Accomplishments from Saunders Students
- Saunders Multicultural Business Association was honored with the inaugural Tiger Unity Award at the Student Appreciation Week: Student Organization Awards,
April 17, 2025. The club, led by president Laura Gutaman
‘26 (marketing, new media interactive development), is in just its first year of existence.
- Irina Sidorenko
‘25 (global business management), Alli Miller
‘25 (industrial engineering) '26 (MS industrial and systems engineering), Kristen Cassar
‘25 (supply chain management) '26 (MBA), and Sarah Fillip
‘25 (supply chain management) ‘26 (MBA) represented RIT in the 12th Annual National Undergraduate Supply Chain Case Competition
held at the University of Minnesota, April 9-12, 2025. The students were accompanied by Kevin Sweeney,
Ph.D., associate professor and program director, MS in global supply chain management, who is the advisor to the Saunders chapter of the Association for Supply Chain Management.
- American Hotel and Lodging Association RIT Student Chapter
hosted an event—Murder, Mystery, and Dinner- Can you Figure Out Who’s the Killer?—April 11, 2025, in Saunders College Susan R. Holliday Center. The evening included a Murder Mystery Game, dinner, and a silent auction. Proceeds support student members attending conferences.
- Owen Cavo
‘27 (finance and management information systems), Cole Hess
‘26 (finance and management information systems), Justeena Paulson
‘26 (finance and management information systems), Kethyapheara Chan
‘25 (MS finance), and Lorenzo Graham
‘27 (management information systems) represented RIT in the 2025 CFA Institute Research Challenge. The competition “provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.”
- On March 25, 2025, Next Generation of Accountants
hosted Thomas Whelehan (audit manager), Frank Ferrari (audit supervisor), and Joshua Peterson (senior accountant) from Insero & Co. CPAs, who discussed the financials of NFL teams.
- Owen Cavo
‘27 (finance and management information systems), Shane Girolamo
‘28 (finance), Spencer Dennis
‘27 (finance and accounting) '27 (MBA) and Gabriel Foltz ‘24 (MS finance) attended Quinnipiac’s Global Asset Management Education Forum
in New York City, April 3-4, 2025. GAME is the largest student-run financial conference in the world.
- Kelsey Pinkowski
‘26 (global business management) has won the prestigious 2025 Gorsline Scholarship,
which is awarded to promising young race car drivers. Pinkowski has been juggling racing and her studies since 2021, before her senior year in high school.
- Rylan Ganeko
‘27 (marketing) and Angel Yang
‘22 (medical illustration) ‘25 (MFA visual communication design) co-founded Spotlight Creators,
a social media site–currently in alpha testing–where artists can post works-in-progress as well as finished creations. The collaboration got its start in an Applied Entrepreneurship class offered through RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Learn more about these accomplishments and read previous months online.
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Saunders Faculty and Staff Go Above and Beyond
- Sandra Rothenberg,
Ph.D., professor, Benjamin Forman Professor of Collaborative Research, department of management, received a Trustees Scholarship Award during A Celebration of Teaching and Scholarship,
April 9, 2025.
- Kevin Sweeney,
Ph.D., associate professor of management and program director, MS in global supply chain management, appeared on a WHAM (channel 13) segment, Could tariffs rev up Rochester's auto manufacturing again? 'Quickly' says UAW. Sweeney weighed in as an expert on supply chain management.
- Shal Khazanchi,
Ph.D., Saunders College associate dean of research and graduate programs, and Naveen Sharma,
Ph.D., Golisano College associate dean of faculty affairs and industry engagement, organized and hosted an Industry Consortium for AI Research and Translation Workshop,
April 3 and 4, 2025, in the Susan R. Holliday Center, Lowenthal Hall. The event was “a university-industry consortium, advancing responsible AI research to tackle complex business and societal challenges.”
- Pat Scanlon,
senior writer, published an article, Ghost Are Everywhere,
in the April 18, 2025 issue of Inside Higher Ed. The essay examines how AI is changing notions of authorship.
Learn more about these accomplishments and read previous months online.
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News
- CEO Magazine Announces Global MBA Rankings for 2025
Saunders’ MBA,
Executive MBA (EMBA), and Online MBA programs have been ranked among the best in the world by CEO Magazine. Saunders’ MBA Program is in the top-tier of programs for the eleventh consecutive year, the online Executive MBA program ranked #36 globally, and the on-campus Executive MBA Program sits at #39 globally.
- Saunders College MBA Ranked #100 by US News & World Reports
US News & World Report ranks Saunders College of Business #100 among the Best Business Schools with full-time MBA
programs for 2025. The magazine ranked a total of 506 institutions with master's-level business programs in the U.S. accredited by AACSB International.
- Summer semester registration open
Registration for RIT’s summer semester, offering in-person and online formats, is open. Undergraduate and graduate students can take advantage of a 12-week session and two six-week sessions. Graduate students can also enroll in a targeted seven-week session.
- Students build community through beats and BARS
RIT’s Black Artists & Records Society builds community and opportunity for student creatives through live events and creative collaboration. Joshua Michaels
'26 (marketing) and Scott Franco
'24 (marketing) are among the founding members.
- RIT hosts AI Workshop to form industry-university consortium
RIT hosted a forward-thinking two-day workshop
focused on building a university-industry consortium dedicated to advancing responsible artificial intelligence (AI) research. Shal Khazanchi,
Ph.D., Saunders College associate dean of research and graduate programs, and Naveen Sharma,
Ph.D., Golisano College associate dean of faculty affairs and industry engagement, organized and hosted the workshop. See workshop photos.
- That’s a wrap! Munson’s movies mark an RIT era
RIT’s 10th president will be remembered for many things after he retires June 30—construction of the SHED, completion of the 2025 Strategic Plan, creation of the Performing Arts Scholarship program. But a key piece of David Munson’s legacy is the six playful and sometimes wacky videos that welcomed students each year to RIT. Saunders Alumnus Jim Salzano ’87 (accounting) presented President Munson with a pretend Oscar award for his accomplishments at RIT while they met at a fireside chat in Boston.
- RIT alumni innovators spoke at Futurists Symposium on April 25
The annual Futurists Symposium features a unique collection of the university’s alumni innovators, all highlighting their expertise on a variety of topics. The event begins at 4 p.m. Friday in Ingle Auditorium. Tonia Bledsoe ’96 (management information systems) is one of the panelists at the Symposium.
- RIT solidifies its place in LA
Each fall semester, RIT in LA students attend classes and gain work experience while living on the West Coast. Students come home with experiences that will help pave the way to a career in the entertainment industry. For Joshua Michaels
'26 (marketing), the work highlight was a highlight of the semester as he worked as a marketing intern at Synapse Virtual Production.
- Hospitality graduate books ticket to Voyage program
Samantha Phillips
'25 (hospitality and tourism management) has been selected for Marriott International’s prestigious Voyage Leadership Development Program, a fast-track career pathway designed to prepare high-potential college graduates for leadership roles in hotel operations and management.
See these and past news online.
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Media Coverage
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Alums hope to buy Wells College property
Rochester Beacon speaks to Debanjana Dey,
assistant professor in the department of finance and accounting, about the sale.
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Could tariffs rev up Rochester's auto manufacturing again? 'Quickly' says UAW
WHAM-TV speaks to Kevin Sweeney,
Ph.D., associate professor and program director, MS in global supply chain management, about tariff related infrastructure and capacity issues.
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To nearshore or not to nearshore: A not-so-simple question
Rochester Business Journal featued an essay by Jacqueline Mozrall,
dean of the Saunders College of Business, discussing shifting production of goods from China to Mexico and nearby regions with Laharish Guntuka,
assistant professor, and Kevin Sweeney,
associate professor in the department of management.
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Climate change is making coffee more expensive. Tariffs likely will too.
The Associated Press publishes a piece co-authored by Max Conway
'25 (marketing) discussing the changing price of coffee due to climate change and tariffs.
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