Faculty Awards
School of Management Advisory Council Awards
for Outstanding Achievements
2017 Award Recipients:
Professor Chuck Maxey was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given for outstanding contributions over an extended period of time.
Professor Maxey was the founding dean of the School of Management. Under his leadership,
new programs were started or adopted, international enrollments grew at an unparalleled
pace, first courses and then whole programs were moved into the novel delivery format
of online teaching. He brought a team of researchers from UC Santa Barbara to Cal
Lutheran to form the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting, which, to this
day, continues to have a huge impact on the regional community; he started the Center
for Economics of Social Issues; he hired new, high-achieving faculty members (and
fired a few others). He not only tolerated the pioneers, but he instilled a sense
of entrepreneurship and innovation in those around him. He spotted good people, and
he helped them grow and succeed. And when he felt that he had done everything that
he had set out to do as an administrator, he returned to the classroom – where he,
again, excelled– propelled by a true interest in student learning and a confident lack of fear despite
other faculty members’ tall tales of spoiled millennials and cheeky international
students. Thousands of students and community members can’t be wrong. They hold our
award recipient in high esteem and still have a hard time imagining the School of
Management without him.
Professor Matthew Fienup was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Scholarship. Professor Fienup is not an academic researcher in the traditional sense. He certainly
doesn’t lack the deep and fundamental knowledge that is required to engage in such
traditional research, he simply seems to be more interested in engaging in research
that has utility, that informs policy and induces real change. Both an avid outdoorsman
and a skilled economist, he focuses his research on how economics, economic research,
and forecasting can be applied to problems such as the shortages or inefficient use
of natural resources and public goods that concern us all – private citizens, communities, civil servants, politicians, and others. His
focus on solutions has led to unique projects such as a pilot to establish California’s
first formal, centralized market for individual landowners to buy and sell groundwater
on the Oxnard Plain as a way to address California’s water shortage – a project that
has gotten nationwide attention and is now about to be expanded with a $2 million
USDA grant that the Nature Conservancy has received. The fact that he is most interested
in research that is applied and has an impact is also reflected in his unique approach
to the topics he works on. While always taking a position that is based purely on
data and evidence, he is still an extraordinary listener (especially for an economist…),
and someone who is interested in real dialogue with stakeholders. He also tirelessly
works at communicating the results of his research to audiences that range from individuals
in University Village to lecture halls and conference centers. He hasn’t been with
us that long and yet, in his short tenure as a faculty member in the School of Management,
our award recipient has made a significant impact in the community through his research
and leadership efforts. He provides a wonderful example for how academic institutions
can be relevant by helping to transform communities.
Professor Richard McAndrew was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Teaching. Prior to joining academia, Mr. McAndrew worked in industry for more than 20 years.
He was a vice president and regional manager for an enterprise software company where
he was responsible for hi-tech sales and services to Fortune 100 enterprises. Later,
he held other key leadership positions including CEO of a small software development
company and general manager/director for other leading technology companies. Then,
our award recipient started teaching college-level courses as an adjunct in management,
and developed a strong passion for teaching and guiding students in their business
education journey across the globe: while he started in the U.S., he now regularly
also teaches in Europe and in Asia. The Advisory Council’s selection committee’s decision
to present this teaching award to our recipient is the result of his engaging teaching
style, his profound and always current knowledge in the subjects he teaches, how he
shares his personal experience, and his true and genuine interest in student learning.
Being positive, never tired of explaining difficult material until everybody ‘gets
it’, ready to answer any questions, our award recipient mastered creating an open-minded
environment and a highly productive atmosphere in both face-to-face instruction and
in online environments. For years, he has been getting the highest student evaluations
and alumni of many generations remember his classes and are grateful for his guidance
and support.
Professor Veronica Guerrero was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Service. Dr. Guerrero began her career with a life outside of academia before joining Cal
Lutheran. She had a good decade of progressive experience with companies of different
sizes, mostly in the tech industry. Once in academia, she not only excelled in the
classroom, but she is truly someone of whom people say that she goes above and beyond.
She has taken on numerous committee assignments in faculty and university committees,
both on the undergraduate and the graduate programs areas. In addition to her duties
as a faculty member, she has managed the flagship graduate program at the School of
Management for several years. She has been serving as the Department Chair for the
Department of Management and Marketing at the School of Management, a role in which
she has participated in countless search committees, has mentored junior faculty members
so that they can build successful academic careers, and always been willing to take
on additional duties. And additional duties she does take on! For example, our award
recipient also serves on the Board of Women’s Economic Ventures, an organization that
helps female entrepreneurs along the Central Coast. She has worked with the Community
Leaders Association, and has been an active volunteer at Ascension Lutheran School
for many years. During summers, she is one of the key faculty members in the Executive
Skills for Pastors program. Currently, she also serves as the Chair of the Faculty
Executive Committee, short FEC, a task so massive that it should deserve an award
in itself.
2016 Award Recipients:
Professor Sarah Fischbach was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Research.
Professor Sarah Fischbach was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Research. Our award winner in the category “Research” is an excellent academic scholar with an impressive emerging track record and great promise. The winner has not only published in a number of academic journals and presented at a variety of conferences in recent years, but also has multiple projects in the pipeline for future publication, and is a disciplined writer. The award recipient is also an outstanding colleague and research collaborator. Together with other colleagues at the School of Management, our winner in this category has submitted proposals to the Institutional Review Board, collected data and jointly submitted to multiple conferences and journals. As I will now read a selection of the journals our award recipient has published in, it may become clearer as to who this individual is: the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Advancement of Marketing Education, to name but a few.
Professor Harry Starn was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Teaching.
Professor Harry Starn was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Teaching. Our next award recipient has been at the School of Management for around a decade. During this time, this individual has become a member of the faculty who is respected widely by his colleagues within and outside the School of Management. Looking at his impressive list of activities, our award winner would have earned this respect in many different categories and for a large number of reasons, but today we honor the nominee’s achievements in the area of teaching. The nominee has developed several curricula and a large number of courses, has brought didactic innovations to teaching at the School of Management, and never stops to seek improvements - always with one goal in mind: to improve the instructional experience and the educational outcome for his students. Moreover, however, our award recipient is also an outstanding colleague who has never failed to assist colleagues succeed in the classroom – always helpful with invaluable advice, sharing of best practices, and countless hours of hands-on support. In particular, this faculty member was the driving force between online instruction at the School of Management and, by doing that, has laid the foundation for distance learning at the entire university. Our colleague’s efforts and achievements also have earned accolades from bodies outside the university, including the United States Distance Learning Association and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
Professor Mary Jo Shane was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Excellence
in Service.
Professor Mary Jo Shane was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Service. More than a decade ago, one of the seeds of transformation at the School of Management was planted – the School started to recruit international students. From the early years where the School recruited only a handful of students, a whole team of helping hands – some more visible than others – ensures that today, about 150 international students start their graduate education at the School of Management annually. Some of these students would not graduate, and many of them would not graduate in the time they do if it weren’t for our award recipient. Over the last eight years, the recipient has worked tirelessly to support our international student population in the MBA Program. Not only has this individual created and managed an effective advising program for international students, the award recipient has also led efforts to revise the orientation program to meet the specific needs of international students, has worked across the university and community to ensure resources take into account the needs of our international students (writing center, communication café, grad events, etc.). This individual’s dedication to support their success and graduate education experience is unparalleled. This faculty member has not only contributed to the MBA program and the School of Management, but has also impacted the lives of hundreds of students worldwide.
2015 Award Recipients:
Professor Bill Gartner was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Research.
Professor Gartner is a seasoned professional with many years of experience as a revered and distinguished academic who enjoys nationwide recognition as a scholar in his field, a field of academic inquiry for which he is widely recognized as one of the founding fathers. Professor Gartner is a prolific writer who has designed and completed many studies, published numerous papers and articles in academic journals, presented at countless conferences and – which is not the norm for scholars of his caliber – is even sought after by practitioners. He is capable of dazzling the most probing reviewers with the most complex of thoughts and then, an instant later, reducing them to Haikus, probably the shortest form of literary expression, using his own brand of poetic “witticism”. And not only is he well published himself and a generator of unique ideas that have found a global audience, he is so accomplished that peers worldwide not only cite his work, but write about himself and his body of work. Both in quantitative and qualitative terms, the recipient of the Research Award has set a high standard for us at the School of Management and beyond.
Professor Ed Julius was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Teaching.
Professor Julius is one of the longest serving faculty members at the School of Management. He has a remarkable record of diligence, didactic craftsmanship, and excellence in teaching. Over decades of teaching, he has trained and prepared thousands of graduates who are the source of pride of the School of Management in many leading firms and institutions in his industry. He brings excellence in teaching to his classrooms and deeply cares about how to prepare the future generation of professionals in his field not only for our region but nationwide. He is a good example for how impactful teaching can be, what dedication to the profession means. Professor Julius is a remarkable teacher, a highly respected colleague, and an outstanding ambassador for his profession, the School of Management and the entire university.
Professor Paul Witman was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Service.
Professor Witman is a builder of bridges. Builders of bridges work hard, and so does he. And they connect what has been separated, and so does he. With his remarkable professionalism and his hard work, Professor Witman connects the undergraduate and the graduate sides, he connects the School of Management with the rest of the university, the closed community of the campus with the wider community around us. He not only believes in the vision and the mission of both the School of Management and the university, he executes them by serving selflessly in the interest of students, colleagues, and the organization, and by cooperating with others. He has started and directed programs on the graduate and the undergraduate side, he has chaired standing and ad hoc committees at the School and the university level and he has done it with both extraordinary ease and remarkable efficacy. Most importantly, we are certain that the recipient of this award doesn’t even see his contributions as the fulfillment of some mandated service requirement, he is engaged because he thinks it is the right thing to do.
2014 Award Recipients:
Professor Vlad Vaiman was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Research (Right).
Professor Valeria Makarova was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Teaching (Middle).
Professor Harry Domicone was the recipient of the School of Management Advisory Council Award for Service (Left).
More About the Recipients:
Research Award – Vlad Vaiman: The recipient of our Research Award has been teaching courses in the MBA program as
an adjunct/visiting scholar at the School of Management for a number of years before
he joined full time in 2013. Vlad Vaiman is much more than an outstanding instructor
in the classroom – he is an excellent administrator and one of the most prolific scholars
not only at the School of Management, but in the fields of Human Resource Management
and Talent Management. His global mindset, intellectual curiosity, dedication to his
profession, and his hard work have resulted in a steady stream of publications in
highly ranked scholarly journals including the International Journal of Human Resource Management, the Journal of Human Resource Management, Global Business Perspectives, the Journal of Business Ethics, Thunderbird International Business Review. In addition, Vlad has edited a number of books and contributed chapters to books
that have placed him in the top tier of academics in global talent management. What
impressed the School of Management Advisory Council most about Vlad's publications
(beyond their sheer number year after year) is how he accomplishes building bridges
between the areas of research and practice, and rigor and relevance.
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Teaching Award – Valeria Makarova: With her doctoral degree in Biophysics, the recipient of the Teaching Award is an
unlikely member of the faculty of a business school. She is an engaged and productive
professor who brings dedication and innovation to her position. Teaching both in the
MBA and the MBA in Financial Planning programs, Valeria Makarova has been an early
adapter of online technology at the School of Management. She fosters intellectual
achievement by promoting student participation and direct application. She has pioneered
break-out moves in the online environment, and she always integrates applied projects
in her classes that students often implement in their daily practices. Valeria has
also always held CLU’s mission by focusing not only on student achievement, but also
by focusing on the greater good. She has not only built a professional track in Sustainable
Business for the MBA program, but she has also consulted with other instructors on
the integration of sustainability concepts into their classes. In addition, she teaches
courses on Sustainable Business in both the undergraduate and the MBA program, and
she is an active participant in campus-wide sustainability initiatives.
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Service Award – Harry Domicone: The School of Management would not be the same without the recipient of our service
award today. More than 15 years ago, he started to build partnerships with universities
abroad so that our students could experience first-hand what CLU’s mission statement
calls for – a global education for global leaders. Later on, these efforts were complemented
by short-term study tours for undergraduate and graduate students that led them to
various destinations in Europe and Asia. Many of the School of Management alumni owe
not only a global outlook on the world, but a global career to him. Building on student
exchanges, faculty exchanges were only the next step in the internationalization of
the School of Management and so it came that both full-time and adjunct faculty members
have had (and continue to have) opportunities to teach students in other parts of
the world. In the same way, the School of Management has received a steady stream
of short-term visiting scholars who have been teaching weekend compressed courses
in the School of Management. Most importantly, however, almost 15 years ago, he built
what is now one of the most effective and efficient international recruiting strategies
in higher education. As he would probably like us to say – supported by a lot of helping hands on the faculty and in administration on the Thousand
Oaks campus – he has explored foreign countries (where he has had to eat strange foods), built
relationships with partners abroad (some of which have become deep friendships), and
he has brought hundreds of international students to campus (and millions of dollars
in revenue) to the university. Harry Domicone has had a tremendous impact on the development
and expansion of CLU while touching and changing the lives of many people from China
to Thailand, Russia to Greece, and Austria to the United States.
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