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December 2022

Recent Recognitions

  • The Board of Visitors approved emerita status for Ruth Lytton at its November meeting.
  • Sattar Mansi received the Pamplin Career Award for Excellence in Research.
  • Cara Spicer was awarded both the University’s and Pamplin’s Certificate of Teaching Award for 2022-23.
  • Yessenia Tellez was featured in a recent article celebrating International Education Week.

Search for the new dean of the Pamplin College of Business

The search for the new Pamplin College of Business dean continues with hopes that a successful candidate is anticipated to be announced during the spring 2023 semester. Click here for an article detailing the search committee and their efforts to select the next dean.

Global Business and Analytics Complex

The intersection of Prices Fork Road and West Campus Drive remains a hub of activity as construction continues on Pamplin’s new home, the Global Business and Analytics Complex. The complex is expected to house four new buildings, including two new academic buildings and two living-learning communities. The Data and Decision Sciences Building is projected to open ahead of the fall 2023 semester.

Learn more and follow the progress of the Global Business and Analytics Complex by visiting https://pamplin.vt.edu/gbac.html.

Student and program news and notes

  • Nader Dejani became the second Virginia Tech student to receive the prestigious Charles Schwab Scholars in Financial Planning Endowed Scholarship.
  • Michael Bunting received the 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Medallion Award given to only one outstanding senior in each college.
  • Sara Easterwood received the 2022-23 College Doctoral Student Research Award and a Doctoral Summer Research Grant for summer 2023.
  • Kingway Lin received a Doctoral Summer Research Grant for summer 2023.
  • Virginia Tech SEED (Student-managed Endowment for Educational Development) had its largest and most diverse pool of applicants yet for its incoming spring 2023 class thanks to ongoing outreach efforts. Visit https://seed.pamplin.vt.edu/ to learn more about SEED.
  • After a pandemic-induced hiatus, the Finance Club reformed during the semester. They hosted a number of meetings focused on résumé prep, networking, and various career paths and held a stock portfolio competition and an end-of-semester social.
  • The CFP program is shifting from an option into the Financial Planning & Wealth Management major, and students have participated in career fairs and industry-leading conferences across the country, including the Schwab IMPACT Conference, where the group was among a handful of schools to receive a grant and an invitation for attendance. Thanks to support from Cary Street Partners and the First Generation Investors platform, a team of Hokies has been teaching the basics of investing to high school students in Radford City while another group has been engaged in the Stock Market Game in Montgomery County Schools. This program provides basic lessons on investing to grade school children. We hope to continue to grow these programs in the coming years.

Banking on Credit events

On September 30, 2022, the Department and BASIS hosted a Banking on Credit half-day event to provide hundreds of students with more intimate knowledge of the wide breadth of career opportunities in banking. The panelists were a star-studded group who also met one-on-one with some students to counsel them and advise them on career paths. In addition, the panelists heard impressive student presentations from BASIS and CREDIT students to further enhance the reputation of Pamplin as a high-quality pipeline of graduates in the areas of fixed income and credit.

The expert panelists included Maria Tedesco, president and COO of Atlantic Union Bank; Mary Beth Sullivan, managing partner of Capital Performance Group (and Advisory Board member); Amie Edwards, managing director/national underwriting executive of Bank of America (also an Advisory Board member); and Matt Smith, a corporate banker at RBC Capital Markets. The panel session was moderated by the well-respected banking authority and Advisory Board Chair Mike Clarke. Advisory Board member John Asbury, CEO of Atlantic Union Bank, also engaged with the students, adding another dimension to a very successful day that many students will long remember.

Finance alums in the news

Scott Vincent, a Virginia Tech Finance alumnus and professional golfer from Zimbabwe, finished first in the standings of the Asian Tour's 2022 International Series. Scott, who also played in the golf tournament at the 2021 Summer Olympics, splits his time between the Asian Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, and the LIV Golf Tour. Click here to learn more about Scott’s participation in the Asian Tour.

Recent guest and alumni speakers and events:

  • The London Company
  • Royal Bank of Canada
  • JP Morgan
  • Rockwood Wealth Management
  • Wealthspire
  • Carroll Financial
  • Blue Heron
  • Homrich Berg
  • Carradice Wealth Advisors
  • Capital Asset Management Group
  • Prudential
  • Numerous information sessions, including Bank of America, EY, PenFed, Citigroup, and Charles Schwab

If you are interested in being a guest speaker, please contact Professor Mike Kender at mkender@vt.edu.

Engagement opportunities

  • We are seeking employers to participate in our FIN 4314 Field Projects in Finance course. The course involves having a student or students work 8-12 hours per week remotely on a finance-related project or projects throughout the semester. Students receive three credits and a grade in lieu of pay and benefits. Recent participating employers have included manufacturing companies, asset managers, real estate investors, a venture capital/growth equity firm, and a tech startup. A number of students have expressed interest in field projects for the spring 2023 semester, but employer participants are needed. If you are interested in participating, please contact Professor Mike Kender at mkender@vt.edu.
  • The Finance Advisory Board has 40 members and would like to expand. Nominations of engaged alumni are welcome – please write to Dr. Vijay Singal, department head of finance, at vs@vt.edu.

Open positions

We are hiring full-time and part-time faculty to teach many Finance courses. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Vijay Singal at vs@vt.edu with a résumé or CV. For more details, visit  jobs.vt.edu and search for Finance.

Feedback and news ideas

Please provide your feedback on the newsletter to vs@vt.edu. We would like to include items of interest to you, as well as recognitions and achievements of Finance Hokies, in future newsletters. 

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