World Class Faculty & Research / May 5, 2026

The Smith School Recognizes Its Outstanding Faculty and Staff at 2026 Assembly

The Smith School honored outstanding faculty and staff at its 2026 assembly, recognizing excellence in teaching, research, mentorship and service. Awards celebrated impactful educators, innovative contributors and dedicated staff, highlighting the school’s strong commitment to academic excellence and community collaboration.

Renowned globally for its business research, the Smith School also offers students an exceptional educational experience within a nurturing community. Each year, Smith commemorates this excellence by recognizing its distinguished faculty and staff with prestigious awards of excellence.

Faculty Recognition Awards

Allen J. Krowe Award for Teaching Excellence

  • John Bono
  • Mary Beth Furst
  • Julie Pavlovsky
  • Christine Schaaf
  • Rob Sheehan
  • Emanuel Zur

Legg Mason Teaching Innovation Award

  • Daniel McCarthy

Undergraduate Awards

  • Core Impact Award
    Elizabeth Stanwyck
  • Mastery Through Challenge Award
    Zeinab Karake
  • Guiding Light Award / Phenomenal Feedback Award
    John Silberholz
  • Global Visionary Award
    Debra Shapiro
  • Cutting-Edge Educator Award
    Justin Reyna
  • Experiential Learning Advocate Award
    Nima Farshchi
  • Most Approachable Professor Award
    Roy Thomason

MBA/MS Awards

  • Full-Time MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Tunay Tunca
  • Full-Time MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Nick Seybert
  • Flex MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Oliver Schlake
  • Flex MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Cristian Dezső
  • Online MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Rachelle Sampson
  • Online MBA: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Ceyed Baiju
  • MS in Finance: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Liu Yang
  • MS in Finance: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Pablo Slutzky
  • MS in Quantitative Finance: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Ken Fuller
  • MS in Quantitative Finance: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Pete Kyle
  • MS in Accounting: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Sam Handwerger
  • MS in Accounting: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Lei Zhou
  • MS in Business Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    John Silberholz
  • MS in Business Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Suresh Acharya
  • MS in Information Systems: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Jessica Clark
  • MS in Information Systems: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Tej Anand
  • MS in Management Studies: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Rellie Rozin
  • MS in Management Studies: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Roy Thomason
  • MS in Marketing Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Liye Ma
  • MS in Marketing Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Daniel McCarthy
  • MS in Supply Chain Management: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Geoffrey Milsom
  • MS in Supply Chain Management: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Phil Evers
  • Online MS in Business Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Bharti Motwani
  • Online MS in Business Analytics: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Robert Hoffman
  • Online MS in Management Studies: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Jon Crocker
  • Online MS in Management Studies: Faculty Teaching Impact
    Gosia Langa-Basit

PhD Awards

  • Outstanding Dissertation Advisor Award
    David Kirsch
  • Curtis Grimm Faculty Mentor Award
    Siva Viswanathan
  • Outstanding PhD Seminar Award
    Reuben Hurst
  • Excellence in Research Collaboration Award
    Musa Subasi

Unsung Heroes Awards

  • Cathy Chen
  • Gosia Langa-Basit
  • Tej Anand
  • Jon Crocker
  • Sarah Kroncke
  • Jeff Milton

Faculty Honor Roll

Celebrating our unique Robert H. Smith School community, the Faculty Honor Roll acknowledges faculty who were collaborative champions for the administrative work of the school in the past academic year.

Center for Global Business
Kislaya Prasad, DOIT
Center for Social Value Creation
Terrence O’Brien, Finance
Roy Thomason, Management & Org
Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship
Oliver Schlake, Management & Org
Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets
Christine Schaaf, Management & Org
Neta Moye, Management & Org
Office of Experiential Learning
Geoff Milsom, Supply Chain
Patrick McNamee, Accounting
Mike Cichello, Finance
Office of Human Resources & Payroll
Mary Beth Furst, Marketing
Office of Digital Learning
Rajshree Agarwal, Management & Org
T. Leigh Anenson, LBPP
Wendy Sanhai, Management & Org
Office of Smith IT
Zeinab Karake, DO&IT
Rosie Ferraro, Marketing
Office of Marketing & Communications
Rosie Ferraro, Marketing
Michael McMillian, Accounting
Emanuel Zur, Accounting
Smith Advancement Team
Jeff Milton, Accounting
Roy Thomason, Management & Org
Office of Executive Education
Greg Marr, Management & Org
Judy Frels, Marketing
Balaji Padmanabhan, DO&IT
Smith Service & Support Center
Rosie Ferraro, Marketing
Zeinab Karake, DO&IT
MBA / MS Admissions Office
Humberto Coronado, LBPP
Michael Cichello, Finance
Nicole Coomber, M&O
Smith Doctoral Programs / PhD
Jie Zhang, Marketing
Cristian Dezso, LBPP
Serguey Braguinsky, M&O
Smith DBA Program
Paulo Prochno, M&O
Jennifer Marr, M&O
Executive MBA
Rajshree Agarwal, Management & Org
Wendy Sanhai, Management & Org
Masters Programs Office
(FTMBA, FlexMBA, OnlineMBA, MS)
Rosie Ferraro, Marketing
Emanuel Zur, Accounting
Undergraduate Programs
Mary Beth Furst, Marketing
John Bono, DO&IT

2026 staff awards

Staff Awards

Smith Rookie of the Year Award
Jayde Kennedy
Smith Values Award
Mary Wagner
Smith Innovations Award
Talareah Campbell
Ashlee Chicoine
Staff Excellence Award
Kerry Kidwell-Slak
Michele Lintz
Smith Ambassador Award
Summer Robinson
Smith Student Champion Award
Eva Coll
Leean Thomas
Smith Unsung Hero Award
Warren Pointer
Aida Kamizi
Smith Champion for Community Engagement Award
Ricky Schruefer
Smith Collaboration Award
Laith Abueznaid
Laura Benitez

Media Contact

Greg Muraski
Media Relations Manager
301-405-5283  
301-892-0973 Mobile
gmuraski@umd.edu 

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

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