McCoy College of Business announces 2022 awards

SAN MARCOS, Texas — The McCoy College of Business at Texas State University announced this year’s recipients of college- and university-level awards at its annual fall meeting for faculty and staff on Friday, August 19.

Woods Research Award
and Olney Early Career Research Award

Among those recognized were the winners of the Gary V. Woods Research Award and the Robert J. Olney Early Career Research Award, the two highest research honors awarded by the McCoy College. The Woods Research Award — chosen from among all tenured and tenure-track faculty, based on scholarly performance over the course of three years — went to Dr. Vishag Badrinarayanan, professor of marketing. The Olney Early Career Research Award recognizes the scholarly success of a faculty member early in their career; this year’s recipient was Dr. Ren Zhang, assistant professor in finance and economics.

College-Level Awards

College Achievement Awards recognized 12 outstanding faculty members. For teaching, awards went to Dr. Rick Wilson, associate professor in marketing; Dr. Ha-Chin Yi, professor in finance and economics; Vicki West, senior lecturer in marketing; and Dr. Carolyn Conn, clinical associate professor of accounting. Awards for research honored Dr. Steven Rayburn, associate professor of marketing; Dr. Jeremy Sierra, professor of marketing; Dr. Ren Zhang, assistant professor in finance and economics; and Dr. Mikhail Sterin, assistant professor of accounting. For service, awards went to Dr. Phil Davis, associate professor of management; Dr. Andew Ojede, associate professor in finance and economics; Dr. Corey Fox, assistant professor of management; and Dr. Holly Syrdal, assistant professor of marketing.

Changemaker Award

This year, the McCoy College of Business presented its Changemaker Award to three recipients: Dr. Emily Zhu Fainman, assistant professor in CIS/QM; Dr. Dincer Konur, assistant professor in CIS/QM; and Nina Camacho, administrative assistant for the McCoy College’s graduate programs.

Presidential Distinction Awards

At the university level, several McCoy College faculty earned Presidential Distinction Awards. For teaching, awards went to Dr. Vishag Badrinarayanan, professor of marketing; Dr. Francis Mendez, professor in computer information systems and quantitative methods (CIS/QM); and Dr. Emily Zhu Fainman, assistant professor in CIS/QM. For research, awards went to Dr. Mina Pizzini, associate professor of accounting; Dr. Jeff Todd, associate professor in finance and economics; Dr. Dincer Konur, assistant professor in CIS/QM; and Dr. Maggie Wan, assistant professor in management. For service, awards recognized Dr. Nate Cannon, associate professor of accounting; Dr. Yao-Yu Chih, associate professor in finance and economics; Kevin Jetton, senior lecturer in CIS/QM; and Wayne Noll, senior lecturer in marketing.

External Recognition

McCoy College Dean Sanjay Ramchander announced that 2021-2022 Presidential Fellow Dr. Tahir Ekin, associate professor in CIS/QM, would continue serving as Presidential Fellow for an additional year. That role includes a seat on the President’s Cabinet.

Years of Service

The following faculty and staff members were recognized for years of service at Texas State:

30 Years of Service

Dr. Chinna Natesan, Marketing

25 Years of Service

Dr. Garry White, CIS/QM

20 Years of Service

Dr. Jaymeen Shah, CIS/QM
Dr. Ha-Chin Yi, Finance and Economics
Dr. Kay Nicols, Management

15 Years of Service

Kevin Jetton, CIS/QM
Dr. Diego Vacaflores, 
Finance and Economics
Ken Murdock, Marketing
Dr. Jeremy Sierra, Marketing

10 Years of Service

Dr. Carolyn Conn, Accounting
Ludmila Krylova, Accounting
Dr. Ann Watkins, Accounting
Dr. Tahir Ekin, CIS/QM
Jennifer Krou, CIS/QM
Dr. Indu Ramachandran, Management

For more information, email Twister Marquiss, manager of marketing and communications for the McCoy College of Business, at twister@txstate.edu.

About the McCoy College of Business

Established in 1970, Texas State’s business school officially became the McCoy College of Business in 2004 following a donation of $20 million by Emmett and Miriam McCoy. The college, which offers classes in both San Marcos and Round Rock, is accredited by AACSB in both business and accounting, and has graduated nearly 42,000 alumni.