The COB Bulletin shares news and highlights from the recent success of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Each semester, we send a newsletter highlighting some accomplishments, but this is a more extensive list of accomplishments.

These are just a few of the success stories from fall 2025. To hear more good news, follow us on social media or on our website. If you have any good news, please send it to us. We enjoy sharing the success of our alumni, students, faculty/staff, and community partners.

• Lucas Hayes, Rebecca Gaither, and Izzy Saettele won first prize in the Deloitte Best Practices competition for their creative presentation at the Beta Alpha Psi annual conference; also, the chapter was recognized as ”Gold” status.
• Gamma Iota Sigma officers Amecia Ellis, Madelyn Neel, Mason Smith, & William Van Asche and Insurance faculty member, Ivan Hudson, travelled to the 2025 conference, where our COB chapter was recognized as “Excellent.”
• Many thanks to the Conway Chamber for allowing some of our Student Ambassadors and Girls Who Code Officers to attend the Women in Business ceremony this fall.
• The Girls Who Code chapter has officially impacted over 10,000 Arkansans through its outreach programming, thanks to its participation in the Launch Conway Career Expo! At this high-impact community event, student mentors from UCA introduced hundreds of K–12 students and families to coding, robotics, and technology career pathways.
• The Arkansas Trucking Association’s “Arkansas Trucking Report” (p. 38) magazine recently ran a feature on the 10th anniversary of the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety and Education Program (ACTSEP). UCA’s College of Business was significantly involved in creating ACTSEP, which subsequently provided funding for the Scott E. Bennett Arkansas Highway Commission Endowed Chair in Motor Carrier Management.
• Six FBLA Colliegiate students in our COB competed against over 2,000 from across the nation in business-related events at the FBLA Collegiate National Conference in Dallas, TX the following placed in competition: Kaddie Bailey,  also elected as National Vice President of Development; Laney Bounds; and Melany Valesquez.
• Dr. Leah Boustan, Economic History Program Director at Yale University, was invited by COB’s Arkansas Center for Research in Economics to deliver a public talk entitled “America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success.” She also spoke to classes and networked with students.
• Many thanks to the COB Advisory Board for setting aside a day to spend time with our students and share their expertise with us!
• Faculty and Staff were honored with 2025 Excellence Awards (pictured L to R): Engaged Teaching – Benjamin Garner, Associate Prof. of Marketing; Research – Bob Fang, Associate Prof. of Accounting; Innovative Teaching – Anthony McMullen, Associate Prof. of Business Law; Service – Joe Thomas, Associate Prof. of CISA; Boundary Spanner – Mike Casey, Prof. of Finance; Societal Impact – Connie McKnight, Prof. of Accounting; COB Impact – Jacob Bundrick, Lecturer II of Economics; COB Impact – Harrison Downs, Administrative Assistant.

ACCOUNTING

• Our Beta Alpha Psi chapter received a commendation from the IRS for UCA’s commitment to VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance), led each year by tax professor Ashley Phillips.
• UCA Accounting held the 11th annual Fear the Strike. Eight firms bowled with UCA accounting students: Frost PLLC/Facta, Fair & Company CPAs, HCJ CPAs & Advisors Hudson Cisne, HoganTaylor, Forvis Mazars US, Landmark CPAs, Bell and Company PA, and Rasco Winter Thomas. Team Frost had the highest team score and won the bowling pin trophy. On top of the fun and networking, $1000 will also be donated to Haven Conway.
• UCA’s Theta Lambda Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi was recognized as a Bear CLAWS recipient at the October UCA Board of Trustees meeting. Representing the chapter were Izzy Saettele, vice president of membership, and Lucas Hayes, chapter president.
• Dr. Stephanie Watson provided her expertise twice to WalletHub on the subject of budgeting.
• Dr. Stephanie Watson has performed Continuing Professional Education Opportunities for schools across Arkansas this semester.

COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS & ANALYTICS (CISA)

• Susan Shaw of Conway, Arkansas, was recently awarded a Love of Learning Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Shaw, a doctoral candidate at Marymount University and lecturer, will use the funds from the award to travel to the Academy of Management Annual Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Instructor Susan Shaw presented at the DSI Conference in Orlando and participated in the Best Student Paper Award Showcase.
• Dr. Saif Bhuiyan had three papers published, authored with his COB colleagues.
  • Bhuiyan, S., & McKinzie, K. (2025). Engagement and satisfaction in OS software development: The impact of job characteristics. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 27(3), 64-90.
  • Bhuiyan, S., Lyons, L., & Thomas, J. (2025). The role of fairness in retaining open source software contributors: An organizational justice framework for platform engagement. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 27(5), 100-123.
  • Julies, M., Bhuiyan, S., & McMurtrey, M. (In Press). Hotel Supply Chain: Enhancing Operational Efficiency, Sustainability, and Resilience. The Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, 20(4).

ECONOMICS, FINANCE, and INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT (EFIRM)

• The EFIRM Department launched a new minor program, Economics and Insurance of Healthcare Administration, to help students understand the business of wellness.
• The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame held its annual induction banquet on campus on October 16. Six Arkansans were inducted, and five scholarships were awarded to UCA insurance students.
• The UCA Finance Club was established this semester under the leadership of Sarah Campbell. Its first meetings invited speakers including Chris McClanahan, Head of IB Recruiting; Anna Grace Mills, Associate in the Financial Institutions Group and Head of IB analyst program; and Evelyn Griffith, UCA grad and Associate in Private Wealth Management.
• Internships are an important way to get experience before graduation. Just ask junior insurance major Madelyn Neel! Check out this UCA Career Services video where Madelyn shares about her internship at Berkley Southwest and the ways she’s gaining experience.
• Insurance major Connor Black received a $1,000 scholarship from PIA. PIA is the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Arkansas. PIA is on campus a couple of times each academic year hosting The Forum, in partnership with UCA’s Gamma Iota Sigma (the insurance student club). The goal of the forum is to maximize networking opportunities and career readiness for students, especially students that have chosen Insurance & Risk Management as major or minor. This is a campus-facing event, and industry professionals will also be in attendance.
• Encore Banks’s Erin Simpson shared expertise with Dr. Huiqiong Duan’s Money and Banking class.
• Dr. Mavuto Kalulu published a journal article with economics major David Tooley. The paper is titled, “Ethics Committees and Corruption: Do Ethics Committees Reduce Corruption Cases within State Legislatures?” When faculty coauthor with students, the faculty give these students valuable experience and increase the students’ chances of getting into graduate school.
• Ivan Hudson, Director of the UCA Center for Insurance, was recently sworn in as the Treasurer for the Arkansas Association of Realtist, the local Board of National Association of Real Estate Brokers. Ivan has been a member of NAREB for about 8 years.
• Students in our insurance program had the opportunity to hear guest speakers from one of the fastest-growing independent agencies and companies in the Inc 5000. G&G Independent Insurance guest speakers, Zane Harrod and Luke Koenigseder, shared some incredible insights on the industry, gave an account of a day in the life of an independent insurance agent, and explained why their organization is poised for growth. It wasn’t just the classroom presentations that impressed, but the conversations that continued afterwards. They are committed to investing in the next generation of insurance and risk management talent.
• Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl is busy as always making everyday economics more accessible for scholars and citizens. Here are a few of his publications in the news, on blogs, and on social media.
  • Wherever You Set Them Americans Are Moving Up (And The “Valley of Death” is Less Important Than You Think)
  • The Return of Data
  • The Supreme Court Case on Trump’s Tariffs
  • The Growth of Family Income Isn’t Primarily Explained by the Rise of Dual-Income Families
  • The Toyota Camry is Much More Affordable Than 30 Years Ago
• Dr. Stephen Yao also contributed his expertise to WalletHub.
• Justin Long, CFO of Restaurants at FoxDen Capital, spoke to Sarah Campbell’s Student Managed Investment Fund class on October 27. With a 14-year career as a Research Analyst at Stephens before he joined the private equity firm FoxDen Capital, Justin brought a wealth of insight into evaluating investment ideas and opportunities.
• Granger Davis from Edward Jones put his whiteboard skills to the test for Sarah Campbell’s Student Managed Investment Fund class. Bringing decades of experience advising clients on investing for their futures, Granger provided a terrific perspective on how to bring finance skills to bear on behalf of clients.
• Representative David Ray had a discussion with Thomas Snyder’s Law/Econ class.  He talked about the job of a legislator, the role of government, lawmaking, and economic policy.
• Justice Rhonda Wood from the Arkansas Supreme Court talked to Dr. Snyder’s Law and Economics class, sharing about recent relevant cases.
• Dr. Snyder Thomas invited David Friedman to talk (via zoom) to his Law and Economics Class. David Friedman has had a distinguished career, including authoring the textbook used in Dr. Snyder’s class (“Law’s Order”).  During class, David Friedman talked about “Legal Systems Very Different from Ours,” which is the title of another book he wrote.
• Sarah Campbell invited Jay Strickland from Legacy Capital talk to her Student Managed Investment Fund class. Jay gave a wide-ranging talk that touched on how to build a portfolio and how to manage clients’ biases. Jay is a UCA alum, and we were thrilled to have him back.
• Dr. Horpedahl spoke to students at Samford University in Alabama on September 18th, discussing trends in the wealth of recent generations and previewing some of the results that will appear in his book on that topic. He was hosted by Samford professors Art Carden and Joy Buchanan.
• Dr. Collin Hodges’ research was published, “Prescription opioid spillovers: Retail pharmacy level analysis,” in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.
•  Alumni Ryder Pierce is an investment manager for the Bank of the Ozarks and was recently included on Arkansas’s prestigious 40 under 40 list.

MARKETING & MANAGEMENT (M&M)

• As this fall’s Allison Entrepreneurship Series Speaker, Jakob Michaelis, a partner at Dave Creek Media, shared lunch and his extensive experience identifying timely solutions, including a new app, with students and faculty.
• Dr. Benjamin Garner led a new “Speed Selling” event this semester involving 10 companies and 24 marketing and sales students. Each student completed 3-4 interviews and received feedback on their performance from potential employers. Huge success – connections were made; internships and jobs discussed. See a video of the event.
• The Introduction to Business (BUAD 1300) students gave presentations this semester, and the top 7 groups presented in front of a full auditorium. Professor Ben Britton got a shout-out by the group presenting on Best Buy. Professor Tracy Suter got shout out by the group presenting on Amazon. Joe Cangelosi advised the group that reasearched Fedex.
• Undergraduate students, Oluwadamilola Osundolire (Economics) and Robert Walker (Finance), mentored by Dr. Alex Chen presented their artificial intelligence research at the DSI conference in Orlando, FL. Dr. Ming Li also presented her research.
• Dr. McKenzie’s Project Management class completes service-learning projects each semester. One of those projects included a group of students who organized a clean-up of the Stone Dam Creek to assist in preserving the natural beauty of the UCA campus.
• Drs. Jamila Maxie, Ben Britton, David McCalman, and Tracy Suter had their case study about Rhea Lana’s Children’s Consignment conditionally accepted for academic journal publication.  This was part of a strategic effort to tie the John W. Allison Entrepreneurial Speaker Series to clearer, longer-term teaching and research outcomes by showcasing and highlighting local firms in global outlets.
• Our Conway-area 75Strong group met with our local coalition at the Conway Chamber to build out an even stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem locally and statewide.
• Conductor hosted a widely attended series of workshops throughout the semester, including a student pitch competition. Local CPAs Zee Barfoote and Austin Malone discussed handling a startup’s early finances in their Conductor session called “Your Startup’s First CFO: YOU!” as part of the Conductor series.
• Dr. Steve Schlachter’s class, MGMT 3346 Strategic Human Resource Management, hosted guest speaker Moriah Bruner, Manager of Health and Well-Being at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
• Kaddie Bailey was honored with the Postsecondary ACTE Region IV Outstanding Business Student Award, issued by Association of Career and Technical Education. The Postsecondary ACTE Outstanding Business Student Award recognizes outstanding business students at the postsecondary level. To be eligible, students must be nominated by a member of the Business Education Division of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and must demonstrate leadership potential through business courses and involvement in career and technical student organizations. The award is designed to honor five postsecondary students from each region, including Region IV, who have made significant contributions to their field.
• A few years ago, Dr. Garner created a Content Marketing course at UCA to help students blend creativity, storytelling, and strategy in today’s digital landscape. As part of the class, students completed service-learning projects with Arkansas TV and other Central Arkansas organizations — gaining real-world experience while giving back. His research on the process was just published in Industry and Higher Education (2025).
• The Bears Advancing Supply Chain and Operations Management (BASCOM) club invited several guest speakers this semester, including J.B. Hunt’s Jasmine John — Early Career Recruiter, Corporate; Bryan Epperson — Capacity Procurement Representative; and student Brody Patterson — Integrated Capacity Solutions Intern.
• Dr. Tracy Suter was invited to join the Editorial Review Board of the Business Case Journal. It is one of three journals affiliated with the Society for Case Research.

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

• Dr. Mark McMurtrey was honored this evening as an MVP, most valuable professor, for his impact on UCA’s student-athletes. He was nominated by Sugar Bear Samantha Cousins, who attends Dr. McMurtrey’s MBA Operations & Supply Chain Management course this semester.

It’s nearly impossible to highlight all the wonderful accomplishments of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff. If we missed yours, please let us know!