Belk College honors outstanding faculty, staff

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Belk College recently presented its annual awards to faculty and staff who have excelled in teaching, research and service.

Denis Arnold, associate professor of management and Surtman distinguished scholar in businee ethics, received the Best Paper award for his paper “The Politics and Strategy of Industry Self-Regulation: The Pharmaceutical Industry’s Principles for Ethical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising as a Deceptive Blocking Strategy,” which was published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. Dr. Arnold joined the Belk College faculty in 2008. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Business Ethics Quarterly and past president of the Society for Business Ethics, the main professional organization for business ethics scholars in the United States.

Weidong Tian, professor of finance and distinguished professor in risk management and insurance, recevied the Distinguished Scholarship Award. He was recognized for his distinguished research record in risk management and mathematical finance, and his stature as an authority in the field. In the three and a half years since Dr. Tian joined the Belk College, he has published six articles in distinguished journals, in the areas of mathematical finance, risk management and insurance.  He also has a number of working papers and projects in progress.

Faith Neale, associate professor of risk management and insurance, received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. A member of the Belk College faculty since 2004, Dr. Neale was lauded for her devotion to the undergraduate program in risk management and insurance (RMI) and her work with industry and professional associations that provides students with real-life experience working with cases and companies. The RMI boasts a high placement rate upon graduation (over 90%) and has been ranked in the top ten university RMI programs in the U. S. and Canada, based on the number of graduates.

David Kerr, associate professor of accounting, received the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. He was recognized for his reputation as a truly outstanding professor in his field, with consistently high evaluation scores from both students and fellow faculty members that show his devotion to high quality teaching. Dr. Kerr, who joined the Belk College in 2005, also is actively involved in curriculum development and is currently developing a new course designed to better meet the needs of students.

Tom Marshall, lecturer in finance, received the Outstanding Service Award. A former insurance industry executive, Mr. Marshall now teaches in the RMI program and is actively involved in creating industry-college connections. He is the advisor for Gamma Iota Sigma, the RMI student association, and coordinates the career and professional development events for finance majors. As advisor for the Belk College Insurance Jeopardy team, he has led the team to victory in the state championships twice.

Jennifer Hurlbert, director of business intelligence, received the Belk College Staff Member of the Year award which honors a staff member who exhibits exceptional job performance, a commitment to quality, a positive attitude, a focus on teamwork and a dedication to serve the students, faculty, staff and external constituencies of the Belk College. This was the second time Ms. Hurlbert has received the award.