Recognizing Excellence at UIC Liautaud

Over the past academic year, UIC Liautaud students have not only worked hard in the classroom – they have also spent nearly countless hours contributing to the Liautaud community and the Chicago community as a whole.  At the second annual UIC Liautaud Recognizing Excellence event last Friday, we honored and recognized our students for the impact they have made.  We acknowledged the recognition they have received at the University level for their community outreach, celebrated the achievements of our students who participated in regional and national competitions, honored our Liautaud scholars, thanked our student ambassadors and peer mentors, and revealed the winners of three peer-nominated Liautaud awards – the Leadership Award, Innovation Award, and Community Impact Award.  Please read on to learn more about the various honors our students received, and click here to see the event brochure, which contains a full list of all students nominated and recognized in the various categories.

Academic Honors
Two academic honors were identified.  Beta Gamma Sigma inductees were for students in the top 20% of their overall class in the business programs (MBA and MSA) that were invited to join the academic honor society Beta Gamma Sigma.  Liautaud Scholars are students who were awarded scholarships upon admission to our programs, due to their academic credentials and accomplishments prior to enrolling at UIC Liautaud.

Student Competitions
Throughout the year, a number of students have represented Liautaud in a variety of competitions, and many have brought back honors and awards. The Concept2Venture / Technology Ventures Program had seven teams with Liautaud students participate in the Concept 2 Venture business plan competition this year.  Three teams have represented Liautaud at other competitions. EverFile Systems won 2^nd place at C2V, the University of Cincinnati, San Diego State, the University of Louisville and 7^th place and Outstanding IT Award at Rice University. ThirtyFiveK (Radeant Tech) won first place and the Clean & Green Award at C2V and 4^th place at Kennesaw State University. Aquafarm Bioguard competed at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Students in the Master of Real Estate program participated in the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Midwest Real Estate Challenge. Students from the Management Information Systems program received awards in two different competitions. A team finished in third place in Strategic Use of IT (SUIT) Showdown Case Competition at the University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Management. Liautaud students won first, second and third place in an SAP Student Design Thinking Jam in Milwaukee.

Chancellor’s Student Service Awards
Each year Chancellor Paula Allen Meares recognizes campus-wide student service that benefits UIC and the community. The CSSA awards honor about 300 students each year.  This year UIC Liautaud Recipients of the Chancellor’s Student Service Award for Volunteer Service include Wen-Han (Vance) Chen, Elizabeth Holly, Catherine Jefcoat, Landon Kelly, Andrew McCoy, Chiranjiv Mukerji, Laila Nabhan, Lucia Skultetyova, Bogdan Zavorotny and Danni Zheng.

The three UIC Liautaud students were nominated for the Eugertha Bates Memorial Award and President’s Volunteer Service Award were Lucia Skultetyova, Wen-Han Chan and Danni Zheng.

UIC Liautaud Community Service
Community service has become a strong focus of the student organizations at UIC Liautaud.  This year, students from various groups

• Prepared 11 meals at shelters and community centers for the homeless and hungry
• The MBAA’s largest social event of the year was a fundraiser that raised $2700 for The Night Ministry, an organization that provides housing, health care and human   connection to those struggling with poverty or homelessness.
• Voluntary student consulting teams developed an IT security plan for The Night Ministry and a business plan for the Community Media Workshop.
• Students prepared food supplies for home delivery at a neighborhood pantry
• They participated in a run/walk to benefit a no-kill animal shelter
• A group of MSA students helped low-income families prepare their tax returns through the Center for Economic Progress.
• Throughout the year, Liautaud students contributed more than 1000 hours to community service.
• To recognize this commitment, the students have identified three levels of involvement reflected in their work.

Leader Volunteers: 10 students whose volunteer work exceeded 30 hours over the course of the year. These students include Zhe Du, Andrew Hastie, Elizabeth Holly, Rui Jiang, Laila Nabhan, Nilay Shah, Lucia Skultetyova, Yuan Tian, Cai Zhao, and Danni Zheng.

Builder Volunteers: 18 students who contributed more than 15 hours over the course of the year.  These students include Vicky Cambray, Xi Chen, Brittany Chibe, Yiwen Dong, Flor Fernandez, Shihui Ge, Catherine Gildea, Soon Oh Kwon, Lu Lu, Chiranjiv Mukerji, Jason Settle, Jun Wang, Jikai Wu, Jianhua Zhang, Qianchen Zhang, Wei Zhang, Xinyuan Zhao, and Wan Zhu.

Student Ambassadors
Twenty two students as UIC Liautaud Student Ambassadors  have assisted the Liautaud Program Office by participating in recruiting events, attending orientation and new student outreach events, and promoting the opportunities at Liautaud to prospective and current students. In the 2011-2012 year, the MBAA developed a Peer Mentoring program.  This year 18 students volunteered to be Peer Mentors.   These students, typically in their second year or later of the program, volunteered to assist new students in the transition to being a graduate business student.

Favorite Faculty Winners
UIC Liautaud Favorite Faculty Winners – Every year, Liautaud students vote to recognize their favorite faculty members by program.  This year’s winners were recognized at our annual faculty appreciation luncheon.

Favorite MBA Professor: Maija Renko
Favorite MIS Professor: Yann Tiesun Chang
Favorite MSA Professor: Yehia Salama
Faculty Award for Excellence in Support of UIC Liautaud: Ranganathan Chandrasekaran

UIC Liautaud Peer-Nominated Awards
Students nominated their peers for the following awards, and the honorees were selected by a committee of current students (excluding any nominees), alumni, and staff.

Liautaud Leadership Award:  Honors a Liautaud student who has demonstrated leadership in one or more campus and/or student developed project(s) and/or student organizations leading to the success of the initiative or organization.

2012-2013 Recipients: Chiranjiv Mukerji and Laila Nabhan

As one of the most visible student leaders, Chiranjiv has done an outstanding job of promoting student engagement and involvement at Liautaud.  He has continually supported student organization events by promoting them via blog and social media.  As a GMARK board member, he developed a weekly jobs digest that provides full time and internship job postings to share with GMARK members.  He is also a peer mentor and led the MBA Association in its successful fundraiser on behalf of The Night Ministry.

Laila consistently goes above and beyond to make the student organization experience as fulfilling as possible for all involved.  She is always accessible to her peers and acts as an ambassador to the program in both formal and informal settings.  She takes pride in being a Liautaud student and represents us well.  She led GMARK to a whole new level this year by utilizing her network to bring outstanding guest speakers to GMARK events.  Her leadership continues to improve the Liautaud experience for her peers.

Community Impact Award: Honors a Liautaud student who has made an outstanding contribution to the wider community by dedicating a significant amount of time, effort and creativity to one or more community service project(s) or organization(s). The honoree’s volunteer activities in a community setting demonstrate an outstanding level of caring, dedication and selfless commitment to others.

2012-2012 Recipient: Lucia Skultetyova

Lucy has organized several community events throughout the year and did an excellent job facilitating these activities.  She did such an outstanding job promoting these community service events that often, there were more volunteers than could be accommodated.  She has great passion and organizational skills and has inspired her peers to give back to the community through volunteer work.

Liautaud Innovation Award: Honors a Liautaud student whose contribution has led to the creation of a new project, new program, or new service to address a need in the University or Liautaud community. For example, working with a department and its professors to develop a new course based on student interests.

2012-2013 Recipient: Catherine Jefcoat

Catherine spearheaded a new and innovative pilot program at UIC Liautaud called “InKIND Consulting,” enabling student teams to work with non-profits on a given issue to better understand and help solve a strategic issue or growth opportunity.  InKIND allowed students to use their MBA skills outside of the classroom and to develop consulting skills while also making a social impact.  By sharing her connections in and passion for the non-profit sector, she has enriched the Liautaud community.

Master of Science in Accounting Leadership Award: Honors a Liautaud MSA student who has demonstrated leadership among peers in the Master of Science in Accounting Program.

2012-2013 Recipients: Marco Carriero and Farrah Malik

Marco Carriero revitalized the MSA Association, beginning in the spring of 2012.  Through his leadership the club significantly increased membership, presented a number of career-oriented events and engaged students to network and become involved in student activities.  Marco has been a champion of the MSA program and a supporter of students enrolled.

Farrah Malik took the helm of the Accounting Club as she completed her undergraduate study in spring 2012.  Through her leadership, this year’s Accounting Club banquet attracted 220 attendees, and was the largest of these major events in the history of the club.  In addition, she led the club in developing its first video promoting the importance of networking for accounting students.

Master of Science in Management Information Systems Leadership Award: Honors a Liautaud MIS student who has demonstrated leadership among peers in the Master of Science in Management Information Systems Program.

2012-2013 Recipient: Aswin Thiyagarajan

Aswin graduated in December, 2012, and is working in Arlington, VA as Associate Professional Services Engineer at Opower.  While at UIC Liautaud, he served as vice president of INFORMS, and in that role he helped recruit new students and advised them once enrolled on course selection and career options.  He was instrumental in bringing companies to campus for information sessions and to interview students, and he participated in several inter-college case competitions.

The UIC Liautaud Office would like to thank all of our students for their involvement and engagement throughout the 2012-2013 academic year.  Your involvement makes a difference and you are appreciated!