Belk College honors outstanding faculty, staff

Friday, April 25, 2014

The Belk College recently presented its annual awards to faculty and staff who have excelled in teaching, research and service.

Linyun Yang assistant professor of marketing, received the Best Paper award for her paper “Distinctively Different: Exposure to Multiple Brands in Low-Elaboration Settings, " which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research.  Dr. Yang joined the Belk College faculty in 2010. Her research examines how both the stereotypes applied to the self and those applied to others have implications for various consumer behaviors, including product choice, persuasion, and health behaviors. She has served as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer Psychology.  Dr. Yang has also presented her research at national conferences, such as the Association for Consumer Research.


Rob Roy McGregor, professor of economics, received the Distinguished Scholarship Award.  He was recognized for his distinguished body of work in the area of monetary policy with 20 publications in high quality academic journals in the area of economics, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics. In addition to journal publications, Dr. McGregor and his co-authors published an enormously influential MIT Press book in December 2004, Committee Decisions on Monetary Policy: Evidence from Historical Records of the Federal Open Market Committee. Dr. McGregor joined the Belk College in 1991 and currently serves as program director for the M.S. in Economics program.


Ted Amato, professor of economics, received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.  Dr. Amato joined the Belk College faculty in 1980 and his commitment to his students is evidenced by his long list of teaching accolades.  He is a two-time finalist for the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence (2013 and 2008), a recipient of the Belk College of Business Outstanding Teaching Award (2000), a two-time recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in the Department of Economics and a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in the Department of Economics.  As one of the founders of the Belk College's Business Honors Program, Dr. Amato currently serves as director of the program and has made significant contributions to both the curriculum and course design.


Artie Zillante, associate professor of economics, received the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.  Dr. Zillante was recognized for his tireless dedication to his students. He consistently lends his attention and expertise to graduate students in helping them to develop and write their research papers. Dr. Zillante joined the Belk College in 2006 and focuses his research on using laboratory  experiments to test economic theories and design mechanisms to improve the allocation of scarce resources. 


Denis Arnold, associate professor of management and Surtman Distinguished Scholar in Business Ethics, received the Outstanding Service Award. Dr. Arnold recently completed a five-year term as an elected member of the board of directors for the Society of Business Ethics and is currently serving as Editor in Chief of Business Ethics Quarterly.   He works extensively with UNC Charlotte's Ethics Center and has served as Business Ethics Area Leader for the Center since 2008.  Dr. Arnold has provided expert consultation on business ethics for both local and national media outlets.


Robin Boswell, director of graduate student career development, received the Belk College Staff Member of the Year Award.  Ms. Boswell was recognized as a tireless professional development advocate for the Belk College's graduate students whose services give graduating students a competitive edge in the job market.  She is responsible for over 25 different student services from coaching and mentoring activities to networking and assessment opportunities.