USF names new Muma College of Business dean

The University of South Florida announced the appointment of David Blackwell as the new Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business. Blackwell comes to USF after serving as associate dean for professional graduate programs at the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics. Read more→

USF's online MBA program is among the best in the nation, according to Fortune's 2024 Best Online MBA Programs rankings. USF is No. 9 among public and private universities and is No. 1 in Florida.

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Congratulations to Jennifer Cainas for receiving the famed 2024 J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize for undergraduate teaching from the American Accounting Association.

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USF conferred over 7,000 degrees during the 2024 spring commencement ceremonies. Eighteen business undergraduates were named King O'Neal Scholars with a 4.0 GPA. Watch a photo slideshow.



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Forecasts of an active 2024 hurricane season won't drive up insurance costs, says Randy Dumm, director of The Baldwin Group School of Risk Management and Insurance. The hurricane season starts June 1.

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As Cole Eicher prepares to graduate, he's also celebrating another milestone: 10 years of being cancer free. He has not only recovered, the marketing major is a national advocate for children with cancer.



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ReliaQuest CEO and founder Brian Murphy talked being "digitally skeptical" at the Conversation with a CEO event. Murphy shared that his least favorite four-letter word is "wait" as well as other words of wisdom.

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After expanding onto the USF St. Petersburg campus in fall 2021, the Business Honors Program saw the first member of its inaugural cohort graduate this spring.

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Aramark and the USF School of Hospitality and Tourism Management partnered to help students launch careers, resulting in a 100% job placement rate.

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Student spotlight: Finance major Kande DaCosta pursued her passion for adventure by studying abroad in Florence, Italy during her junior year.

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USF finance majors Gabriel Mocelin and Linh Nguyen received the 2024 Dean's Advisory Board Leadership Award from the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance.

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More than 300 USF students have graduated from the ReliaQuest Labs program, with another 44 completing the latest program. The labs prepare students and help fill crucial cyber security jobs.

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Student spotlight: Juggling a full-time job with college, Amber Baylis incorporates classroom lessons in real time by using them in her job as a food and beverage manager at the Don Cesar.

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Faculty Spotlights

Cihan Cobanoglu, dean of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Angad Dang, an assistant instructor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, received the Best Presentation Award at the 5th Managing Tourism Across Continents conference in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mike Mondello, an associate program director of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management program, was a guest on the Million Dollar Stories with Mike Fallat podcast.

Brooke Hansen, an associate professor of instruction in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, is quoted in the Hospitality Net story “Waste Not, Want Not: Food as a Major Sustainability Lever?”

Stacee Bender, the assistant director for specialized master’s and doctoral programs, received the 2023-2024 Above and Beyond Award at the annual Muma Staff Awards. 

Wendy Jennings, the office manager in the School of Marketing and Innovation, received the 2023-2024 Consistent Quality Award at the annual Muma Staff Awards. 

Jose Soto, the office manager in the office of undergraduate programs, received the 2023-2024 Organizational Wellbeing Award.

Alumni Updates

Brianna Ellis (‘07, BS, Accounting) was promoted to chief financial officer at Ram Realty Advisors. 

Brian Chucri (‘21, BS, Finance) earned the Certified Financial Planner designation. 

James ‘JC’ Milam (‘04, BS, Marketing, ‘19, MA, Energy Sustainability and Entrepreneurship) was appointed the director of compliance for Prevalon Energy. 

Vel Davidov (‘03, MBA) is the executive vice president and chief financial officer at PSCU/Co-op Solutions.

Yiyang Zhang (18, PhD, Accounting) holds the Lariccia Family Endowed Professorship at the Youngstown State University.

Craig Van Slyke (‘98, PhD) headlined the 17th annual William Ardis Marbury, Jr. and Virginia Lomax Marbury Lecture Series at Louisiana Tech University.

Yogesh Chatulani (‘13, BS, Information Systems and Decision Sciences) is a senior business analysis manager at T-Mobile. He is a former USF Muma College of Business 25 Under 25 Award honoree.

Jessica Deleanides (‘15, MBA) is a senior solution architect at Stoneridge Software.