Beta Gamma Sigma honors students for distinguished academic performance

The initiation ceremony featured a presentation on ethical leadership by Terri Smith, chief financial officer of MDC.

Beta Gamma Sigma inducted 49 students on May 1.
The Elon University Beta Gamma Sigma honor society chapter inducted 42 undergraduate students, seven graduate students and two faculty members in a ceremony held on May 1, 2018, in the LaRose Digital Theatre.

Beta Gamma Sigma is an international honor society serving business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student can receive.

The inductees represent the top 10 percent of the junior and senior classes in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, as well as the top 20 percent of the graduating class in the MBA and M.S. in Management programs.

From left, Assistant Professor Steve Bednar, Dean Ragu Tadepalli and keynote speaker Terri Smith '80, chief financial officer at MDC
The ceremony’s keynote speaker and chapter honoree was Terri Smith ‘80, chief financial officer of MDC, a private nonprofit organization in Durham, N.C., and a member of the Love School of Business Board of Advisors. Smith spoke to students about ethics in the workplace and the valuable lessons she’s learned over the years, working in various financial roles at Nortel Networks and establishing the effective practices and standards of finance and human resources at MDC.

Steven Bednar, assistant professor of economics, was presented with the Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of the Year award. Current BGS members selected the recipient based on the following criteria: encourages and honors high academic achievement by students of business and management; fosters in students an enduring commitment to the founding principles and values of the Society: honor and integrity, pursuit of wisdom, and earnestness; and supports the advancement of business thought and practice to encourage lifelong learning.

Bednar has published articles in journals including Education Finance and Policy, Applied Economic Letters, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings and Economics of Education Review. His commitment to undergraduate research is reflected in his active role teaching the economics senior seminar course and in his mentorship of both economics senior theses and honors theses.

Bednar received his doctoral and master’s degrees in economics as well as a master’s in philosophy from Yale University and his bachelor’s degree in economics and applied mathematics from UC-Berkeley.

The 2018 inductees:

Juniors

  • Sara Adelson
  • Grayson Albers
  • Stephanie Attias
  • Kathryn Barthelmess
  • Sara Bornmann
  • Alyssa Caffrey
  • Tyler Campbell
  • Bailee Castillo
  • Alexander Deberghes
  • Elena Elliott
  • Theresa Gebhardt
  • Katherine Glass
  • Emma Gresh
  • Aye Aye Han
  • Kaitlyn Hartman
  • Sarah Hartsema
  • Noor Irshaidat
  • Grace Kadel
  • Jacey Katch
  • Jessica Lalama
  • Westin Landau
  • Bridget McMahon
  • Conor McVeigh
  • Margaret Miniati
  • Meghan Murray
  • Dana Pajk
  • Nicole Parisi
  • McKenna Patterson
  • Kelly Quinlan
  • Gabrielle Saluzzi
  • Sarah Sykes
  • Michael Thomas
  • Casey Torto
  • Kevin Wiles
  • Haley Zee

Seniors

  • William Colligan
  • Michael Germinario
  • Gregory Holler
  • Sarah Huber
  • Maxwell Pivonka
  • Hannah Quinlan
  • Ellen Stanovich

MBA/ MScM

  • Preston Christy
  • Jeffery Drummond
  • Nicole Filippo
  • Corie Hampton
  • Jonathan Lindberg
  • Samantha Simunyu
  • Jocelyn Woloszczuk

Faculty

  • Steven Bednar
  • Brian Lyons

President

  • Raghu Tadepalli, dean

Outgoing Vice Presidents

  • Grace O’Hara
  • Lauren Ray

Incoming Vice Presidents

  • Emma Ott
  • Conor McVeigh