Smith PhD Awards Banquet Strikes an Ensemble Chord

There was a festive spirit in the air on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 in the executive meeting space of Van Munching Hall, complete with a cappella music, photo slide shows, food, and awards. The occasion? The Robert H Smith School of Business 29th Annual Doctoral Awards Banquet, honoring graduating doctoral students.

The Baltimore Jazz Ensemble kicks off the PhD Awards Banquet with an a cappella musical performance.

Dr. Debra Shapiro recognizes graduating students, current students, faculty, and parents in her opening remarks, which continued the ensemble theme.

The evening kicked off at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour. Once seated, students, faculty, and guests alike were treated to a musical welcome from the Baltimore Jazz Ensemble. The group, which sings five- to nine-part arrangements, performed “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Blue Skies” and “Route 66.”
 
The “ensemble” theme continued throughout the remainder of the evening. In her opening remarks, Dr. Debra Shapiro, PhD Program Director, thanked “all those who continue to strengthen our ensemble – the Smith School of Business PhD program.” She was followed by Smith School Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam, who delivered his remarks prior to dinner and inspired the graduating students to do difficult things. “This is the best time for you to be as creative as you can. The country and the world are depending on new ideas.”
 
The doctoral awards presentation ceremony began after a series of departmental summaries from faculty members. Student award recipients were as follows:

• Allan N. Nash Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student – R. Scott Livengood
• Frank T. Paine Award for Academic Achievement – Jie Mein Goh and Tanakorn Makaew
• Abraham Golub Memorial Dissertation Proposal Prize – Andrew O. Hall
• Marvin A. Jolson Outstanding Marketing Doctoral Student Award – Peggy Tseng
• Allan N. Nash Award for Distinguished Doctoral Graduate – Dr. Amy Kristof-Brown

Faculty, specifically dissertation committee members, play a crucial role in placing Smith School PhD students at top business schools. The ensemble spirit continued as the following Smith faculty members were recognized for their efforts in this area during the 2008-2009 academic year:

• Dr. Paul Tesluk (Chair),  Dr. Ken Smith, and Dr. Susan Taylor for Katherine DeCelles, placed at the University of Toronto
• Dr. Thomas Corsi (Chair), Dr Sandor Boyson,, Dr. Philip Evers, and Dr. Curtis Grimm for John Macdonald, placed at Michigan State University
• Dr. Samer Faraj (Chair),  Dr. Ritu Agarwal (Co-Chair), Dr. Henry Lucas, and Dr. David Kirsch for Adrian Yeow, placed at Nanyang  Technological University
• Dr. Ken Smith (Chair), Dr. Susan Taylor, and Dr. Curtis Grimm for David Major, placed at Indiana University

Pete Baird, Smith MBA 2009, Smith Media Group