Sienabusiness

REPORT
A MAGAZINE FOR SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ALUMNI AND FRIENDS • WINTER 2011

New
Business
Incubator
Announced

SIENAcollege
 Big Dreams for Haiti
page 10

2
 SIENA COLLEGE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE
WINTER 2011

6 A Business Incubator Ignited

10 Big Dreams for Haiti

11 New Dean Appointed

13 Professor Awarded Fullbright

Siena Business Report Winter 2011

Published by Siena College
515 Loudon Road
Loudonville, NY 12211-1462
Office of Strategic Communications and Integrated Marketing
Delcy Fox, Director
Editor
Jim Eaton, Associate Director of Communications
Contributing Writer
Jodi Ackerman Frank
Photographers
Kris Qua
Sergio Sericolo
Design and Production
Panarama Design

ON THE COVER

Mike Hickey ’83, executive-in-residence, addresses the media at a press conference announcing
the launch of Siena’s Business Incubator. The full story is on page 6.
 New Dean Already
Bleeding Green and Gold
The word
“pride” has
taken on a
whole new
meaning
for me since
my arrival at
Siena College.
Recently six very prominent
alumni came to campus to speak
with students; one as part of the
School of Business Lecture Series
and five as part of the 21st Century
Leaders Club Alumni Speakers
Panel. I listened to their stories
about the transformative effect Siena
has had on their careers and lives
and then watched them interact
4 one-on-one with our current
students, offering mentoring advice
and encouraging them to stay in
touch. Pride in action.
In October I attended the Capital
Region CFO of the Year Awards
where five of the 14 finalists,
including two of the five winners,
are Siena alumni. The ballroom
was packed with a who’s who of
business leaders but the story all
CHERYL BUFF, CHARLES SEIFERT, Raymond Van Ness and Kimberly Melinski published “Work Ethic: Do New
Employees Mean New Work Values?” in Journal Of Managerial Issues 22 (2010): 10-34. MELINDA COSTELLO
and PENELOPE BRUNNER published “And We Wonder Why Progress is so Slow ...” in the Journal of Business
Cases and Applications (2009): 35-40.
afternoon, both at the podium
and in conversation, was Siena.
Congratulations to finalists Richard
Marini ’74, Virginia Arbour ’83,
Keith Abatto ’93 and winners John
Endres ’76 and David DeLuca ’74.
Pride in achievement.
One of our most distinguished
alums, Mike Hickey ’83, has joined
the School of Business as our first-
ever Executive-in-Residence. Mike
enjoyed a long successful career at
MapInfo, where he rose to CEO,
and later at Pitney Bowes Business
Insight where he also served as
CEO. We are thrilled to have him
join us once again, but in a different
capacity. His story, told on these
pages, is one of which we are truly
proud. Pride in contribution.
Also within these pages is the
story of our new business incubator,
which Mike will be overseeing.
The impetus behind this initiative
was another alumnus, Todd
Drowlette ’03. As I’m learning This academic year Siena is
is the story with many of our hosting thee students from Haiti
alumni, Todd simply wanted to who are completing their degree
give back to Siena and provide requirements after their own
our students with the kind of institution was damaged in the
opportunity he was provided. earthquake in January 2010. I know
The incubator will provide that their stories and dreams to
unparalleled hands-on learning return to Haiti and create a better
opportunities for our students. world for their communities will
Pride in support. move you as it continues to move all
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

of us working with them. Pride in
the Franciscan tradition.
Finally, I would be remiss to
acknowledge my predecessor, Jim
Nolan ’75, and his kindness and
generosity in easing my transition
into his former role. His love for
Siena runs as deep as that of anyone
I know. He has been and continues
to be a model of courage and
5
inspiration for all of us as he
recovers from his accident.
Pride in spirit. “ There is truly
In coming issues you’ll be reading
about other initiatives in various no pride
stages of development. I welcome
your input and participation as we like Siena pride!”
proudly move forward. There is
Jeff Mello, Ph.D.
truly no pride like Siena pride!
Dean, School of Business
Go Saints!

RAJ DEVASAGAYAM, JASON SCHARF ’09 and R. Srivastava published “Ageism in Service Encounters: A Cross-Cultural Study” In Synergy
(2010). JOHN DEJOY and Donald Furman published “Before and After Bernie: Ponzi Regulation or Lack Thereof?” in the International Re-
view of Business Research Papers 5: 63-71 (2009).
 A Business Incubator Ignited
Siena launches incubator with devoted alumni and engaged students

W
ith a couple of executives devoted to their
alma mater, an up-and-running startup, and
more than two dozen students, alumni, and
other business professionals leading the new venture,
Siena launched its Business Incubator program this fall.
“The incubator is already president of Pitney Bowes Business and Pat Gray ’03. The free online
providing students the opportunity Insight who heads the incubator’s site with no restricted areas, allows
to gain real-world business day-to-day operations. individuals and companies to post
experience by working alongside The company that Hickey and search commercial properties
executives and making decisions that referred to is the incubator’s first for sale or lease, homes for sale,
impact the day-to-day productivity tenant, MoveThatBlock.com, apartments for rent, vacation rentals
and overall success of a company,” founded earlier this year by two and job and internship opportunities
said Michael Hickey ’83, former Siena alumni, Todd Drowlette ’03 nationwide.

Left to right: Matthew

Narolewski ’11,
Todd Drowlette ’03,
Jeffrey Mello,
Fr. Kevin Mullen ’75,
O.F.M., Ph.D. and
Mike Hickey ’83
played key roles in
getting the business
incubator started
on campus.

MARGARET GARNSEY, SUNITA GOEL, Ingrid Fisher and Kinsun Tam published “The Role of Text Analytics and
Information Retrieval in the Accounting Domain” in the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting 7 (2010).
ERIC GIRARD, Amit Sinha, and Rita Biswas published “The Efficacy of Conditional Cost of Carry Models” in
Review of Futures Markets (2010).

Multidisciplinary and
Academically Focused
“In a nutshell, the Siena College
Business Incubator is a
multidisciplinary program that
offers hands-on learning
opportunities, drawing strength
from the College’s strong academic
programs in business, liberal arts
and the sciences,” said Jeffrey Mello,
dean of the School of Business.
“Our incubator is unique because
it is first and foremost an academic
initiative,” he said. “The School of
Business is housing and supporting
the incubator, but it is open to
students from all schools and
departments.”
Efforts to grow the incubator
include integrating existing classes
and developing new courses,
lectures series and topic-specific
seminars. Also playing a role is the
Siena College Entrepreneurship
Organization, a new student club
that provides networking
opportunities and forums for
sharing, critiquing and developing
business ideas. New courses offered
in spring 2011 include New
Ventures Creation, a class that will
focus on the essentials of starting a
business.
“Siena’s Business Incubator is
more than housing new companies.
It’s about bringing together
students, alumni, faculty and
community resources in a
stimulating environment consisting
continued on page 8
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
ERIC GIRARD published “Emperical Evidence of the Existancce of Investable Premiums in Emerging Market Investable Stocks” in the
Financial Review (2010). SUNITA GOEL, Jagdish Gangolly, Sue Faerman and Ozlem Uzuner published “Can Linguistic Predictors
Detect Fraudulent Financial Filings?” in the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting 7 (2010).
ALUMNI
PROFILE
Building Business on Campus
Mike Hickey ’83, former president and CEO,
heads Siena’s new business incubator
In eighth grade, Mike Hickey ’83 made up his mind that he wanted to be a
CEO. “I was one of those kids who wanted to be in charge,” he chuckles.
Quipping aside, Hickey has done just that over the last 25 years in his various
executive positions in Fortune 300 and multimillion-dollar companies. His latest
role as a business leader is as Siena’s first executive-in-residence and head of the
College’s new Business Incubator program, launched this fall.
Hickey, 49, is well known as a leader in technology-based businesses, starting
with MapInfo, where he rose from head of sales and marketing to serving as vice
president in various capacities. He eventually became COO, a position he held
from 2002 through the acquisition by Pitney Bowes in 2007. In his next role as
president of Pitney Bowes Business Insight (the official name of the company
after the acquisition of MapInfo and Group 1 Software), Hickey managed the
global software company with more than 1,900 employees to record revenues
of $400 million.
“Mike Hickey’s keen insight and leadership ability will serve the School of
Business, and the entire College, well,” said School of Business Dean Jeff Mello.
The incubator, housed in the School of Business, was launched with an up-
and-running startup, MoveThatBlock.com, an online company that carries
commercial and residential real estate listings as well as job openings and
internships
Hickey’s immediate goal for the incubator is establishing buy in for the vision,
which includes incorporating the incubator as a cross-disciplinary effort with
heavy faculty support. He will also develop relationships with the business
community and create a step-by-step strategy to support the vision. 7
As executive-in-residence, he also teaches two capstone strategy classes.
“I’ve seen the world. I know how hard it is to do business in this country and
abroad, and those are the types of lessons I try to bring to my students in the
classroom,” said Hickey, who served on Siena’s Board of Associate Trustees for
several years
Hickey, who graduated from Siena with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and
management, said he is looking forward to offering his wisdom and expertise
directly to the students of his alma mater
“I’ve had a really good ride, and at some point I said to myself, it’s time to give
back a little and mentor the young people of this generation,” he said. “That’s
always been something natural to me. I’ve been a coach my whole life.”
 A Business Incubator Ignited
continued
of new courses, student
organizations, mentoring and
informal interaction, all designed to
create new business opportunities
and successful entrepreneurs,”
said Ken Williams, professional
specialist, who will be teaching the
New Ventures Creation class.
Serious Business and
Unparalleled Access
Of the 30 team members that run
MoveThatBlock.com, 20 are
students, who work as employees
or interns. They are business and
computer science majors. In
addition, there is a marketing major
who also is
minoring in
creative arts.
Drowlette
hopes to see
more students
from different
disciplines
participating
in the
incubator program.
“MoveThatBlock.com, like most
businesses, requires a variety of
expertise,” he said. “We have
8
positions open for creative arts
majors who might want to design
advertising or students interested in
public relations, human resources,
accounting and information
technology.”
MoveThatBlock.com makes
money by charging for advertising,
much of it in the form of featured
properties or jobs, and featured job
ELIZABETH MARCUCCIO and WALTER SMITH published “The Impact of the Elimination of the Estate Tax” in Franklin
Business & Law Journal 2010: 14-19. JEFFREY MELLO published “The Good, the Bad and the Controversial:
The Practicalities and Pitfalls of the Grading of Class Participation” in Academy of Educational Leadership
Journal 14 (2010).
candidates. “The technology for the
ad displays rivals Google’s
sophisticated and individually
focused ad placement services,”
Drowlette said. Employees are paid
based on profitability of the
company. In the month of
September alone, the startup saw
33,000 impressions (the number of
people who view a site with
advertisements on it). Several
businesses already have working
relations with MoveThatBlock.com,
including Price Chopper
Supermarkets, CIGNA, Tri-City
Rentals, Xerox, Developers
Diversified Realty (the third largest
commercial property owner in the
U.S.) and Australian-based real
estate investment trust, Centro
Properties Group.
“We are giving unparalleled access
to students. They are allowed to see
exactly what the company’s
profitability is. Most companies that
students intern for provide only a
little slice of what it is like to run a
business,” said Drowlette, who is
also a Siena associate trustee and
principal and co-owner of the
commercial real estate company
IKON Realty Group.
Executive
Director of
Innovation and
Development
Matthew
Narolewski ’11, a
marketing major,
was the first
student offered a full-time job at
MoveThatBlock.com, after
Drowlette offered him an internship
last summer. The two met in a
marketing class, taught by Cheryl
Buff ’82, Ph.D., last winter when
Drowlette presented the idea of
MoveThatBlock.com to the class.
The students were asked to evaluate
the business as a group project.
After his internship, Narolewski
accepted a full-time position as
director of development and
innovations.
“This has been truly a unique and
exciting opportunity,” Narolewski
said. “Seeing all the delays and speed
bumps that are involved with a new
startup has been inspiring and
challenging.”
“The Business Incubator is about
increasing opportunities for students
to participate in substantive business
ventures, build and broaden their
skill sets, network and recognize the
link between classroom content and
real-world application,” said Buff,
associate professor of marketing and
management who serves as the
faculty advisor for MoveThatBlock.
The incubator also will create
opportunities for professional
entrepreneurs. That, in turn, will help
the College become more connected
to the business community, starting
with its alumni base.
“The College has a long list of
graduates who work in area
businesses,” Hickey said, adding,
“Who knows, perhaps the seeds of
the next billion dollar company are
already planted right here.”
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
Siena College
Entrepreneurship
Organization
New Student Club Encourages Students to “Think Big”

K
eegan Hayes ’10, a
marketing major, asked
himself how he could
encourage like-minded colleagues to
come together on a regular basis to
recognize their own entrepreneurial
tendencies and “think big.” The
answer launched the Siena College
Entrepreneurship Organization.
The student club, established
this fall, offers resources and
information about entrepreneurship.
It also provides networking
opportunities and forums for
sharing, critiquing and developing
business ideas, with the overall goal
of creating and maintaining
successful student-run businesses.
“It basically gives students a taste
of what is possible and encourages
them to think big,” says Hayes,
founder and president of the
organization.
The organization comes at a time 9
when the College is enhancing the
entrepreneurial culture campus
wide, most notable with the launch
of its Business Incubator program
this fall. Hayes hopes that the
organization will help students of
any discipline across campus
develop a basic understanding of
entrepreneurship and how to start
a business.
 Big Dreams for Haiti
Two Haitian students come to Siena with a goal of making a
difference in their homeland

Over the years, “We are fortunate to have a

chance to do something for people
Charitable Youth Movement of
Fontaine), recently opened a high
Siena students who really deserve it,” said Coohill,
who met the students in Haiti a year
school in his hometown of Fontaine.
“Students now do not have to
have traveled across the globe to
and a half before the earthquake walk hours each way to reach a high
enhance their studies and make a
struck, during a trip to visit his school,” said Joizil, who had to do
difference. This year, the trip is
former high school teacher, a the same when he was younger.
reversed for two business students,
Xaverian brother. Cenat plans on establishing an
who traveled from Haiti to the
At the time of the earthquake, the orphanage and help people open
United States. They are studying
students were living in a Xaverian new businesses.
at Siena so they can help other
Brothers house that provides living “Eighty percent of the people in
Haitians rise up from the ruins of
space in Port-au-Prince for bright Haiti live on less than $1 a day. We
poverty and destruction.
young Haitians who otherwise do not have good education or jobs,”
“We have big dreams for our
would not be able to attend a Cenat said. “With my business skills,
country,” said Esperandieu Cenat,
university because they had no place I can teach people to open up their
32, who is pursing business courses
to live nearby. own businesses and, in return, there
at Siena.
Cenat and Joizil said they will use will be more jobs for the people.”
Cenat and Pierre-Louis Joizil,
their business degrees to improve Among other things at Siena, the
a 30-year-old also taking business
the living conditions in rural Haiti, business students are learning how
courses at Siena, came to the U.S.
where the poorest citizens live. money operates in different parts of
in the summer of 2010 after the
Joizil, founder of MOJCAFON the world, how to manage and
catastrophic earthquake in Haiti
(which in English means Organized organize a workforce and how to
damaged the universities they were
market a plan or product.
attending. Through a connection
The students, who will return to
with the Xaverian Brothers, a
10 Haiti in May 2011, will apply their
Catholic religious order, and Tom
Siena credits toward their diplomas,
Coohill, Ph.D., head of the Physics
which they will receive at their
Department at Siena, the students
home universities.
received full scholarships. Cenat and
“When they go back, they are
Joizil are living with Coohill and his
really going to be a hope of Haiti,”
wife Patricia, head of the Creative
Coohill said.
Arts department, in their
Loudonville home.

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
CHARLES SEIFERT and Gary Yukl published “Effects of repeated multisource feedback on the influence behavior and
effectiveness of managers” in Leadership Quarterly 21 (2010): 856-866. ANDREA SMITH-HUNTER, MANIMOY PAUL
and FRED DECASPERIS published “Gender Role Perceptions and Job Satisfaction Levels” in the Journal of Academy of
New Dean Appointed
in the School of Business
Jeffrey Mello is committed to community and good business ethics
A
s a college student, Jeffrey Mello could be a
nuisance when he raised issues relating to what
he saw as a company responsibility to the social
fabric of a community.
He can recall, for example, working on a real-life case
study with his fellow classmates in which the firm was
considering relocating to one of three areas.
“I asked the professor why the company was leaving
in the first place and whether it had considered the
repercussions of its decision on the local economy and
community,” said Mello, the new dean of the School of
Business. “The professor said that such a consideration
was not part of the assignment—the company had
already decided to move.”
When Mello persisted, the professor ignored him.
“He looked at me, shook his head and proceeded on like
I had not even spoken,” added Mello, who specializes in
social issues and management practices.
“Dean Mello is a perfect fit for Siena, reflecting a
deep commitment to values related to the Franciscan
tradition,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs
Linda Richardson, Ph.D.
Mello, who grew up in Somerset, Mass., earned his
bachelor’s degree in business from Boston University. He
received his M.B.A. at Northeastern University, where
he also earned his Ph.D. in law and public policy, which
allowed him to further advocate for the disenfranchised.
Business and Economics (2010). ANDREA SMITH-HUNTER and JOSHUA LEONE ’09 published “Afro-Brazilian Women
Entrepreneurs: Characteristics, Critical Issues and Current Comments” in the Research in Business and Economics
Journal (2010).
Prior to his Siena appointment in July, he was
professor of management at Barry University’s Andreas
School of Business in Miami Shores, Fla., where he also
served as associate dean and interim dean. He is the
author of four books, including Strategic Human
Resource Management, 3rd Ed. (Cengage).
While the Massachusetts native undoubtedly received
an excellent education, New York Yankees fans may
say living and studying in the heart of Red Sox nation
clouded his judgment a little bit because, yes, Mello roots
for the ‘Sawx.’ “I was a charter member of Red Sox
Nation and long before it was fashionable,” Mello said.
Sports judgment to be debated, Mello said he is
excited about building on the strong foundation of the
School of Business and helping to establish the College’s
new Business Incubator program.
“It’s rare for a school of business embedded in such a 11
strong liberal arts college to be AACSB (The Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited,”
said Mello, noting that Siena is the only Franciscan
college in the United States with that accreditation.
While his passion for his new position is palpable, he’s
not the most enthusiastic member of his family. That
distinction belongs to his 7-year-old daughter Logan.
“The first thing out of the laundry she wears is her Siena
College t-shirt,” he said.
 Undergraduate Research
Grows at Siena
From campus to the national stage, business students present Ph.D.-quality
research papers at professional conferences

L
ike many Ph.D. researchers presenting academic
papers at national meetings, Jeremy Abel
discussed his work in front of scholars, who
were eager to learn what contributions he had made
in the field of business.
Except that Abel doesn’t have a “I am grateful to have had this say they have never seen
Ph.D. He is a senior undergraduate type of experience as an undergraduate work so well
majoring in marketing and undergraduate,” Abel said. “We are prepared and thought out. They are
management in Siena’s School hopeful that the connections we genuinely surprised to hear that
of Business. made will lead to collaborative these students are not Ph.D.
This fall, Abel traveled with research endeavors.” students or graduates.”
Cheryl Buff, Ph.D., associate “Conferences like this give Titled “Exploring Gender
professor of marketing and students an opportunity to present Differences Under the Image
management, to present a paper their work to a larger audience—an Congruence Hypothesis Among
at the International Academy of audience of my peers,” Buff said. Consumers in the Health Club
Business and Economics in “Many of the scholars and other Industry,” Abel’s paper, co-authored
Las Vegas. professionals at these conferences with Buff, is about consumer image
as it relates to how people decide
what health club to join. The paper
12 was recently published in the
Journal of Academy of Business and
Economics.
On campus, the The increase in faculty-and-
Student Conference student collaborations and the
in Business is part resulting presentations in recent
of the College’s
efforts to engage
years is in part an outgrowth of
more students in the annual Siena College Student
research and Conference in Business, held
presentation of on campus.
their work.

LEONARD STOKES, ELIZABETH MARCUCCIO, EUGENE FARLEY, MICHELLE KING and Nicholas Mastracchio published
“The CPA Exam Content Specifications: Missed Opportunity to Incorporate Academic Advice and Guidance for
Candidates” in CPA Journal LXXX. (2010): 61-65.

The Student Conference in
Business, in its sixth year, is part of
the College’s efforts to engage more
students in research. Co-founded
and co-directed by Buff and Raj
Devasagayam, Ph. D., professor of
marketing and management, it gives
business students the opportunity to
present their research outside the
classroom. Students submit their
research and the best papers are
chosen by a panel of professors. The
authors are then invited to present
them at the student conference. The
event also includes a keynote
address by business leaders.
“The Conference provides
invaluable opportunities for faculty
and students to build mentoring and
scholarly relationships and
collaborations. It also allows
students to present the results of
their intellectual efforts, which have
been recognized and validated by
academic journals and professional
conferences all around the country,”
Devasagayam said.
“For many students, the
Conference has served as a stepping
stone,” Buff added. “They see what
they can do on campus, and then
they are directed and focused to go
from there.”
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
ZHENZEN SUN and Jeffrey Jarrett published “Evidence and Explanations for the Association among Six Asian (Pacific-Basin)
Financial Markets” in Applied Economics (2009): 1-12. PAUL THURSTON, JR. and Laurel McNall published “Justice Perceptions
of Performance Appraisal Practices” in the Journal Of Managerial Psychology 25 (2010): 201-228.
Professor Awarded Fulbright
Specialist Program Grant
Andrea Smith-Hunter will use the grant to continue
her groundbreaking research in women entrepreneurship
Andrea Smith-Hunter, Ph.D., professor of marketing and
management, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Specialist
Program grant. The award will
allow Smith-Hunter to share her
expertise in women entrepreneurs
with educational institutions in
several countries over a five-year
period. Her work will include
teacher training and conducting
seminars, special conferences and
workshops, as well as
collaborating on curriculum
planning and faculty development.
Her first assignment is in Santiago,
Chile, where she was invited by
the University del Pacifico to
present her research on women
entrepreneurs to faculty, students,
women entrepreneurs and agencies that assist women entrepreneurs.
The Fulbright award is the latest in a string of honors and
recognitions that Smith-Hunter has garnered for her groundbreaking
work on women entrepreneurship across racial lines. Last year, she was
appointed as an advisory board member to the White House Council
for Women and Girls. She also is a board member of the Center for
Women’s Business Research in which she is working on behalf of the
Center and Howard University in Washington, D.C., to create a 13
women’s entrepreneurship program for the university. Smith-Hunter
was the holder of the Hickey Chair in Siena’s School of Business from
2007-2010. She is the author of two books, Diversity and
Entrepreneurship: Analyzing Successful Women Entrepreneurs
(University Press of America, 2003) and Women Entrepreneurs Across
Racial Lines: Issues of Human Capital, Financial Capital and Network
Structures (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006).
 School of Business
Welcomes New Faculty
James Burnes, Ph.D.,
Visiting Professor of Quantitative
Business Analysis
Jim Burnes has taught
as an adjunct at several
schools in the Capital
Region and is now
teaching Operations
Management and Math for Decision
Making in the Siena College School
of Business. After working at
General Electric for several years
assisting with the Six Sigma Training
program, Burnes entered the
graduate program at Renesselaer
Polytechnic Institute, where he
earned his Ph.D. in Decision
Sciences and Engineering Systems
in 2008. His dissertation was titled
Towards a Unique Biometric
Criterion for an Integrated Face
and Fingerprint Identification,
which could assist law enforcement
agencies with identifying criminals
14 across various databases.
John DeJoy, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor of Accounting
John DeJoy is a CPA
who worked for
Deloitte in both their
Stamford, Conn. and
Boise, Idhao offices. He
has extensive experience in teaching
as well as an administrator most
recently with Marist College and the
College of Westchester. He recently
completed the AACSB bridge
program in accounting through the
University of Florida and has made
several presentations and published
two papers in the past year. He
received his B.B.A. in Accounting
from Pace University, a masters
and Ph.D. in education from the
University of Idaho and a M.B.A.
from Marist College.
Mike Hickey ’83,
Executive-in-Residence
Mike Hickey comes to
Siena with over 25 years
experience in technology
businesses, with the last 15 as a
software executive. He has served as
an officer for two public companies
and has bought and sold over 12
companies. Most recently he served
as President and Chief Operating
Officer of Pitney Bowes Business
Insight, a global software business
with revenues of $400 million, over
1,900 employees and one of the 70
largest software companies in the
world. In 2008 Mike was named
to Tech Valley’s Hot 10 list of
executives and government officials
who make things happen in the Tech
Valley of upstate New York.
Elaine Phelan ’78,
Visiting Assistant
Professor of Accounting
Elaine Phelan has
worked as an adjunct
professor in the
Accounting Department for many
years. She has 26 years of teaching
experience most recently at Russell
Sage as a tenured professor of
accounting. She is a CPA who
worked at Coopers and Lybrand
LLP and practices in her own
independent business. She earned
her B.B.A. in accounting from Siena
College and later earned her M.S. in
Accounting from University at
Albany.
Tina Sun, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor of Finance
Zhenzhen (Tina) Sun
completed her doctorate
in Finance at the
University of Rhode
Island in May 2010
where her dissertation focused upon
the holding and trading behaviors of
institutional investors. She has
taught Financial Management, Risk
Management and Insurance and is a
candidate of the Chartered Financial
Analyst (CFA) level II. She was
published in the Journal of Applied
Economics, and presented at the
Financial Management Association
and the Southern Finance
Association. She has papers under
review at the Journal of Financial
Intermediation and the Journal of
Risk and Insurance. Her research
interests include investments,
portfolio management and risk
management.
 PROGRAM
U P D AT E S
M.S. in Accounting Sees
Nearly 100 Percent Growth
Graduate program continues Siena’s longstanding tradition in preparing students
for the accounting industry

Since Siena implemented its mandate, established in August “As a whole, accounting students
Master of Science in Accounting a 2009, that requires CPAs to have the at Siena are very proactive and
year ago, the program has seen standard bachelor’s degree plus an confident,” said Corinne Santos,
nearly 100 percent growth. additional 30 credit hours under a recruiter from Pricewaterhouse-
The master’s program was their belts before they can become Coopers who attended the
designed primarily for Siena College state certified, Farley said. accounting career fair on campus
accounting majors who wish to stay “Siena decided that students this fall. “We continue to see a very
for a fifth year to earn both their would benefit more by spending the strong candidate representation
bachelor’s and master’s degrees and extra year to receive their master’s from Siena, and the new master’s
take advantage of the small-class degree rather than just obtaining the program will only add to that.”
environment and student-focused extra 30 credit hours,” he added.
faculty. The program, which started
FALL LECTURE SERIES
out with 19 students last year,
jumped to near full capacity, to
36 this year. All students last year
received job placement within two
weeks after graduation. Several
students this year already have
employment opportunities lined up
long before they graduate next May.
“Siena has a longstanding tradition
in its accounting program, and the
added graduate degree will continue
that tradition,” said Eugene Farley ’77, On October 25 the School of The School of Business Lecture
director of the master’s program. Business Lecture Series welcomed Series welcomed Timothy O’Hara, 15
The College added the master’s Anthony Duffy ’80, partner at executive vice president at
degree program in response to The Bonadio Group back to The Ayco Company, L.P. to campus
campus. He spoke to students on September 27. His lecture was
students’ concerns about the New
about having a career in the titled “Pursuing a Career in Financial
York State Department of Education
finance and accounting industry. Planning: Considerations, Perspective
and The Ayco Approach.”
FACULTY AWARDS

RAJ DEVASAGAYAM won the best paper award in the Global Marketing Track Marketing Management Association (2009-2010).
ERIC GIRARD won the “Best paper in Finance” award at the 2009 Global Business Research Conference for “Cost of Carry On Steroids:
Application to the Pricing Oil Futures and for Determinants of Emerging Markets’ Commercial Bank Stock Returns.” Global Business Research
Institute (2009-2010). DEBORAH KELLY won the award for Professor of the Year Beta Gamma Sigma - Siena College Chapter (2009-2010).
Kelly also won Outstanding Teacher Award Siena College—School of Business. THOMAS KOPP won the School of Business 2010
Outstanding Research Award (2009-2010). ANTHONY G. PONDILLO was nominated for the Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year
Award in the School of Business. JOSEPH ROSETTI was honored for the International Honor Society for Collegiate Schools of Business
Beta Gamma Sigma (2009-2010). ANDREA E. SMITH-HUNTER was awarded the Fulbright Specialist Senior Program (valid for five years).
Fulbright (2010-2011). ZHENZEN SUN won the Best Paper Award in Corporate Finance; The Chinese Finance Association (2010).
KENNETH WILLIAMS won the College-wide 2009 - 2010 Teacher of the Year award presented by the Siena College Student Senate
(2009-2010). FANG (JENNY) ZHAO was honored for Who’s Who in America (2010-2011).
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