AWARDS
Assistant Professor of Applied Economics Roberto Rigobon and Visiting Associate Professor of Finance Kevin Rock tied for for Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards, for which 55 faculty members received nominations (an increase of 50 percent over last year).
Mr. Rigobon was nominated for his work in 15.012 (Applied Macro and International Economics). His teaching prompted nominator comments such as "I find myself looking forward to my 8:30 class on a Friday morning just to see what he is going to teach us." Mr. Rock was nominated for his teaching in both 15.545 (Mergers and Acquisitions) and 15.410 (Financial Management). One of his nominators said, "He presents materials enthusiastically, with just a wry bit of humor, and encourages students to think critically about the subject at hand."
Also receiving teaching excellence awards were Paul Asquith, the Nanyang Technological University Professor of Management, for his work in 15.522 (Security Design and Corporate Finance); Arnold Barnett, the George Eastman Professor of Management Science, for 15.061 (Intermediate Statistics) and 15.068 (Advanced Statistics); Rebecca Henderson, the George Eastman Leaders for Manufacturing Associate Professor of Management, for 15.932 (Technology Strategy); Michael Scott Morton, the Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management, for 15.930 (Strategic Management) and 15.939 (Strategic Options and Information Technology); and Senior Lecturer Russell W. Olive for his management of technology course, Managerial and Financial Accounting.
Teaching assistants were also honored for their abilities in the classroom. This year's winners were graduate students Alex Camhi-Levy of Chile for 15.010 (Economic Analysis for Business Decisions); Ingo Duckerschein of Deputante, VA, for 15.515 (Financial and Managerial Accounting); and Lauren Wu of Willowdale, Ontario for 15.515 and 15.545.
A version of this article appeared in the June 2, 1999 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 43, Number 32).
