Scholars and Practitioners Partner Up
“Ideally, research informs industry practitioners as practitioners inform academic research,” said Barbara Porco, PhD, clinical professor of accounting and taxation and associate dean of graduate studies at the Gabelli School. “Our connections to industry leaders enable our faculty to continue to educate and enrich our students about the most pressing issues facing our society.”
Porco leads the Gabelli Center for Professional Accounting Practices (CPAP), which holds lectures and workshops and offers continuing professional education credits. Recently, CPAP hosted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Hundreds of students and alumni attended the event, and leaders from each regulatory organization shared their perspectives on timely topics, including retail investing trends, online investing misinformation, and investing risks.
In October, the Gabelli School offered an Executive Education Program for senior managers at Amazon’s Staten Island Fulfillment Center. The leadership class, led by Professor John Hollwitz, PhD, included a jazz workshop with pianist, composer, and producer Eli Yamin.
“Professor Hollwitz has successfully incorporated a jazz simulation as a method to build high-performance teams,” said Francis Petit, EdD, associate dean of global initiatives and partnerships and director of the Executive MBA program. “Our alumni who work at Amazon who experienced this session as students in the Executive MBA program specifically requested this simulation for their senior management team.”
Finally, in collaboration with the Westchester County Association, the Gabelli School delivered a new executive course, Developing a Sustainable Business Strategy. The eight-week program featured several speakers who offered association members practical tips for creating and implementing a sustainable business strategy. Professor Michael Pirson, PhD, who taught the course, said the need for long-term sustainability practices and knowledge has never been greater.
“There’s a need to skill people up at all levels on how to manage better in sustainable business,” he said.
Opportunities for the Gabelli School to partner with industry also extend to the faculty. PVH Corp. and other organizations often put out calls for scholarly research papers on timely topics and offer thought leadership awards to faculty and research teams. To date, PVH Corp. has funded nine research fellowships for Gabelli School faculty and two top scholars have been awarded Gabelli School-PVH Corp. Global Thought Leadership Grants.