Tag: H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship

Scholarship Is Game-Changer for Ukrainian Business Student

Maria Minenko sits with the statue of H. Wayne Huizenga.

As Russian forces assaulted her home country of Ukraine earlier this year, Maria Minenko’s dreams of an education at Nova Southeastern University were under fire as well.

With her father’s business struggling, Maria emailed the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship to alert administrators of her financial battle to stay enrolled.

“I was supposed to actually end my studies and take a gap year until further notice,” she said. “Because of the war and since my dad wasn’t able to pay for school now, I told the school that I was leaving.”

But the college would have other plans for the 20-year-old business management major.

A few weeks later, Maria would receive an email that would put her life back on course. She was notified that she had received the college’s Hall of Fame Scholarship and would no longer have to worry about her studies being interrupted.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I had to ask my mom, my sister, and my friends to read the email back to me because I couldn’t believe it was real. I felt like it was a dream or a joke of some sort. Everything turned around when I received the scholarship.”

###

When Maria was a little girl, things were different in Ukraine. Quite different. She was born in Odessa, the third most populous city in the country – a city known as the “pearl of the Black Sea.” Before the war, Odessa was also known for its majesty, relaxing environment, and safety.

Maria and her father

Her family fared well in those times. Her mother, Illona, looked after Maria and her four sisters, while her father, Vitaliy, ran a family business in the hotel and shipping industry. Often Maria tagged along with her father, learning the ins and outs of various sectors of his operations. When not with her father, she turned her attention to the beach, spending time with family, school, studying languages, and acrobatics.

In the summer of 2015, Maria, her mother, and her sister Vilena moved to Miami. There she attended middle school and high school at NSU University School. Hooked on South Florida, Maria applied to college at NSU.

“The experience has been beautiful,” she said. “I love it – everyone is helpful, and I have learned a lot about multiculturalism and business as well as the world of writing.”

Maria and her mother

Maria credits her mother and father for what she sees as a foundation for her future success.

“I have been inspired by my mom to be strong, patient, and intelligent, and inspired by my dad to work hard in business and never give up no matter what obstacles come my way,” she said.

Overcoming obstacles is now a day-to-day mission for Maria’s father. His shipping and hotel businesses have ground to a halt, leaving him with saddled with high costs and no profits. Meanwhile, drones have been raining on the city around him.

Following in her father’s foot steps, Maria has focused her studies on management and entrepreneurship and says she feels that NSU is the right place to unlock her aspirations.

“I would like to focus on business,” she said. “I’m thinking of working in the hospitality industry and doing something similar to what my dad does with hotels and construction, but I’d also like to have a restaurant of my own. That’s the plan for now.”

While counting her blessings, Maria says the war continues to test her family. The last time she visited Ukraine was January, just before the invasion.

Maria and “Granny”

“It’s been a bit crazy because some of our family fled Ukraine when the war started, and thankfully we had some family in nearby countries that helped them escape like my siblings,” she said. “My dad and his business have been affected tremendously, since he’s basically using what money he has to maintain what he has left, and we don’t know what’s coming next.”

In addition to her father, Maria’s grandmother also has chosen to stay behind. Like many of the older Ukrainian residents, her grandmother has defiantly held her ground despite the unrest.

“She insists on staying, but I talk to her every day,” Maria said. “She’s my best friend.”

Despite her grandmother’s stubbornness, Maria says she still has one way to get her to South Florida.

“She’s promised to be my maid of honor at my wedding,” she said with a smile.

Posted 10/23/22

Hall of Fame Event Honors Regional Business Leaders

On Tuesday night, October 11, 2022, Nova Southeastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship held hits 33rd annual Entrepreneur and Business Hall of Fame event to celebrate the accomplishments of three exceptional leaders: Joe McDonnell, CEO/chairman of Great Innovations LLC; Mario Murgado, president & CEO of Murgado Automotive Group; and William M. Murphy, president of Douglas Management & Realty, Inc.

This year, the event returned to the Rick Case Arena on NSU’s campus for an induction dinner event, co-chaired by past Hall of Fame inductees James Donnelly, founder and CEO of The Castle Group; Keith Koenig, co-founder and CEO of City Furniture; and Alan Levan, chairman of BBX Capital.

Joe McDonnell

For years, Joe McDonnell’s product inventions have not only saved thousands of Americans lives, they have also made many Americans literally – and figuratively – breathe easier. They also have helped many shop safer, and made homes shine and look new again. The founder of Great Innovations, iShopSecure, and For Life Products, this entrepreneur has spent his life creating products, and building brands including carbon monoxide detectors, an online identity authentication platform, and most recently manufacturing and marketing humidifiers, fans, and air purifiers in addition to many other consumer products. McDonnell has taken his many inventions to TV shopping networks, where he began promoting his Rejuvenate® cleaning and restoration product line which he launched in 1999 and remains very popular today at all the major home centers and hardware stores throughout the world.

Mario Murgado

Mario Murgado embodies the American Dream, arriving in the U.S. just short of his 4th birthday in 1966, during the Cuban freedom flights. Raised in Chicago with Midwest values that have served him throughout his life, in 1978 his family moved to Miami where his passion and love of cars guided him to work at Braman Imports. There more than 20 years, Murgado worked his way up from salesman to president and CEO, before starting his own dealership. Today with 41 years’ experience in automotive retailing, Murgado serves as owner, president and CEO of Murgado Automotive Group, one of the most successful auto-dealership groups in South Florida. Murgado generates over $1.2 billion in annual revenues and employs over 730 people in Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, representing brands including Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Buick, Cadillac, Ferrari, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Maserati, Mazda and Volkswagen.

William M. Murphy

William M. Murphy built his career in the building industry. A licensed real estate broker in Florida and New York, Murphy is president of Douglas Management & Realty, Inc., a full-service real estate investment company he founded in 1990. Throughout his career in South Florida, Murphy has owned, operated and/or developed in excess of 3 million square feet of office, retail and industrial property, as well as 7,500 multifamily units. His investment and development projects in Fort Lauderdale include the Capital Bank Center, a 200,000 square foot office project; the 550 Building, a 100,000 square foot office project; Executive Court at Jacaranda and Executive Court at Cypress Creek, 90,000 and 60,000 square foot office projects respectively, among other signature South Florida developments.

The event featured a special presentation from past Hall of Fame inductee Armando Codina, executive chairman of Codina Partners, as well as a tribute to H. Wayne Huizenga. NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II and Dean Andrew Rosman also spoke at the event. Presenting sponsors for the 2022 Entrepreneur and Business Hall of Fame Induction were Great Innovations, LLC, and The Bergeron Family of Companies.

Posted 10/13/22

Business Spotlight: Professor Stays Knee-Deep in Research

Rebecca Abraham, D.B.A., has been with Nova Southeastern University for more than 30 years.

If you happen by the office of Professor Rebecca Abraham on the fifth floor of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship and her door is cracked, you’ll likely find her behind a desk immersed in papers. At first glance, she might seem a bit overwhelmed, but don’t mistake her paperwork for clutter – Abraham is in her element.

Abraham moved from India to the U.S. in 1986.

You see, Abraham, D.B.A., a finance professor at Nova Southeastern University, prides herself in research and publishing, and she does so extensively.

Besides authoring some book chapters, Abraham’s research publications have appeared in the Review of Accounting and Finance, Journal of Economic Studies, Journal of Business and Leadership, International Journal of Finance, Applied Economics Letter, and the Journal of Risk and Financial Management.

“Research is the creation of knowledge,” she said, adding that her work has appeared in the fields of international economics, mathematical finance, and international finance. “Our economy can only advance over time if we find new ways of doing things, evaluate and retain the best of existing products and procedures.”

The daughter of a dean, Abraham attended a boarding school in southern India that was run by British missionaries. It was there that she took her initial interest in math, which would later become the basis of her research in financial mathematics. She also took an interested in teaching and researching economic and financial issues. Among the courses she teaches at NSU are Banking and Financial Institutions and Advanced Financial Management.

Abraham moved from Kerala, India, to California in 1986, where she attended Alliant International University in San Diego, Calif. There she received her Doctorate and Master’s in Business Administration. Soon after she settled in South Florida, where Abraham has lived in Fort Lauderdale for the past 33 years.

“I’ve always admired the level of freedom enjoyed by Americans, and the high degree of openness to new ideas here,” she said.

Abraham joined the Farquhar Center at NSU in the Fall of 1989, where she began teaching undergraduates and graduates such courses as corporate finance, investments, portfolio theory, financial management, business strategy and policy, and quantitative methods. When NSU’s undergraduate business program merged with its graduate business program in 2001, Abraham transitioned to the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

In recognition of her exemplary work, she earned the first Farquhar Center Award for Teaching Excellence in 2000, and the Teacher of the Year Award from the business college in 2006.

During her years in higher education, Abraham says NSU has been a good fit because of its “emphasis on practice.” Abraham says her students and the lifelong friendships she has established with many who have gone on to graduate have helped solidify NSU as her home.

NSU’s “innovative delivery of instruction” also has been important, Abraham says.

“Education is offered days, evenings, weekends, and in clusters, where the faculty travel to corporate sites to deliver instruction,” she said. “Such flexibility is more common now, but wasn’t in the past.”

Abraham says the university’s overall approach to education has helped her balance her passion for teaching with her passion for research collaborations. which extend as far as India, Bangladesh, Alaska, Wisconsin, and South Africa.

And when she not immersed in teaching and research?

“I enjoy reading classics,” Abraham said.

Posted 07/18/22

Business Spotlight: Professor Shows Big Picture of Microeconomics

Hard work, keen instincts, and perseverance have been the cornerstones of Florence Neymotin’s life and career. As the first child in her family born on U.S. soil to Jewish refugees who fled the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, she calls herself a “freedom baby.” Prof. Neymotin makes an appreciation of academic and economic freedom a focal point of her research.

Florence Neymotin, Ph.D.

She currently serves as Professor of Decision Sciences in the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. While at NSU, she has received various grants and awards at both the local, national, and international levels, with a number of these focused on the advancement of individuals with a minority representation. To name a few, she was the recipient of the Kauffman Foundation Series Promising Paper Award, the Academy of Business Research Best Paper in Session Award, a President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant from NSU, and both Fulbright Canada’s Distinguished Chair position and their Visiting Scholars Speakers Program Award.

Before coming to South Florida 10 years ago with her husband, her path had taken her on a cross-country trek. Neymotin received her M.A. and her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She also holds an M.S. in Psychology. Sometimes, she says, the best possessions to take with you are good instincts. In June 2000, while an undergraduate majoring in economics at The Ohio State University, Neymotin landed a securities analyst banking internship with the Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers. Despite being offered a full-time position, it didn’t take long before Neymotin saw signs of the company’s inevitable downfall.

“It was very unclear what they were doing with their securities,” she said.

In particular, mortgage-backed securities, or MBSs, were ubiquitous during the housing boom of the mid-2000s. Ultimately, the deep investments by Lehman Brothers in these “toxic assets” contributed to the company’s demise and was the harbinger of economic changes to come.

“I told them that MBSs didn’t make sense,” she said. “They told me to keep reading and it would make more sense. It didn’t, so I went to graduate school instead.”

Neymotin headed to the University of California Berkeley in 2001, and it would be there that she would find her calling, as well as the guidance of a future Nobel laureate, Prof. David Card.

“I quickly realized that applied microeconomics was a good fit for me,” she said. “I liked the real-world aspect of it; I liked that I could answer multiple questions with the same kinds of tools, so it gave me a little more freedom in choosing topics of interest.”

At Berkeley, Neymotin had the privilege of working with Professor Card, whose research covers such topics as immigration, unemployment, and equality. Card would go on to win the 2021 Nobel Prize in economics, and Neymotin would write a piece on her work with him for The American Economist.

After receiving her degrees from Berkeley, Neymotin began her teaching career at Kansas State University, along with her husband. She spent six years in Kansas before looking for a more fulfilling opportunity. NSU was the answer, she said.

“I got my offer first at NSU, and I said to my husband, ‘We’re coming here!’” she said. “What I really ended up liking about NSU are the interactions I’ve had. People here are friendly and willing to try a new approach.”

Prior to the pandemic, Neymotin was named a Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Entrepreneurship. Her research project at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, focused on issues in applied microeconomics and health. Her husband, Louis Nemzer, Ph.D., received a Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Biology at the same time. He is currently an Associate Professor of chemistry and physics at NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. After the couple got settled in Canada, COVID-19 hit and, with it, the accompanying uncertainty.

“We were told we had to leave the country or risk being stuck in Canada if they closed the borders,” she said. “So, I finished my obligations remotely.”

Neymotin’s body of work has been internationally presented and recognized over multiple continents, and her research in education was awarded the editor’s choice in Science magazine. She has also been featured in several publications.

When she’s not teaching and learning from her sons Zachery, 4, and Joseph, 8, Neymotin is cultivating the next crop of entrepreneurs, researchers, and experts. And the relationships hold mutual benefits, she says.

“I enjoy it when I go to an MBA class and they ask me: ‘Well what’s the point of this and how do I use this on my work?’” she said. “I say ‘Great, let’s talk about it.’ I think that’s an opportunity for me to also expand my horizons and grow. Many students follow up with me afterward\ and tell me how I’ve helped them in their careers and in their businesses.”

Posted 06/19/22

Business Spotlight: Solutions to Poverty Drive Entrepreneurial Professor

When Jose Brache was growing up in the Dominican Republic back in the ‘70s and ‘80s it was easy to find poverty – in fact, it’s still prevalent there. The key for Brache, a professor at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, was learning from such conditions.

“I was a Boy Scout and visited many regions of my country and saw the tough reality of many people who were living in the ‘poverty trap,’” he said. “That raised questions and made me think of potential solutions.”

Jose Brache, Ph.D.

Brache’s parents came from humble beginnings and his father became an entrepreneur out of necessity, building a successful real estate development company from nothing. As he watched his father’s progress in the business world, Brache took notes.

“I learned that fundamentally if you are able to find a spot in life where you can create value – and you are flexible and willing to learn from your experiences – you can make a substantial contribution in any field,” he said.

Brache has been living, breathing, and preaching entrepreneurship ever since. He is an economist with a Ph.D. in Management from Adolfo Ibanez University and a Master’s in Applied Economics from Georgetown University. His research interests include international entrepreneurship, open innovation, inter-firm cooperation, SME´s internationalization, technology commercialization, geographic co-location, and innovation management.

Assisting both established and aspiring entrepreneurs with the challenging task of value creation is one of Brache’s passions. He says he strongly believes in building and nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems as a pathway toward stronger and better economies.

Brache, also director of the Huizenga Business Innovation Academy, says that coming to NSU gave him an opportunity to see entrepreneurship from its inception.

“The academy is a fantastic academic and scholarship program,” he said. “Students have the opportunity to get funding and run on-campus businesses. They also have a chance to get seed funding at the end of their program. The sheer possibility of making a contribution to the academy and its students was enough to bring me here.”

Brache’s relocation was quite a testimony to Shark Nation’s magnetism. He arrived at NSU in August 2021 from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where he spent three years as the director of the Master of Commercialization and Entrepreneurship program.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, New Zealand and Florida see the world through different lenses, Brache says, because of their stark differences in other characteristics.

“New Zealand is a developed nation with one of the highest living standards in all of the world,” he said. “Many of the companies that I had the chance to work with had an orientation toward foreign markets because New Zealand only has a population of about five million people.

“In Florida, nascent businesses are exposed to more growing opportunities because of the size of the market in the country. I observe that many startups have a regional or national orientation instead of an international orientation.”

For Brache, those characteristics create an educational opportunity to instill a broader perspective in the students he teaches at NSU.

“I think that it is our responsibility as educators to show that there are many opportunities for Florida startups in foreign markets,” he said.

Knowledge is a two-way street, Brache says, adding that students at NSU are creative and savvy at identifying and developing innovative business opportunities.

“They are interested in topics that are ‘Best for our World,’” he said. “We have academy students with projects that try to solve environmental challenges, develop healthier foods, improve the wellness of people in the community with apps that tackle anxiety and depression, and contribute to those that are more vulnerable with not-for-profit initiatives.”

Posted 06/05/22

Business Spotlight: Albert Williams Stays in Tune with Students

If you’ve ever heard Albert Williams play his Fender Stratocaster axe, you would think his chosen profession was music. But on the contrary, teaching business at NSU is his full-time gig.

Albert Williams, Ph.D., the Chair and Associate Professor of Finance and Economics

Williams, Ph.D., the Chair and Associate Professor of Finance and Economics, says his guitar reflects his “artistic side.” But don’t be surprised if a jam session breaks out in one of his classes, he says. He’s been known to mix music and business when the situation calls for it.

Besides entertaining and educating students at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Williams’ life has been full of adventures and exciting job opportunities.

But he doesn’t brag about his career. He brags about his students. In fact, his office walls are adorned with accolades he has received from some of the thousands of students that have crossed his path. Williams was nominated and received a Student Life Achievement Award, or STUEY, for Professor of the Year in 2017.

“I don’t teach economics and finance,” Williams says. “I teach people. I encourage, motivate, and care about my students.”

Williams says his recipe for student success is to help them grow by seeing how they can improve their lives from the knowledge gained from his classes. His lectures tap into his prior professional career, which enables Williams to share a variety of real-world examples with his students.

Before coming to NSU in 2003, Williams was a jack of many trades: a high school math teacher, banker, agricultural economist, CEO of an agricultural marketing firm, and analyst for Burger King Corporation.

He takes those experiences to the classroom and combines them with his ability to dissect complicated economic concepts and make them easier to understand. But he doesn’t stop there.

“I also bring current issues to class and have students discuss them,” Williams says. “This makes economics and finance more applied and alive!”

During his years at NSU, Williams has become a Shark through and through. He is the faculty adviser for the Graduate Business Student Association (GBSA). In this role he helps student leaders practice leadership by developing projects and implementing them for the benefit of all students. He also has played an active role in the Honors College and still speaks to new students and parents on the importance of being in the college.

When it comes to undergraduate recruitment, he doesn’t hesitate to speak to parent groups and answer their questions while promoting the advantages of attending NSU.

Williams also takes his expertise to the airwaves from time to time appearing on television and radio as one of NSU’s business experts. NBC and PBS have featured him locally and he frequently provides expert opinions on Love FM in Belize, his country of origin.

Despite his many roles, Williams’ headliner is teaching, which he considers as much an art form as playing his guitar.

“You have to put passion and knowledge into it and that makes learning exciting for students,” he says.

Posted 05/20/22

Students Place Third in American College of Healthcare Executives Contest

From left, Kenneth Wong (past president of ACHE of South Florida), Tania Perez, Samanta Gomez, Professor François Sainfort, and Abby Stout.

Our Complex Health Systems graduate students team of Samanta Gomez, Tania Perez and Abby Stout placed third at the 2022 American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) of South Florida Graduate Case competition. This was the first time a team from NSU competed in this event, and what a great result!

Tania, Samanta and Abby did a marvelous job and set a high bar for their fellow students to surpass next year! Professor Timothy Page, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Eleanor Lawrence, Psy.D., provided invaluable mentorship to the students in the CHS program.

Congratulations and thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Posted 05/22/22

Business Students Score Impressively in Simulation Contest

From left, Dr. Will Hawks, Michael Capuno, Ryan Clark, Steven Suarez, and Caleb Fell

A team of Nova Southeastern University business students hit a global high note recently in a business simulation competition. Adam Sumioka, Ryan Clark, Caleb Fell, Michael Capuno, and Steven Suarez of “Company C” placed second worldwide out of 2,761 and 127 colleges and universities competing within the GLO-BUS business simulation. NSU Huizenga seniors participate in this simulation as a part of MGT4880, Business Strategy and Policy, the 8-week senior capstone course.

The simulation focuses on the competitive business of action-capture cameras and unmanned aerial vehicle drones. Teams of students act as co-managers of a Taiwan-based multi-million-dollar company that designs, assembles, and markets the cameras and drones. Through this simulation experience, senior at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship can apply business concepts learned in MGT4880and cultivated throughout their time at the college to make collaborative data-driven decisions to promote their company’s overall performance and competitive advantage.

Each week during the competition, student teams were challenged to leverage various business reports to make high-stakes decisions related to import duties plus exchange rate fluctuation, product design plus performance, workforce compensation, assembly operations, corporate social responsibility, pricing, marketing, and other vital areas of their companies. In the simulation, one week is a simulated year.

After co-managers make their decisions at the end of each week, rankings are published highlighting the highest performing companies (in classrooms and globally) based on factors including financial performance, earnings per share, return on equity, and stock price.

During the week of April 11-17, co-managers of NSU’s “Company C” earned a Global Top 100 ranking, with their score of 109 tying for the 2nd best overall game-to-date score performance of the week worldwide. The week prior the team earned a global ranking of 41st place out of 3,183 teams and 136 colleges/universities.

“To say I’m proud of this group of sharks is an understatement,” said Will Hawks, Ed.D., instructor of management at NSU.

Posted 04/24/22

Study: Drug Overdoses Rise During COVID-19, Creating ER Disparities

Nova Southeastern University professors conducted a landmark study on drug overdoses in Florida during COVID-19 and found unexpected results regarding disparities by age, ethnicity, and insurance status.

Among their key findings:

  • There were more opioid and stimulant overdoses reported by emergency departments (EDs) during COVID-19 in Florida than before the pandemic.
  • ED visits among those under age 18 were more likely to involve drug overdoses during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19.
  • ED visits among those on Medicaid or without insurance were more likely to involve drug overdoses during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19.
  • There were no disparities according to ethnicity or race. Drug overdoses were problematic for all groups during COVID-19.

The interdisciplinary, multi-college, multi-university study was conducted by Professors Timothy F. Page and François Sainfort from NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Professor Julie Jacko from NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, and Professor Weiwei Chen from Kennesaw State (Ga.) University’s Department of Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis. Their study of disparities in drug overdoses during COVID-19 was the first research of its kind in the state of Florida.

The researchers compared ED data from April to September 2019 (before the pandemic) to the same time period in 2020 (during the pandemic). While opioid overdose visits increased during the pandemic, visits for other causes declined as activity was restricted during the pandemic.

“This type of research has broad impact in the scientific community. It advances our knowledge of drug abuse during the pandemic and therefore helps us help society,” said Andrew Rosman, Dean of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

The opioid crisis continues to persist in Florida as well as the United States, fueling thousands of overdose deaths. In 2019, the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control awarded Florida a new Overdose Data to Action grant, which was expanded in the scope of previous drug overdose surveillance to include more non-opioid related overdoses and strengthened funding of prevention efforts.

For details on the study go to https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/epdf/10.1089/pop.2021.0369 or contact Professor Timothy F. Page at tpage1@nova.edu

Posted 03/15/22

1 … 4 5 6 7 8