September 2025

The Department of Accounting and Information Systems is celebrating several recent accomplishments. Sean Hillison was promoted to associate professor, recognizing his strong record of teaching, research, and service. In addition, Jacob Shortt has been promoted to associate professor of practice in acknowledgment of his excellence in the classroom and commitment to student success. Nadia Rogers was recently elected as chair of the Virginia Board of Accountancy. This prestigious leadership role highlights her dedication to advancing the profession at the state level while continuing to serve our students and university community.

The department recently hosted the “Why Accounting” event in Burruss Auditorium, featuring a panel of partners and managing directors from the Big Four accounting firms. The panelists provided students valuable perspectives on career paths, shared their professional journeys and experiences, and offered practical advice on building a successful career.

The Blackwood Department of Real Estate is pleased to share recent achievements and updates. Faculty members Kevin Boyle, Hainan Sheng, Sherwood Clements, Tom Mayock, and Dustin Read were published in leading real estate journals. In addition, Read returned from his annual weeklong seminar in France, conducted in partnership with ESDES, the business school of Lyon Catholic University. This year, he brought a group of students to help lead case studies focused on market analysis, underwriting, and building an investment thesis.

Looking ahead, the department is excited to co-host its biannual career event with the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management on Sept. 24–25, and to take a group of students to CRETech in New York City this October, as it continues to prioritize experiential learning. Additionally, the department is pleased to host George Carrillo, deputy chair and professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University, later this semester as part of its Virtual Seminar Series.

The Pamplin community is invited to join us for the first guest speaker event of the semester featuring Kevin Hong, professor of business technology at the Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami. Hong will present his research on workflow automation in open-source software development and its role in accelerating innovation. This event is part of the BIT Research Seminar Series, which highlights leading scholars from across the country who share insights on critical issues in business and technology. All are invited to attend on Friday, Sept. 26, at noon in Pamplin 1045. 

Additionally, we are proud to congratulate the following faculty; Raymond Major on his retirement and the conferral of emeritus status. Idris Adjerid, promoted to professor, Wenqi Shen, promoted to associate professor with tenure, and Dan Simundza, promoted to associate professor of practice. We are also excited to welcome two assistant professors of practice, William “Bill” Abplanalp and Dr. Caleb Bradberry.

In the Finance Department, faculty research continues to shape the field. Felipe Cabezon’s paper, “Leaky Director Networks and Innovation Herding,” was recently published in the Review of Financial Studies. 

Roger Edelen has been promoted to professor of finance. Jesse Lineberry received the James and Ashley Bogart Faculty Fellowship, while Felipe Cabezon earned the 2025 Excellence in Research Award. Will Coleman was recognized with the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award, and Mike Kender was named a 2025 Dean’s Fellow. Among our doctoral students, Sara Easterwood was honored with the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award and has secured a tenure-track position at the University of Arizona—a premier placement.

The latest figures from the dean’s office show that the Finance major is the most in-demand Pamplin major for incoming students. Our graduates achieved a 93 percent placement rate with a mean starting salary of $70,000. Notably, the FinTech major posted the highest median salary across all Pamplin majors.

Over the summer, three MSBA-HTM students attended the 2025 Prosper Forum in Amelia Island, Florida, and embraced this unique opportunity to engage with a community of transformative leaders shaping the future of food service and hospitality. Guided by Adjunct Professor Paul Carolan and Associate Professor Eojina Kim, students immersed themselves in meaningful learning experiences, industry networking, and professional growth. 

Faculty member Nancy McGehee was recently invited to rejoin the board of directors for VIA International, an organization that engages in cultural heritage and social justice initiatives along the border in the San Diego/Baja region. One of their initiatives is GOVia, which offers transformative travel opportunities for a variety of groups and ages. Lastly, the department would like to extend a note of appreciation to Chef David Yanisko who supported students with the Fulbright Summer Institute at Virginia Tech this past summer.

This fall, the Department of Management welcomed 79 students from Xidian University. Faculty will teach at Xidian University (XDU) in China from September through November. On Sept. 8, the Joint Management Committee (VT–XDU) met to continue building long-term strategic collaboration. Over the summer, our faculty had strong representation at the Academy of Management 2025 Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Faculty also celebrated several high-impact research achievements. Kiran Awate co-authored a paper accepted in Organization Science. Rick Hunt co-authored work accepted in Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice. Marla White’s paper was accepted in Human Resource Management. Judy Rady (Ph.D. ’25), David Townsend, Hunt, and David Simpson co-authored a paper forthcoming in Journal of Business Venturing. Trey Lewis, Hunt, Matt Murphy, and Townsend also co-authored a paper accepted in Journal of Business Venturing. In addition, Dan Beal received the Robert McDonald Advancement of Organizational Research Methodology Award from the Academy of Management.

Marketing faculty continue to excel in both their research and conference attendance. Shane Wang and Meng Zhu served as expert panelists at the 2025 American Marketing Association Conference, presenting on “New Data: Opportunities and Challenges” and “Interdisciplinary Research: Marketing Meets Medicine, Public Health, and Law.” Jian Ni, Chris Zobel (BIT), and postdoctoral associate Lecheng Zheng, were jointly awarded the Virginia Tech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, among the first for Pamplin. Dipankar Chakravarti was named a Global Marketing and Retailing Fellow in June 2025. 

Broderick Turner and Shane Wang hosted the third annual Unconference at Academic Building One, bringing together more than 50 scholars. Shreyans Goenka was named Outstanding Reviewer by the Journal of Marketing Research. Joe Sergy’s article in Applied Research in Quality of Life won ISQOLS’ Best Paper Award. 

Donna Wertalik and Christina Daves appeared on WDBJ discussing deepfakes and fashion after 50. “Voices of Privacy” launches Season 2 this fall. Wertalik was also interviewed by CBS Austin on city branding. Steve Matuszak secured five new VEDP/VITAL clients with VEDP funding, giving students cross-course experiential learning opportunities. More details