Updates from Lindner’s Centers, Institutes and Partnerships
Lindner’s centers, institutes and partnerships add to the richness of the college’s academic, research and community offerings. Over the course of the 2022-23 academic year, our centers, institutes and partnerships have grown in many ways and worked to further engage with our communities.
Students attended the IRM Career Fair in the spring to network with potential employers.
The center continued to innovate this year with their events and programming. The new Risky Talks series hosted speakers such as Dave Taylor, CEO of LDR Leadership. The center held multiple events for students to network with employers, including two career fairs. Four new courses — Behavioral Risk Management, Financial Risk Economics, IRM Global Destinations and Risk Finance — were created to further students’ education, innovate on the current curriculum and give the Lindner degree program a competitive advantage. With these new course offerings, the center will support an enhanced degree program to better prepare students for the workforce.
The 2022 Data Science Symposium featured multiple speakers including Bill Inmon, CEO of Forest Rim Technology, also known as the “father of data warehouse.”
In November, the center welcomed attendees to the Data Science Symposium in Lindner Hall. In collaboration with the 1819 Innovation Hub and Fifth Third Bank, the center developed the Launchpad program, a two-week training initiative designed to further employees’ capabilities in data, analytics and visualization. Throughout the year, the center continued to offer training and professional development, culminating with its annual Analytics Summit on May 2 at the Sharonville Convention Center, featuring keynote speakers Christina Qi, CEO of Databento, and Xiao-Li Meng, PhD, Jones Professor of Statistics at Harvard University.
The IQ E-pitch event allows students to pitch products and earn real prize money to develop their ventures.
The Center for Entrepreneurship celebrated its 25th anniversary with multiple accomplishments. In December, the center merged with the 1819 Venture Lab. The center expanded its team with two new hires: Candace Wade, program coordinator, and Josie Dalton, assistant director. Several new initiatives were launched to support students, including three new pitch competitions and a $1 million student venture fund to grant students hands-on experience in venture capital. Lab2Market, a multiphase technology commercialization program, helped graduate students in STEM disciplines with their professional development. Several projects that began with the support of the center received acceptance into accelerator programs including BandConnect, a physical therapy and rehabilitation platform, and Sty/e, a virtual closet management system.
The Sales Expo, held in both the fall and spring semesters, draws large crowds of both students and employers.
The Center for Professional Selling, led by Jennifer Barlow, executive director of external relations, welcomed several new donors, including Toyota, Parker Hannifin, Divisions Maintenance Group, Cintas, TK Elevator and Mailender, alongside existing donors DHL Express, Gartner and Western & Southern. Students added to the success of the center through the outstanding performance of the Varsity Sales Team (VST). At the National Collegiate Sales Competition, the team placed sixth out of 170 schools — Lindner’s first time breaking the top 10. Additionally, sales student Chace Miller, BBA ’24, placed fourth out of more than 140 competitors. At the University of Toledo International Sales Competition, VST was third out of 32 teams. Kyle Kramer, BBA ’25, took first place in the Sophomore Silver Division and Angeli Roig, BBA ’24, placed fourth in the Junior Silver Division. Finally, the Spring Sales Expo attracted more than 300 students and 55 companies that sought to hire Lindner students for co-op, internship and full-time opportunities.
The Exploring the 2023 Economic Landscape breakfast featured panelists John Fidler (second from left), Brandon Zureick (second from right) and David Mahon (right).
Now in its 33rd year of operation, the Goering Center continues to experience significant growth. In 2022, the redesigned Next Generation Institute successfully welcomed its first class to begin their family business succession journeys. The annual Family and Private Business Awards Gala returned in-person in September to honor local businesses that have contributed to the region’s economic and community vibrancy. The center added Operations Manager Brandie Ellery, Programs Director Jim Bax and Executive Administrative Assistant Nita White to its team. The Goering team remains steadfast in its efforts to help family and private businesses adapt, grow and thrive.
The Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab provides students with hands-on experience using industry tools and data,
The Johnson Investment Institute (JII) had several key hires and appointments this year. Steve Slezak, PhD, associate professor of finance, assumed the role of director. JII also welcomed David Salem, JD, assistant professor-educator and advisor to the Experiential Learning Platform (ELP), and Jamie Weathers, PhD, assistant professor-educator and director of Women in Finance. The institute created the ELP to prioritize student engagement and collaboration with the investment industry. The Women in Finance initiative began offering dedicated coursework for understanding gender-specific issues in the financial services industry. Finally, the new Arun C. Murthy Finance Certification Fund will raise awareness and advocate for students earning Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) credentials.
The institute recognized students for their hard work and commitment to their studies at the 2023-24 Economics Awards.
The year began with the grand opening of the Kautz-Uible Cryptoeconomics Lab, housed in UC’s Digital Futures research facility. Led by Associate Professor-Educator of Economics Michael Jones, PhD, the institute’s academic director, the lab offers an innovative space where students, researchers and corporate partners study the economic impact of blockchain technology and digital assets. The institute resumed the James C. Kautz Lecture series in the fall, welcoming back Betsey Stevenson, PhD, for her presentation “Did the Pandemic Permanently Alter How We Work and Live?” In the spring, the institute hosted the Financial Executives International cryptocurrency panel and offered a ChatGPT workshop for nonprofits. Throughout the year, the institute continued to support economics students with fellowships and scholarships.
UC Real Estate Center executive director Carl Goertemoeller gave the opening remarks at the annual UC/PNC Economic Outlook event in February 2023.
2023 marked the 39th season of the UC Real Estate Center’s Roundtable Series. More than 300 attendees were present at the annual UC/PNC Economic Outlook event in February. The Real Estate Career Fair hosted a record number of companies and student attendees. Students received more than $40,000 in scholarships for the 2023–24 academic year. The 32nd UC Real Estate Dinner honored Laura Brunner, president and CEO of The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, with the Distinguished Real Estate Service Award at Cincinnati Music Hall in June. The event also featured remarks from Gary Painter, PhD, the center’s new academic director and inaugural holder of the BEARE Chair in Real Estate, and honored scholarship recipients and students of the year.
Black Art Speaks, one of studio's first clients, was responsible for the painting of the Black Lives Matter mural outside of Cincinnati City Hall.
Led by Executive Director Chanda Monroe-Williams, the Urban Impact Studio was launched in fall 2022 with the goal of supporting its partners and community by driving social impact. The studio supports internal departments and units by leveraging the college’s unique ability for problem solving and impact to measure and improve Lindner’s project-based learning initiatives. Additionally, UIS assists Lindner’s network of inclusive excellence community organizations by identifying and creating mechanisms of tracking key performance indicators. Initial projects tackled by the studio included impact audits of the centers and institutes housed in Lindner, aiding the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System (CAGIS) to align stakeholders for improved data management, and capacity-building for Black Art Speaks, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Black voices through art.
The annual Warren Bennis Leadership Experience capped off the year for the WBLI.
The Warren Bennis Leadership Initiative (WBLI) will transition to the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute in fall 2023. The initiative developed two executive leadership programs, Igniting Innovation (for IT and technology professionals) and the Inclusive Leadership Program (for non- and for-profit managers and directors). WBLI piloted two student leadership workshops; sent four students to the International Leadership Association conference; and continued its Breakfast with Bennis series for students to read and reflect on Bennis’ work. WBLI Thornburgh Academic Director Donna Chrobot-Mason, PhD, also co-taught the Bennis Leadership Accelerator with Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis, PhD, and psychology faculty members. The annual Warren Bennis Leadership Experience capped off the academic year with keynote speaker and author Betsy Myers.