Saunders Business Beat November+December 2025

November+December 2025

Ready to see how the Saunders community is shaping the future? Our November Issue is full of high-impact research, student success stories, and our events calendar. Don't forget to contribute your own news for next month by visiting Saunders announcements or emailing us at communications@saunders.rit.edu.

Saunders Students Accomplishments

Natali Belusic ‘26 (international business, Croatia) is studying for two semesters on RIT’s main campus as part of the global scholars program. She recently completed a summer internship at Goldman Sachs in London.
 

Biju Varghese ‘28 (PhD digital transformation) has received an AIS Jessica Pye Doctoral Student Service Award, which recognizes volunteer contributions made by doctoral students toward the success of AIS conferences such as AMCIS – a prestigious conference in Information Science – journals, and programs.
 

Jacob Capps ‘26 (supply chain management), Cassie Lang ‘28 (supply chain management), Joe Hess ‘29 (MIS, supply chain management), and Amina Atabaeva ‘28 (global business) took part in the ASCM Pittsburgh Student Case Competition at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, November 15, 2025. Learn more, and see a video about their experience throughout the day.

Jacqueline Mozrall, dean, Saunders College of Business, published a column in Rochester Business Journal, “MBA ROI: Perspective matters.” She discusses the value of an MBA degree, the overall ROI, and how students should weigh the location of their schools relative to cost of living and quality of life considerations.

Malarvizhi Hirudayaraj, associate professor in the department of management, and Martin Anselm, professor and interim department head in the College of Engineering Technology, are co-leaders of a project to build “a comprehensive workforce development program in manufacturing for veterans and under-employed individuals to provide the needed skills-based training in electronics assembly.” The program, which began in 2016, is in collaboration with the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center.

Nikisha Alcindor, lecturer in the department of management, has been named one of the Most Inspirational Women of Web3 and AI 2025 by Unstoppable Women of Web3. She will be recognized at a presentation in Las Vegas in January 2026.

Muhammet Kesgin, professor in the department of international hospitality and service innovation, moderated ScotWebinar Volume 75: Taste the Destination – Innovations in Food Tourism, December 13, 2025. Smart Community Tourism Webinars is a global interconnected network of scholars conducting engaged research with industry and host communities informing the strategic evolution of tourism as a global force for peace, equitable prosperity and sustainability. Learn more on our Saunders blog.

Jennifer Rubianogroot ‘27 (MBA) joins the Saunders College of Business Dean’s Office as the new Sr. Coordinator of Academic Services, beginning December 1, 2025. Jennifer comes to us from the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, where she served as a Sr. Staff Assistant supporting the PhD program and a wide range of academic operations.

Lindsay Connelly ‘11 (marketing) ‘18 (MBA) has been nominated for an Athena Young Professionals Award by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Connelly is Digital Marketing Strategist and President at Linden Digital Marketing. 

Mike Krupnicki ‘99 (MBA) is the new owner of Rochester Brainery, which is connecting the people and places in Rochester, NY through educational experiences.  Krupnicki owns Arc + Flame, an education and art space in Chili, focused on flameworking: welding, blacksmithing and glass working.

  Evan Winegard ‘99 (economics) ‘10 (EMBA) has executive produced a film, Deaf Santa Claus, about Charles Graves, who uses American Sign Language to communicate as Santa with deaf children. Winegard, who is deaf, says “I want to … create more ambassadors for Deaf Santa Claus, so that we can get deaf Santa Clauses everywhere.” Inspired by Graves, Winegard established the Deaf Santa Claus Foundation.

 Andrew Quagliata ’01 (professional & technical communication), ’03 (MBA) published Build Better Slide Decks: Create Sharper Slides, Smarter Stories, and Standout Presentations. Quagliata is a senior lecturer of management communication at Cornell University and founder of Ethos Communication Advisors, LLC. 

Older Adults Share More Fake News — But It’s Not Because They Can’t Tell Real from Fake
ZME Science references the study “The Age of Misinformation: Older People Exhibit Greater Partisan Bias in Sharing and Evaluating (Mis)Information Accuracy” co-authored by Guilherme Ramos, assistant professor in the Department of MIS, Marketing, and Analytics.

RIT researcher develops mental health equivalent of MRI
Across the country, millions struggle to find timely or affordable mental health support. This imbalance was an inspiration for Ali Tosyali, who researched a potential assistive technology that could help practitioners identify potential disorders in a faster and efficient manner.

EMBA students build community through a traveling stuffed tiger
A stuffed tiger named Cash is becoming their unlikely symbol of connection, traveling from home to home as a tangible link between classmates across the country.