May 21, 2025

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

StartUp Pitch Competition Brings Buy-in to Student Entrepreneurs

by

UMW seniors (L to R, middle of frame) Helen Worku, Taylor Munger and Katie Reif pose with judges for placing first in the Eagle Innovation StartUp Pitch Competition. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

UMW seniors (L to R, middle of frame) Helen Worku, Taylor Munger and Katie Reif pose with judges for placing first in the Eagle Innovation StartUp Pitch Competition. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

From cleaning services to apps that promote style and fitness, there’s no shortage of business ideas brewing in the minds of University of Mary Washington entrepreneurs. But the winners of last week’s Eagle Innovation StartUp Pitch Competition, presented by UMW’s College of Business (COB), gave judges something they could sink their teeth into … and sink into their teeth.

Mary Washington seniors Taylor Munger, Katie Reif and Helen Worku’s FlossyPik dental flosser won first place in the annual Shark Tank-like contest, along with $2,500 in prize money to take the tooth-cleaning tool to the next level. Its mobility-friendly design and the group’s plan to produce it in various colors with addable stickers – and apply for a patent – bring comfort and pizzazz to the business of flossing. And the judges praised its potential appeal in pediatric dentistry.

“I see entrepreneurship as more than just starting a business,” COB Dean Filiz Tabak said to kick off the event in the Hurley Convergence Center’s Digital Auditorium, where nine finalists’ ideas for new ventures took centerstage. “It’s about identifying opportunities; it’s about solving problems; and it’s about creating and adding value. It requires resilience, creativity and the courage to take risks.” Read more.

College of Business Partnership with W&M Opens Doors for Aspiring Accountant

by

Emily Whitt ’23 considered other graduate schools to pursue a master’s degree in accounting, but only one rose to the top of her list – the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary.

Emily Whitt proudly models attire from William & Mary, where she’ll attend graduate school at the Mason School of Business. A partnership between UMW’s College of Business and W&M helped pave the way.

Emily Whitt proudly models attire from William & Mary, where she’ll attend graduate school at the Mason School of Business. A partnership between UMW’s College of Business and W&M helped pave the way.

The University of Mary Washington senior mentally prepared herself for a painstaking application process and a patient wait for an admissions decision. But when she mentioned her grad-school preference to Ken Machande, interim dean of UMW’s College of Business and her professor for a class in cost accounting, he had a better idea.

UMW had recently entered a partnership with William & Mary to streamline the Mason School admissions process for well-qualified Mary Washington applicants.

“The guaranteed admission program recognizes the caliber of students we have at UMW and builds on our alumni, who have been successfully participating in W&M graduate programs for years,” Machande said. “This agreement makes the admissions process – to one of the best graduate programs in the nation – far less intimidating for our students.”

And Machande knew that Whitt, a top student who’s taken as many upper-level business and accounting classes as her schedule allows, was a great candidate. “Emily is bright, inquisitive and thoughtful,” he noted. Read more.

Yoon Receives Prestigious Journal of Consumer Psychology Award

by

Assistant Professor of Marketing Kelly Eunjung Yoon

Assistant Professor of Marketing Kelly Eunjung Yoon

Assistant Professor of Marketing Kelly Yoon was chosen to receive the Journal of Consumer Psychology’s 2022 Early Career Contributor Award, based on her paper, “Perceived Costs versus Actual Benefits of Demographic Self-Disclosure in Online Support Groups,” published in the 2021 (31/3) volume of Journal of Consumer Psychology.

This JCP Early Career Contributor Award is given to the best refereed paper by an “early career contributor” published in the past year (2021 for the 2022 conference). For this award, an early career contributor is defined as a scholar whose work is published within two years of receiving his or her Ph.D. (or a scholar who had not yet received the Ph.D. when the paper was published). Dr. Yoon was awarded a plaque and $2,500 at the 2022 Society of Consumer Psychology’s virtual conference on Friday, March 4.

 

Majid’s New Food Waste Course Highlighted in The Free Lance-Star

by

Associate Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid

Associate Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid

Associate Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid’s new course, Alleviating Food Waste, was featured on the front page of The Free Lance-Star newspaper on Nov. 6.

Majid developed the new course based on his own interest in and research on the subject of food waste, which is an environmental, social and economic challenge for the United States and the world.

“The course has a couple of goals,” he said. “I want students to be aware of how big a problem this is, and that this is a fixable problem.”

Between 30 and 40 percent of food that is produced gets wasted, Majid said—the equivalent of buying four grocery bags worth of food and just leaving one on the ground.

That waste is occurring alongside widespread food insecurity. According to Feeding America, the nonprofit that operates a network of 200 food banks across the country, an estimated 38 million Americans—including more than 12 million children—were food insecure last year.

“If we even reduced the amount of food wasted by 20 percent, we wouldn’t have food insecurity,” Majid said. Read more.

Marsh Shares Thoughts on MBA on Fuentitech.com

by

In a Fuentitech.com piece, Associate Professor of Business John Marsh was asked his opinion on how a Master of Business Administration degree continues to be a benefit to today’s jobseekers.

John Marsh, an associate professor of business at the University of Mary Washington, said some people choose to earn an MBA early in their careers. It’s easier to manage when you’re young. Some people find that the MBA puts them in a better position for career advancement.

“Others help to stand out from other applicants, so we pursue it,” continued Marsh. “Yes, in a sense, revenue potential is certainly a major consideration for most people looking to get an MBA.” Read more. 

Alum, Sports Exec, Scores Spot in Top ‘Forty Under 40’

by

Mike Shane ’04 is the chief business officer for Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and Wells Fargo Center. Shane, who also spent over a decade with the Washington Nationals, was just named to Sports Business Journal‘s ‘Forty Under 40’ list.

Mike Shane ’04 is the chief business officer for Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and Wells Fargo Center. Shane, who also spent over a decade with the Washington Nationals, was just named to Sports Business Journal‘s ‘Forty Under 40’ list.

Just like it was yesterday, Mike Shane ’04 remembers the Washington Nationals making the playoffs nearly a decade ago.

“An hour after the game ended, stands were still packed. Everyone was cheering as the players took a lap around the field, high-fiving their fans,” said Shane, who spent 13 years moving up through the organization. “From the players to the staff to the fans, that night was the culmination of so much effort, energy and passion.”

Shane, who played baseball and earned a bachelor’s degree while at Mary Washington, has seen his hard work pay off. This summer, he was named to Sports Business Journal’s (SBJ) “Forty Under 40” list. Now chief business officer for Comcast Spectacor, a sports and entertainment company that owns professional ice hockey team the Philadelphia Flyers, Shane said that from the beginning, his focus has been on helping sports fans make lasting memories.

“I love walking onto the concourse before a game and seeing kids’ faces light up as they take it all in,” said Shane, a father of three boys who brings his family to the UMW alumni baseball game every year. Read more.

Richardson Final Column in The Free Lance-Star

by

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

Outgoing College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s final column in The Free Lance-Star is entitled, “Repotting the Plant.”

I’m not a gardener, but I understand the concept of repotting plants.

At some point, the nutrients in the dirt become depleted. Replacing the old dirt with new soil full of nutrients helps the plant grow. Of course, your plant may be outgrowing its pot, so a bigger pot might reduce the constriction on the plant’s growth.

I am the plant in the pot, and it’s time to repot me! I need new nutrients and, while not necessarily a bigger pot, a different pot. After 10 wonderfully challenging years at the University of Mary Washington, I need new challenges to address. This will be my last column. Read more.

Richardson Column in The Free Lance-Star

by

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s most recent column in The Free Lance-Star is entitled, “Learning to Make Good Decisions by Making Bad Ones First.”

MANY years ago, a reporter asked Walmart founder Sam Walton, “How did you become so successful?” Walton answered, “I’ve made a lot of good decisions.”

The follow-up question by the reporter was then, “How did you learn to make good decisions?” Walton simply replied, “By making a lot of bad decisions.”

Can you relate to this? I certainly can. Read more.

 

Kinsley, Rycroft to Publish Book on Inequality in America

by

Inequality in AmericaOn June 30, College of Business Senior Lecturer Kimberley Kinsley and Professor of Economics Robert Rycroft will have a book published, Inequality in America: Causes and Consequences, Santa Barbara, CA:ABC-CLIO.  https://products.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5815C. It is an edited book consisting of 35 essays written by 50 authors, with substantial contributions from Kinsley and Rycroft. Kinsley wrote a chapter about civil justice. Rycroft, along with Lauren DiRago-Duncan ’15, now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kentucky, wrote a chapter on labor markets. Both Kinsley and Rycroft wrote the preface and a chapter on wealth inequality. In addition, Assistant Professor of Education Christy Irish, along with Allison Ward Parsons from George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development, wrote a chapter on education reform policies. President Troy Paino wrote the introduction.

Richardson Column in The Free Lance-Star

by

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

UMW College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson

College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s latest column in The Free Lance-Star discusses letting go when a decision in your organization doesn’t go your way. Read “LET GO OF THE BONE.”

We’ve all been there, on one side of the situation or the other.

A decision was that you didn’t agree with. Maybe you thought it wasn’t best for the organization, but it’s more likely that it was not in your personal best interest.

Or perhaps you were the person who had to make the tough call. You gathered the available information to inform the decision and, after mulling the options, made the choice.

Now the announcement has been made. The people impacted are not thrilled. And the second- guessing and arguments begin. Read more.