A team of eight students — Jamison Lewis, Maddy Branham, Brady Doyle, Bella Schrader, Cassidy Waugh, Evan Miller, Peyton Stover and Nico Raffinengo — worked together and showcased their management and problem-solving skills, leading the chapter to receiving several awards, including first place in the Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) Open Case Study Competition.
The SAM Open Case Study Competition attracts top-performing teams from around the world and demands comprehensive and strategic thinking, along with the ability to identify and solve complex business problems in a rapidly changing global market.
Nico Raffinengo won first place in the Undergraduate Division of the Business Pitch Competition, and three members of the Marshall University team — Jamison Lewis (national), Bella Schrader (national) and Maddy Branham (regional) – received the SAM Outstanding Student Award. The SAM Campus Chapter Performance Program also recognized the Marshall chapter as the second place winner in the Small Chapter Division.
Glen Midkiff, the chapter advisor of the Marshall SAM Chapter, received the SAM Outstanding Advisor Award for the third time as well as the Bronze Leadership Medal, and Dr. Avinandan “Avi” Mukherjee, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, received the Gold Leadership Medal and the Advancement of Management Award.
“The SAM International Business Conference 2023 focused on ‘Advancing Management: Reimagining Leadership, Innovation, & Sustainability,’ and the Marshall team’s success is a testament to their dedication and commitment to those values,” Midkiff said.
Another participant representing Marshall was Dr. Kateryna Schray, who co-presented “Re-imagining Student Success Post-Pandemic and Making it Happen: Anticipating Customer Needs in Higher Education” with Mukherjee. D.B.A. student Amber Chatelain presented on “Business social responsibility and community crisis response: Perceptions of small business owners in small to midsized communities,” and Sidharth Arora, an engineering management major, assisted with conference logistics.
“SAM IBC 2023 was my third SAM conference, and easily the best one I’ve experienced so far. It offered many amazing opportunities for networking, team-building, and professional development that were very enlightening for me,” Lewis said.
The Society for Advancement of Management was established in 1912 with the goal of promoting new management ideas and expertise by building connections among academics, practitioners and students from different disciplines. It benefits from hundreds of volunteers from various fields, including accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, production, and research and development.
For more information about the Marshall University SAM chapter, contact Midkiff by e-mail at midkiff2@marshall.edu, or the faculty advisor, Dr. Marc Sollosy, at sollosy@marshall.edu.