Each year, the College of Business honors outstanding staff and faculty for their contributions to our community at the College of Business Awards. These awards recognize colleagues who made notable efforts to embody our shared vision of using education, research and engagement in support of our Business for a Better World vision.
Earlier this year, employees nominated their peers in each category. The Executive and Administrative committees reviewed every nomination, and after considerable deliberation, award winners were selected. Awards were presented at a ceremony today at the All-College Meeting.
Thank you to everyone who nominated a colleague and congratulations to all the award winners!
Summit Award: Bill Shuster
A perennial favorite among students, master lecturer Bill Shuster epitomizes what it means to be at the summit of his profession. The breadth and number of honors he has received is testament to his pursuit of excellence. Through a lengthy career at the College, Bill earned commendations of excellence from the management department, the CSU athletic department, the honors program and the interfraternity/panhellenic councils. He has also been named as a Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow and was honored with a 2017 Best Teacher Award from the Alumni Association.
There are plenty of reasons Bill has amassed so many honors. As a course instructor across multiple disciplines, he has created signature experiences that entail collaborations with external organizations, allowing students to engage with industry while developing solutions to real-world challenges. Students note that Bill’s innovative approaches bridge the potential gap between theory and practice. His work naturally extends from the classroom to mentoring, so he has also served as the faculty advisor for the consulting club and other student organizations. In addition, Bill has informally mentored dozens of students, creating strong relationships for the College that persist.
The relationships Bill creates extend outside of CSU, where he has worked with numerous organizations to create signature experiences for our students, often in the form of practicum courses. As just one example of these engagement efforts, he piloted a student-driven economic development assessment program in rural Colorado counties that received rave reviews and was ultimately adopted by the Colorado Governor.
Known for his dedication to students, openness to new approaches and desire for consistent improvement, Bill continually incorporates student feedback to further hone instructional efforts. As a widely known master educator, he has also advised dozens of students pursuing their Master of Education degree, helping ensure that tomorrow’s instructors share his passion for excellence in education.
Bill Shuster, your commitment to providing our students with a high-quality education makes the College a better place!
Excellence in Innovation: Kat Ernst
Establishing a program on the leading edge of business education is difficult, but remaining a pacesetter in a quickly evolving market is a challenge of a whole different magnitude. Kat Ernst’s year-over-year efforts have kept the Impact MBA at the forefront of sustainable business education for years. Constantly adapting to market changes, student needs and employer preferences, Kat has led the Impact MBA through iterative changes. A few of those include adding a corporate sustainability track, evolving the track for students interested in social entrepreneurship, establishing a corporate sustainability summer fellowship program and launching the MFIN/Impact dual degree program. While adapting her program, Kat also oversaw a marked increase in enrollment, showing that these innovations have measurable influence. It is also noteworthy that, in conjunction with the Development team, Kat recently raised more than $65,000 to seed an endowed scholarship for her program.
These innovations, and Kat’s overall efforts, have earned the Impact MBA widespread recognition. Corporate Knights ranked the program the No. 4 “green” MBA in the United States. The program has received two Wharton-QS silver reimagine education awards; one for its corporate fellowship program, the other for excellence in sustainability education. Finally, AACSB recently presented the program with an Innovations that Inspire Award for contributing more than 22,000 hours of sustainability work for companies.
Kat Ernst, thank you for your efforts to sustain the Impact MBA as the best of the best business sustainability programs.
Excellence in Engagement: Nicole Olsen
Nicole Olsen has made herself an expert in facilitating corporate partnerships. These efforts drive our College’s mission of expanding access, and she is critical in developing long-term support for our programs. Through partnerships with Guild Education, Canvas Credit Union, JBS and others, Nicole has created pathways to earn an MBA that otherwise may be impractical or unaffordable for many students. She also headed efforts to develop a scholarship for MBA students, furthering our goal of providing access to a world-class business education. Not to rest on her laurels, Nicole is also currently working towards formalizing partnerships with several other organizations including Vectis, Cargill and the Northern Colorado Chamber of Commerce, building strategically important pipelines for future graduate students.
Although she is often associated with efforts for graduate student recruitment, Nicole has also achieved great things in other areas. She was vital in helping the MBA program achieve STEM designation and boosting access for international students. She’s led efforts to ensure our programs are formally ranked, and her skills at building relationships have also helped forge ties with organizations, such as Woodward, that seek assistance with executive education programming.
Nicole Olsen, your efforts to build relationships and extend our impact are central to our land-grant mission.
Excellence in Service (Staff): Amy Kozlarek
Amy Kozlarek’s primary job focus is to serve students – an area in which she has excelled since joining the College in 2021; however, she has also established herself as a go-to resource and contributor among staff and faculty. Amy has led Career Management Center colleagues in taking a deep dive into DEI topics by voluntarily curating readings, videos and podcasts to foster understanding of diverse perspectives. These efforts enable CMC staff to better serve students with empathy and understanding. Amy has also led the Denver Company Tour for Key Community students, while encouraging companies to create inclusive experiences for student visits. In addition to service within the College, she has made significant contributions to the career development field as a board member for the Colorado Career Development Association.
The spirit of serving others also drives Amy’s ongoing efforts to serve the broader College community. She participates in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative, applying problem-solving skills to implement plans in the classroom and share insights with other institutions. Her involvement with the People Committee has helped the College develop an interconnected culture. Amy has also made a pointed effort to get to know colleagues outside of her unit, frequently extending invitations for coffee to chat and strengthen ties between units. A true contributor, Amy has an innate ability to uplift those around her, thereby making the College a better place.
Thank you, Amy Kozlarek, for your many positive contributions to our College
Excellence in Service (Faculty): Leo Vijayasarathy
As demonstrated by the distinguished service award he received from International Programs last year, Leo Vijayasarathy’s service has literally been felt across the globe. That award honored his commitment to international students and Leo’s leadership associated with the LEAP Scholar program. This program helps students in India achieve an advanced degree by starting their Master of Computer Information Systems online before transitioning to our residential program. It’s just one of the many initiatives that have helped the MCIS program achieve its ranking as one of the top in the nation.
While Leo serves as director of the MCIS program and chair of the CIS department, his commitment to service is also felt outside of the CIS program. Leo has served on literally dozens of doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s honors thesis committees, helping the next generation of business leaders and academics develop. Highly involved in the College and University, he has served on numerous college committees, task forces and search committees, while also serving on the Faculty Governance committee for a dozen years. Given his tremendous work ethic, Leo is equally active in developing our curriculum, teaching and co-curricular efforts: He has taught 18 different courses and advised the CIS Club for 20 years. Students widely recognize Leo as an incredible teacher. He is also very active in serving his discipline, where he has contributed as a reviewer for more than a dozen journals, has continually helped in chairing sessions at academic conferences and has been instrumental in developing the Front Range Information Systems Research Seminars. Across all these service roles, Leo is known for his kindness and his enthusiasm for helping others succeed.
Leo Vijayasarathy, thank you for all you do for your students, department, our College and the CIS discipline.
Excellence in Research: Rob Mitchell
When Rob Mitchell arrived in the Department of Management in 2017 as an associate professor, he already had established a consistent record of significant research contributions to his discipline. Rob’s level of productivity has only increased, and he has published more than 15 journal articles since joining our College. Beyond being prolific, in the past three years Rob has received acceptances from some of the most elite management journals, including two in the prestigious Academy of Management Review, one in the Journal of Business Ethics and two in the Journal of Business Venturing. Even with this high level of output, Rob continues to have a full research pipeline and is collaborating with junior faculty in the department.
Rob’s interests span entrepreneurship, strategic management and history. In a general sense, his research drives understanding of how value creation occurs in new and existing firms. Rob’s research has consistently captured the attention of the academic community and accumulated about 1,800 citations in the past five years. He has been a Dean’s Scholar three of the past four years and currently holds a Dean’s Distinguished Research Fellowship. He is on multiple editorial review boards and has received best reviewer, best paper and best teacher awards. Known as a creative thinker, Rob is dedicated to improving governance at CSU and has served on Faculty Council as well as CSU’s Executive Committee. Furthermore, in the College he has stepped up to serve in a variety of leadership roles.
An excellent researcher and true all-around scholar, Rob Mitchell, thank you for your many contributions!
Business for a Better World Scholarship Award: Chris Berry
Chris Berry published “It’s Only Natural: The Mediating Impact of Consumers’ Attribute Preferences on the Relationships Between Product Claims, Perceived Product Healthfulness, and Purchase Intentions,” in 2017. At that time, there was a groundswell of class-action lawsuits aimed at potentially misleading claims of “all natural” products. With no formal qualifications provided by the Food and Drug Administration for using natural claims, this research helped bring perceptions of so-called natural food into focus. Published by the top-tier Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the research has been cited more than 115 times. It includes three studies that examine consumers’ preferences and perceptions when purchasing natural-labeled products.
The research found that across retail shopping and advertising contexts, consumer behavior is influenced by natural claims. These claims impact how consumers evaluate products’ qualities, which, in turn, sway purchasing decisions. The research found that when people see a natural claim, they make positive inferences, such as thinking the product is organic, minimally processed or GMO-free. The research also showed that awareness of the ambiguity surrounding natural claims reduces their influence on purchase decisions. This paper has proven to be particularly important in conveying to policymakers the multiple downsides, for both industry and consumers, of not providing regulatory guidance for natural claims.
Chris Berry, congratulations on making such a significant impact through your research.
Sonny Lubick Emerging Scholar Award: Sherry Fu
Sherry Fu joined the College one year ago – directly after completing her PhD. Despite her short time as a faculty member, Sherry has already published six articles tied to her expertise on employee motivation and organizational helping behaviors. Of these, three were published in the very highly regarded Journal of Applied Psychology and one was published in the prestigious Academy of Management Journal. In addition, she has two papers currently in the review process, with seven more in her pipeline.
Equally notable to the breadth and quality of Sherry’s output are her contributions to the College’s Business for a Better World vision. Research into how workers deal with overload and stress, how a new team member’s attractiveness influences reactions to them and the effects of high-performance work systems on mental health all have considerable potential to drive changes in management that improve employees’ health and wellbeing.
Sherry’s academic accomplishments are already generating positive exposure for the College. She is serving as a reviewer for multiple conferences and journals, presenting her research at leading management conferences and has already received a conference best paper award.
Sherry Fu, we are proud to have you on our faculty!
Excellence in Graduate Teaching: Ramadan Abdunabi
Ramadan Abdunabi is commended by students for teaching courses that are both challenging and rewarding. He is known among students for combining an impressive grasp on theoretical knowledge with hands-on, practical activities. He is applauded for making concepts such as encryption, wired-vs.-wireless communication and TCP/IP protocols understandable. Students praise his courses as equally engaging to people who are both new to IT as well as those with significant experience. Ramadan frequently reworks course materials from top to bottom to ensure students remain at the forefront of evolving technology and have highly practical skills.
He has also built a reputation for his responsiveness and accessibility to students. During the pandemic, Ramadan assembled a virtual computer lab to substitute for physical labs closed due to quarantine. This ensured students had access to the testing environments necessary to succeed in classwork. He is known for answering online students’ questions in real time, keeping them engaged and on-track despite their distance from the classroom. And, finally, Ramadan is very dedicated to students’ overall academic development, having served in a variety of volunteer student support roles including as an advisor for undergraduates’ honor theses.
Thank you, Ramadan Abdunabi, for your commitment to our students.
Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching: Kipp Krukowski
Kipp Krukowski has been recognized as having a substantial impact on students’ lives by both business students and students majoring in other degree programs across the CSU campus. In the classroom, he has developed and taught several courses that leverage a variety of guest speakers. He also provides meaningful signature experiences for the students in their classes. Kipp also actively seeks and incorporates feedback from students to continually improve his teaching and course materials.
That approach has earned him praise from students, who often describe Kipp’s courses as among their favorite at CSU. Known for a commitment to students’ success, Kipp has been praised for his patience, an ability to create highly engaging teaching approaches and a great sense of humor that helps him connect with students. His connection extends beyond the classroom, as students often seek his assistance outside of class, such as asking for feedback on a venture idea or asking him to serve as an honors thesis advisor.
Kipp has also received Tinberg Teaching Innovation grants aimed at providing entrepreneurship students with opportunities to create prototype designs, as well as another Tinberg grant that funded the development of a video series featuring CSU-trained entrepreneurs. This year, he was also nominated for the prestigious Provost Teaching Award.
Kipp Krukowski, thank you for all you do to provide our undergrads with an exceptional education.
Student Success and Admission – Advisor of the Year: Cynthia Scarpa
Cynthia Scarpa upholds the belief that helping students avoid problems rather than providing them solutions is the best way to ensure student success. Her effective utilization of Salesforce reports and diligent tracking of students’ academic progress allows her to identify potential problems and reach out to students to address concerns and provide necessary support.
Student success at a graduate level requires more than academic support, and Cynthia has assumed an approach that addresses students’ holistic needs. Understanding the significance of financial assistance, she shares critical information about CSU student employment opportunities with international students who typically have limited work options. Cynthia has also played a key role in implementing our LEAP partnership to provide international students a path to transition from online to residential programs. When these students ultimately join our on-campus community, she tracks their transition to Fort Collins and offers personalized assistance to help welcome them. To ease financial burdens for these students, she also helped in the development and awarding of MCIS Transformer scholarships. Because a support network is also critical for students, Cynthia organizes several events each year to foster student engagement and connections. These events often include collaboration with International Student and Scholar Services, address the unique needs of international students and connect them with professionals in the field.
Cynthia Scarpa, thank you for your commitment to student access and success.
Excellence in Student Support: Kristina Maaland
This year marks 15 years for Kristina as an instructional coordinator. She was recruited right after she finished her MBA and is a pillar of excellence in this role. Kristina has taken on much of the Canvas set-up for ICs as well as performing the lead IC role for six courses in the MBA. She supports hundreds of students per year, and she demonstrates dedication and coaching excellence to the students as well as providing valuable support to our faculty.
Excellence in Student Support: Jenn Stickel
Jenn has taken on a variety of courses as IC over the past six years and excelled in her role as classroom and lead IC. Jenn went above and beyond last summer to assist faculty and helped revise a course to run during the spring while the faculty member was on sabbatical, and she worked tirelessly to ensure it succeeded. She embodies the spirit of coaching our students to achieve success.
Transformer Award: Bryan Johnson
The College’s transition to a new marketing automation platform represented a major step forward in our outreach capabilities, and getting it up and running was a major lift. Bryan Johnson enthusiastically led implementation of the College’s adoption of Marketing Cloud. His thoroughness in the face of intense deadline pressures resulted in us identifying logic and programming errors that had been introduced by outside contractors. Within CSU’s complex data management ecosystem, Bryan upheld the highest standards for system documentation and architecture. This major implementation was performed on top of his existing responsibilities managing marketing applications that include Google Analytics-related reporting, the College’s website, our intranet and reporting tied to our digital advertising ecosystem.
Bryan Johnson, thank you for your immense talents!
Transformer Award: Aubrey Kruse
Building a community requires great effort on many fronts, and Aubrey Kruse has helped one of our units cultivate a growing following. Through dedication and tremendous positivity, she spearheaded several initiatives to bring together our students and external partners. Most notably, Aubrey launched the Food for Thought lunch series, which has brought more than 500 students and faculty together to talk about their experiences in innovation and entrepreneurship. She has also driven the Institute for Entrepreneurship’s many marketing efforts, lending her creativity and professionalism to bring visibility to the Institute and the College. Furthermore, Aubrey uses her superb artistic skills to decorate the Entrepreneurship Lounge’s chalkboards nearly every week. Stop by and enjoy them if you haven’t had a chance yet!
Aubrey Kruse, thank you for harnessing your creativity to build community!
Transformer Award: Michelle Schrader
Holding a successful event requires a broad skill set and meticulous planning. Michelle Schrader consistently goes above and beyond in these areas to ensure that students have positive experiences and potentially life-changing interactions at the College’s career-related events. She often works into the evening or during the early morning hours to make certain that the smallest details are cared for in advance of events. Her problem-solving skills have proven to be of the upmost importance when life throws last-minute curveballs, such as snow days, to challenge best-laid plans. Michelle’s empathy and strong interpersonal skills guides her in preparing and executing events for the Career Management Center that frequently transform lives and set students on successful career trajectories.
Thank you, Michelle Schrader, for your unwavering commitment to our students!
About CSU’s College of Business
The College of Business at Colorado State University is focused on using business to create a better world.
As an AACSB-accredited business school, the College is among the top five percent of business colleges worldwide, providing programs and career support services to more than 2,500 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students. Faculty help students across our top-ranked on-campus and online programs develop the knowledge, skills and values to navigate a rapidly evolving business world and address global challenges with sustainable business solutions. Our students are known for their creativity, work ethic and resilience—resulting in an undergraduate job offer and placement rate of over 90% within 90 days of graduation.
The College’s highly ranked programs include its Online MBA, which has been ranked the No. 1 program in Colorado by U.S. News and World Report for six years running and achieved No. 16 for employability worldwide from QS Quacquarelli Symonds. The College’s Impact MBA is also ranked by Corporate Knights as a Top 20 “Better World MBA” worldwide.
