From the Desk of Dean Sarker

Hello Pamplin,

We’re just 12 days away from Giving Day, which begins at noon on Wednesday, February 21, and runs through noon Thursday, February 22.

As you know, Giving Day is a special, once-a-year opportunity for our Hokie Nation to come together to support the University’s initiatives and priorities. Last year, our Pamplin community demonstrated their generous, enthusiastic, and record-breaking support that advanced our departments, programs, and initiatives, and made possible numerous scholarships for students.

A large part of this success was the participation of our Giving Day Ambassadors who energized their friends and family networks on behalf of the Pamplin College of Business. 

The Ambassador Program is the heart of Giving Day. By signing up at givingday.vt.edu to be a Pamplin Ambassador, you’ll be provided with an Ambassador Toolkit that contains sample social media language and images you can post, as well as email text to help you spread the word.  Please be sure to check “Pamplin” in the affiliation drop down menu on the site. This will ensure that your effort will benefit the College and will make you eligible for special incentives - Last year, we received 1,382 gifts from 219 Ambassadors. This year we’re setting a goal of 275 members of our community to step up and join the program.

Another powerful feature of Giving Day is that you can select specific areas where you want your support to go. There are 33 choices representing the breadth of our college’s academic and experiential learning programs, centers, entities, and initiatives. You get to select the ones you feel most passionate about.

Giving Day is a great way to show your appreciation for the contribution Pamplin has made in helping you reach your professional and personal goals - to ensure that Pamplin continues to provide similar opportunities to the next generation of business leaders. Please mark your calendars and join the fun. 

Announcements

Pamplin named a recipient of the Insight Into Diversity Magazine 2024 Inspiring Programs in Business award

Virginia Tech Pamplin School of Business has been named a recipient of the Insight Into Diversity magazine 2024 Inspiring Programs in Business Award. This award honors business schools that encourage and support outstanding programs that encourage, support, and give opportunities to underrepresented students interest in a career in business.  Each winner will be included in the April 2024 Business School issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

ICTAS Diversity and Inclusion Research Grants

The objective of this program is to build direct faculty-to-faculty research partnerships between faculty at Virginia Tech and faculty at HBCUs or MSIs. Faculty will self-identify partnerships based on their specific research areas. ICTAS will offer up to $10,000 per year for two years to support the faculty partnership, with up to 10 partnerships funded. Requirements for accepting the funding include presenting your project at the following year’s HBCU-MSI Summit (typically held in the middle of October) and participating in related, on-going diversity work and activities through ICTAS. One award will be jointly sponsored by ICTAS and the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT); submissions designated for this award must include a significant art and/or design component. This award will be funded at $20,000 per year for two years and will carry additional responsibilities. A PDF version of funding opportunities is here: https://ictas.vt.edu/content/dam/ictas_vt_edu/fundingdocuments/fy24/FY24_rfo_table_013124.pdf

2024 Pamplin Awards

The Pamplin Society is facilitating the 2024 Pamplin Awards, and we encourage you to nominate an individual or corporate partner you think is deserving of recognition by Pamplin and its fellow alumni, students, and faculty. The awards were created to recognize alumni and corporate engagement and contributions to Pamplin and our students.

The following awards invite nominations which will then be reviewed by Dean Saonee Sarker for final selection:

  • Rising Alumni Award – alumni within the last 10 years who have achieved distinguished recognition in their career and rendered service to Pamplin and/or Virginia Tech since graduation.
  • Mentoring Award – a distinguished alumnus who consistently embodies the spirit of mentorship of Pamplin students and/or graduates and those in their local community.
  • Ut Prosim Award – a distinguished alumnus who has rendered service to the community and demonstrated a proven track record in the spirit of Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).
  • Corporate Ambassador Award – recipient is a company that has demonstrated ongoing support of Pamplin’s mission and its students.

The nominations will remain open through March 1, and we need your help! Please take a moment to review and share the call for nominations and this exciting opportunity to recognize efforts that are making a difference for Pamplin and our students. Additional information and the nomination form can be found here.

Management Retreat

The Department of Management's recent retreat ignited their journey into 2024, emphasizing development, continuous improvement, and team collaboration. This year's agenda centered around our strategic plan, insightful workshops on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), and enriching discussions on academic integrity.

Agenda Recap:

  • Pamplin Overview and Department Updates: Dean Saonee Sarker, Devi Gnyawali, and Ron Poff guided us through the latest updates and insights.
  • Department Strategic Roadmap: Cindy Devers & Dirk Buengel led discussions on our Departmental Value Proposition and Strategic Road Map, highlighting our commitment to strategic planning and development.
  • DEIB & the Academic Community Workshop: Michele Deramo facilitated 'Inclusive VT', a workshop focusing on fostering inclusivity within our academic community.
  • Academic Integrity Workshop: Brianne Merchant led an insightful discussion on academic integrity.

Throughout the day, the department immersed itself in discussions, shared perspectives, and refined skills to cultivate a more inclusive and supportive environment, both within their department and beyond. #onepamplin

Congratulations to the Pamplin FYE - Students and their Foundations of Business (MGT1104) Projects

Student Teams raised $27,400 in support of the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) 

  • Business Plans were designed, evaluated, and implemented for CVC - Pamplin College of Business - semester long project. 
  • 1200+ First Year Experience Students
  • 19 Sections of Course, 11 MGT faculty members
  • 235+ Teams
  • Learning outcomes included ideation, entrepreneurship, business plans, team building, project management and reflection, Ut Prosim, leadership and much more. 

This was a record-breaking semester. Previous semesters were:

  • 2017: $8,000
  • 2018: $15,000
  • 2019: $23,000

Employee Spotlight

Each employee below has been submitted for this recognition by their colleagues. 

Zhang

DEIB in the Community – Kudos to Janice Branch Hall for providing the keynote address for the Star City Teen Apprenticeship Program graduation.

Dr. Janice Branch Hall, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), served as the keynote speaker for the Star City Teen Apprenticeship Program in December.  Created to prevent, intervene, and mitigate youth violence in the City of Roanoke, the Star City Teen Apprenticeship Program engages teens 14-18 years old through work with Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma (RESET) to gain practical skills and job experience. Once they complete the apprenticeship program, an opportunity to become a city worker is presented.  The sixth cohort of the Teen Apprenticeship Program graduation took place on Dec. 14 in the Berglund Performing Arts Center.  Approximately 50 youth have graduated from the program since its inception two years ago. View the article here - https://theroanoketribune.org/local-teens-celebrated-at-apprenticeship-program-graduation/

Zhang

Juan Luis Nicolau, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Professor of Revenue Management in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, has been honored with the Career Award for Academic Excellence in Tourism Research by the University of Alicante, Spain.

This recognition highlights his substantial contributions to the field of tourism research. During the ceremony, Professor Nicolau delivered a presentation titled "Tourist: Share Your Online Reviews, Free from Bias," where he shared his latest findings on the peculiarities arising from cognitive biases observed in online reviews. Furthermore, the President of the University of Alicante and the Dean of its College of Economics and Business expressed their appreciation for Professor Nicolau's prior role as the dean of the college before his tenure at Virginia Tech.

Zhang

Congratulations to Caleb Hash for placing 6th in the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) in Orlando.

Caleb Hash, a Marketing student and member of the Virginia Tech Sales Competition Team, deserves congratulations for placing 6th out of approximately 200 competitors in the Speed Sell portion of the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) held in Orlando, Florida. The competition was created by Florida State University and had competitors from over 80 universities.  Congratulations Caleb! Also, kudos to Rajesh, Brian, and Mark for a great program!

Zhang

Big Shoutout to Christina Winkeler, Administrative Assistant for the Dean’s Office!

Shortly after Christina started with us, in August 2023, she took on the role as Building Emergency Coordinator and has done an EXCEPTIONAL job.  Christina has thoroughly updated our Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan which has been a very detailed process.  Everyone should feel very confident having Christina manage this very important operation.

We encourage everyone to participate in future trainings that will be announced soon.

Thank you for all your hard work, Christina.  We are so happy you are part of our Pamplin team!

Submit staff and faculty for upcoming issues here: Tracidb1@vt.edu

Upcoming Events

“You Don’t Belong Here” zoom session happening today!

February 9 from 3:00-4:30pm. There is a QR code to register on the photo or you may use this link: https://forms.gle/LV9wVwcs7Vxp8z779

This session centers around an embodied case study depicting one woman’s reflections on her experiences of higher education and her interactions with a range of systems that sent a persistent message that she did not belong. Through the session activities, participants will consider how these messages manifest and why they continue to occur despite the extensive labor of individuals sincerely committed to advancing equity. 

You are invited to the Women of Pamplin Luncheon!

Open to all faculty and staff within Blacksburg and Falls Church Campuses Wednesday, March 20 from 11:45- 1:30 PM. Drop in anytime! Inclusive to all women who self-identify! This event will be hosted by DEIB at the Inn at Virginia Tech in Lathan Ballroom & Falls Church Campus Room T3. Please RSVP by March 5.

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee of Staff Senate presents our Spring 2024 speaker series: Making It Work for Everyone.

The series will feature topics important to staff, related to: fairness at work, dealing with and resolving conflict, opposing discrimination, effective and compassionate communication, and building collaboration. Detailed information on our spring series is included on the photo. VT staff members can register for the spring speaker series at the following link: https://virginiatech.questionpro.com/t/AVkvpZ1O8f. Zoom details will be shared with respondents upon completion of registration.

For more events, check out https://pamplin.vt.edu/events.html