Organizations interested in partnering with STLI should contact Tiffany Hughes in the College of Business or Michael Harding  in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Corporate Partnerships to explore collaboration opportunities.

Drawing on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s strengths as Florida’s Technological University, STLI will serve as the university’s hub for developing deep corporate partnerships through custom executive education, professional credentials, applied research and data-driven solutions. The school will provide expertise across engineering and computer science, business, psychology and related disciplines to help businesses and organizations adapt to technological change while improving leadership capability.

“Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ plays a critical role in helping address the challenges shaping the future of industry,â€� says Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ President Alexander N. Cartwright. “The School of Technology, Leadership and Innovation strengthens our ability to work alongside organizations as they navigate change and turn emerging technologies into leadership capability, organizational performance, and real-world impact.â€�

Serving Future-Focused Organizations

Unlike traditional academic units, STLI will draw on faculty expertise from across the university rather than hiring new faculty. The school will create new opportunities for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ scholars to engage directly with organizations through executive programs, professional certifications, consulting engagements and applied research collaborations. In addition to a slate of proprietary offerings, STLI will work with organizations to develop custom solutions to meet a company’s specific needs.

The school, which is designed to generate revenue for the university, will create new opportunities for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ scholars to engage directly with organizations through executive programs, professional certifications, consulting engagements and applied research collaborations.

“Technology is changing the nature of work and the structure of organizations,â€� says College of Business Dean Paul Jarley. “STLI connects Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s excellence in engineering, computing business and the human sciences to help leaders understand not just how technology works, but how to lead organizations through technological change. This initiative is the next logical step in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s long-standing commitment to partnering with technology-driven organizations that power Florida’s economy and beyond.â€�

“This initiative is the next logical step in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s long-standing commitment to partnering with technology-driven organizations that power Florida’s economy and beyond.â€� — Paul Jarley, College of Business dean

Initial development of STLI is being coordinated by the College of Business in collaboration with faculty leaders from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and with strategic oversight from the Provost’s Office.

The launch of STLI represents the next phase of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s strategy to expand collaboration with the technology-driven organizations shaping Florida’s future like Pegasus Partner Addition Financial Credit Union.

“As a financial institution that prides itself on innovating to better serve its members, Addition Financial is honored to partner with [the] Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ … School of Technology Leadership and Innovation,â€� says Kevin Miller, president and CEO of Addition Financial. “This is an exciting evolution of the future-facing collaboration Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is known for, and we are looking forward to working alongside the school to unlock the promise of advancing key areas from AI strategy to workforce readiness.â€�

By connecting faculty expertise with real-world challenges, the school extends the university’s impact beyond campus while preparing leaders who can guide innovation responsibly and effectively.

“Our engagement with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ provides highly valuable insights that helped us look at our operational challenges from a fresh perspective,” says Mohamed Hassan, head of business excellence North America, Siemens Energy. “The collaboration is both rigorous and forward leaning, and it enables us to translate ideas into tangible next steps for our business.â€�

How to Partner

Organizations interested in partnering with STLI should contact Tiffany Hughes (Tiffany.Hughes@ucf.edu) in the College of Business or Michael Harding (Michael.Harding@ucf.edu) in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Corporate Partnerships to explore collaboration opportunities.

The decision by Michael D. Johnson, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, follows a review committee’s 5-year performance analysis of Jarley and the college. The process included feedback from students, faculty and staff, the Dean’s Advisory Board members and university leaders.

“Under Dean Jarley’s leadership, the college and its faculty have become increasingly adept at preparing students to thrive in a constantly evolving global marketplace,â€� says Johnson. “New programs, such as the master’s in fintech program in partnership with , exemplify the college’s commitment to innovation and student success.â€�

Since joining Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ as dean of the college in 2012 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Jarley has fostered a spirit of entrepreneurship, partnership and excellence. His accomplishments include advancing community engagement with the college, creating many opportunities for students to learn from business leaders, boosting fundraising and elevating the prominence of academic programs and faculty.

Jarley is also a prolific who has launched a podcast about trending ideas and issues affecting the business world.

“The next five years represent a critical time for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the college and throughout the university to realize our full potential and become the institution we aspire to be,” Jarley says.

Glenn Hubbard ’79, chairman of the board of MetLife Inc., and his wife, Constance Pond, gave $1 million to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to establish the Kenneth White and James Xander Professorship in Economics. The professorship is in honor of the two faculty members that Hubbard credits for inspiring a career that led him to be one of the most influential economists in the U.S.

Hubbard graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in economics from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. He also earned a master’s and doctoral degree from Harvard, served as chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, and is dean emeritus and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School.

On the Friday before Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s Homecoming weekend, Hubbard and Pond were recognized at the formal investiture of John Solow to the Kenneth White and James Xander Professorship in Economics at the college.

“Today is about love for the experience here [at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½],â€� Hubbard told the audience. “You know, a great teacher isn’t just somebody who conveys information. Well, it’s not even somebody who’s also a great mentor. Although the two gentleman whose names sit on this chair are both of those; it’s somebody who opens the door to the world for you.â€�

The occasion, led by Provost Elizabeth A. Dooley and College of Business Dean Paul Jarley, marked the first endowed chair investiture ceremony at the college. An investiture is regarded as one of the highest honors to be bestowed in academia and is meant to confer and celebrate the appointment of a distinguished faculty member to an endowed chair or professorship.

“Professorships, such as the one here today, allow us to attract and retain our most outstanding scholars,� Dooley says of the honor. “They also reward faculty members who go above and beyond in their dedication to teaching and learning.�

Solow, who joined Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ earlier this year from the University of Iowa, is a renowned economist who is published in numerous economic journals and specializes in antitrust, industrial organization, law and sport economics. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in economics at Yale University and earned his master’s and doctorate at Stanford University.

“Being a university professor is one of the best jobs in the world, up there with Ben and Jerry’s taste tester and referee at the annual Animal Planet Puppy Bowl,� Solow says after receiving a medallion from Dooley. “…With those benefits comes an obligation, I believe, to invest ourselves in our institution, to do more than just ‘do our jobs’ and go beyond to make our colleges and universities better places through service. That service can be done in many ways … Sometimes, as in the case of Dr. Hubbard and Ms. Pond, you are in a position to heed the call to serve by doing something truly transformative, and for that we are truly grateful.�

The two namesakes of the endowed professorship, White and Xander, were also recognized during the ceremony with commemorative keys for opening the door to the economic world for Hubbard and for inspiring him to establish the professorship. Looking back on his own successful career as an economist and academic, Hubbard credits White and Xander for their tutelage during his time at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

“When you talk to our alumni, they may not remember every professor they’ve ever had, but they do remember the one or two who had the biggest impact in their time in school,� Jarley says. “If you ask Glenn Hubbard that question, he would say Drs. Ken White and James Xander.�

That’s the premise of “Is This Really a Thing?â€�— a new podcast from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business Dean Paul Jarley. The college’s first podcast launched today in the middle of Podcast Week and looks at a variety of current topics to determine if they are just hype or if they represent fundamental change that could alter how we do business.

“As a dean, it’s my job to think about what the college should look like five and 10 years from now and make sure we get there,� says Jarley, who serves as the host for the interview-style podcast. “This is tough. As Bill Gates famously noted, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will happen in the next two years and underestimate the amount of change that will happen in the next 10 years.�

The first three episodes debate whether eSports, ghosting in the workplace, and Bitcoin are really a thing.

Jarley doesn’t have to go far to find experts with something interesting to say about any of his topics.

“We’re big on engagement at the college, and the podcast gives us a new way to extend that culture of engagement to our alumni and community at large,â€� Jarley says. “Many episodes will feature Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty, alums, board members and students.â€�

For eSports, he tapped Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White, Richard Lapchick, director of the , and Ben Noel, executive director of the , Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s nationally renowned graduate video-gaming program. In the ghosting in the workplace episode, he talks to students, a career coach and a staffing-agency executive about job candidates who stop responding to employers that are trying to hire them. In Bitcoin, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ economist Sean Snaith weighs in on the viability of the cryptocurrency and whether to include it in your portfolio.

And while the topics are serious, Jarley promises that the podcast will not be a typical classroom lecture.

“We hope to make you laugh a little along the way and leave you with a new way to think about the topic at hand,� he says.

“Is This Really a Thing?� is available through iTunes, Google Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or by visiting .

More than 800 students, alumni, faculty, corporate partners and community members gathered Feb. 20 to honor Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ President John C. Hitt with a Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrate the induction of three Hall of Famers and recognize several of the college’s distinguished alumni.

Before presenting the special award to Dr. Hitt, who will retire as president later this year, business Dean Paul Jarley thanked him for making Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ the partnership university, and then asked everyone in the audience who had graduated or worked for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ during Dr. Hitt’s presidency to stand, spurring a majority of the audience to its feet.

“On behalf of everyone standing here tonight,� Jarley said, “it is my great pleasure to present you with our Lifetime Achievement Award. We are and forever will be part of the ‘Hitt Squad.’ �

On the stage set to look like an Olympic news studio and with vice president of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Communications & Marketing Grant Heston serving as host, the college interviewed and inducted Sheila Jordan ’86, senior vice president and chief information officer of Symantec; Terry McNew ’86, president and CEO of MasterCraft Boat Company; and Dawn Olivardia ’89, ’90, tax partner, Grant Thornton LLP, into its Hall of Fame.

Ravago Holdings America and Verizon received Partnership Awards. In addition, the college presented Entrepreneurial Alumni Awards to Jorge Amaro ’13, founder and CEO of A3i Inc.; Ken Herndon ’87, founder and CEO of KC Curb Inc.; and Carey Sobel ’09, partner and chief strategy officer of Three21 Creative. Peter Laurinaitis ’93, ’95, partner of PJT Partners; Jason M. Reilly ’95, ’98, CFA, managing director and market investment executive of U.S. Trust; and Woody Walker ’92, ’94, senior vice president of alliances and client engagement of Convergence Consulting Group, received the Honorable Knights Award. Daniel Conn ’09, ’10, CPA, director of finance of Demetree Global; and Blaire Martin ’11, ’13, co-founder and executive director of Florida Angel Nexus, took home the Notable Knights Awards.

This was the 19th year for the Hall of Fame, which was presented by perennial platinum sponsor and partner BB&T. This year BB&T increased its sponsorship to allow for more students to attend and participate in the student-engagement session at which students network with alumni and the college’s corporate partners before the awards. Scott Keith, BB&T regional president of North and Central Florida, joined Knightro onstage to light the ceremonial torch to start the event.

The night’s closing ceremony saw Heston, a 2013 alumnus of the college’s executive MBA program, congratulate and thank all of the honorees before setting up the final video with sportscaster Al Michaels’ iconic line, â€�Do you believe in miracles?â€� Onscreen, Jarley delivered a Herb Brooks-inspired speech to fire up the crowd. As the video ended, Knightro and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ men’s ice hockey team appeared in full uniform, to the delight of the audience, and marched through the ballroom prompting chants of “U-C-F! U-C-F!â€�

“Ravago’s transformational gift is helping us build the inspiring, high-tech, creative spaces necessary to encourage students to get out of their comfort zones, collaborate and invent their futures,” Jarley said. “Our goal is to provide students with more than just the knowledge and perspective necessary to make good business decisions. We look to create student experiences that instill the mindsets, habits and behaviors necessary to succeed in today’s marketplace.”

The Ravago Entrepreneurial Hub is home to the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which includes the Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator and Starter Space. The center encourages and guides entrepreneurial Knights by providing the support and resources needed for successful student startups. These services and programs are available to all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ students.

Ravago said it believes their donation of $500,000 toward naming the entrepreneurial space and supporting the college’s recent building renovation will begin a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership with the college. The company employs a handful of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ graduates and strives to be a top employer of choice for College of Business graduates looking to work for an entrepreneurial company interested in growing new talent.

“Orlando is our home and so Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ was a natural draw when we were deliberating our philanthropic efforts,” Duffy said. “We’ve had a lot of success with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ graduates coming to work for us. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is a strategic pipeline for talent, and this is a great partnership for us.â€�

Ravago is also partnering with the college’s Executive Development Center to provide custom training for its leadership team, managers and employees. The center, in downtown Orlando, offers professional master’s degrees, executive workshops and custom training opportunities and was named the Best Local MBA in Central Florida by readers of the Orlando Business Journal.

Earlier this year, Ravago also donated $750,000 to the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Medicine, which named a specialized medical-education classroom the Ravago Lecture Hall.

Ravago Holdings America is headquartered in Orlando and has grown to become the company’s largest subsidiary, with estimated annual sales of nearly $5 billion. The local office was selected as one of the Orlando Sentinel’s 2017 Top 100 Companies for the fifth year in a row.

More than 740 alumni, community and corporate partners celebrated the Knight at the Opera-themed inductions of Sonya Dixon, ’96, ’98, chief financial officer and senior vice president at Holiday Inn Club Vacations; Antonio “Tonyâ€� Moreno Jr., ’91, managing partner/financial consultant, MPC Wealth Management; and Michael O’Donnell, ’09, executive/entrepreneur for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. The Hall of Fame is the highest honor given by the college to graduates who have been in the industry for at least 20 years and have brought notoriety to the university through their professional achievements.

“Our annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony where we honor our most successful alums is an affirming event for our faculty and staff—it reminds us why we do what we do,â€� said Paul Jarley, Ph.D, dean of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business. “It also is an opportunity to show our community what our college and our students are all about and why we are worthy of their time, talent and treasure.â€�

On Thursday, the college honored longtime partners CFE Federal Credit Union, Lockheed Martin and entrepreneurs Chip Headley, ’78, ’97, Rock ’Em Apparel and founder Rob Starkman and UBreakiFix founder Justin Wetherill, ’07. Also recognized were Notable Knights Joe Barbito, ’02, vice president of Agency Management, Galaxy Asset Management, LLC.; Kevin O’Connell, ’02, managing partner, Northwestern Mutual; John Gill, ’86, president and CEO, Quest Inc.; and Yvonne Baker, ’80, ’11, regional managing partner, Franklin Street.

The night began with a Minute of Mentorship, at which business students asked guests for career and professional-development advice. High-energy musical numbers, led by Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ mascot Knightro, bookended the night.

“Business people, entrepreneurs and economists have not always been represented fairly in popular culture. But now – in 2017 – we are indisputably cool. The biggest show on Broadway is about the founder of our nation’s financial system. And he’s the hero,â€� said master of ceremonies Grant J. Heston, ’13, vice president of Communications and Marketing at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, as he introduced the opening song. “Like Alexander Hamilton, our students are ‘young, scrappy and hungry’ and they’re not giving away their shot at success, at making a difference or at this opportunity to tell their story in song.â€�

Several business students joined professional dancers to perform the “B-School Rapsody,� an original song set to the tune of Freddie Mercury’s iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody,� which appears on Queen’s “Night at the Opera� album. At the end of the night, 40 student ambassadors joined Knightro and the dance company for a rousing rendition of Queen’s stadium anthem “We Will Rock You.�

For more information regarding the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business Hall of Fame, visit or email business@ucfalumni.com.

This Friday’s chat will be led by Heather Deyrieux, the director of client services at . The chat will start at 11:30 a.m., and Deyrieux will discuss how to use professional organizations to advance your career and improve your networking skills.

The first chat took place last month with Business Dean Paul Jarley, who talked  about the college and his vision for a curriculum that emphasizes entrepreneurship.

The goal of the conversations is to help students, recent graduates and business professionals connect to discuss advice, industry trends, and job training and opportunities.

All Twitter chats will last 30 minutes and will be linked using #ucfbizchat.

Follow @Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½Business on Twitter for updates about future Twitter chats and to learn more about the College of Business Administration.

Glassdoor, the leading global jobs and career community, will be integrated into the curriculum – the first time this has occurred in higher education.

“We are working to build an experience for students that gives them a distinct advantage in the marketplace and this partnership is another asset in delivering on that experience,â€� said Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business Administration dean, Paul Jarley.

Glassdoor, founded in 2007, boasts more than 25 million members in 190 countries and offers more than six million company reviews and ratings, as well as salary reports, interview questions and reviews, benefits reviews and ratings for more than 300,000 companies.

“Our Office of Professional Development and the corresponding class are truly innovative opportunities to provide our students with access to information, resources and people that will make a difference in their education; and it sets the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business apart in the landscape of business education,â€� said Jarley.

Starting in the 2014 catalog year, College of Business Administration undergraduate students are required to take four one-credit “Career Professionalism� classes that are intended to prepare students for the professional workforce.

The Bloomberg Professional service, Bloomberg’s core offering, is a software platform that provides trusted real-time and historical data, market moving news and analytics to help business and financial professionals make better informed investment decisions.

The university’s subscriptions to the Bloomberg Professional service will serve as a resource for both students and professors. It will enable students to become familiar with tools used in financial services, thereby reinforcing classroom theory, while professors can use it to further their own research.

“One of my obsessions is to think about how to shape the culture of the college in ways that promote the qualities I want to instill in our students: risk-taking, a willingness to get out of your comfort zone, collaborating with people from different backgrounds, and making high-quality decisions based on real-time data,” said Paul Jarley, Ph.D., dean of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Business Administration. He added, “the Bloomberg terminals will help our students use and evaluate real-time investment data, giving them hands-on experience that they will then be able to utilize in their careers.â€�