Business Administration

Colloquium explores ‘wicked problem’ of AI
Faculty and students agree: 'AI is not a replacement'

On today’s college campuses, one can hardly go a single day without hearing the letters “AI.” Eastern Connecticut State University recently dedicated a full day to unpacking the...

Posted on April 01, 2026 by Noel Teter '24

‘How to Go Viral’: AI in Marketing
A talk with marketing professionals about AI in the workplace

As artificial intelligence increasingly permeates the workforce and daily life, marketing professionals who recently visited campus argue that the emerging technology cannot replace human creativity.

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Savannah Striano '25

Eastern students bring tax savings to Willimantic residents
Student tax preparers volunteer through VITA

Students from Eastern’s College of Business are providing cost-free tax preparation services to local community members through the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA)...

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Kyle Berson '26

Faculty researchers examine healthcare quandary
Pakdil, Muchiri investigate hospital length of stay versus readmission

Business administration Professor Fatma Pakdil and economics and finance Professor Steve Muchiri have forged an enduring research partnership. Since 2016, the pair has co-authored a series of...

Posted on January 12, 2026 by Noel Teter '24

‘He is still teaching me’
A student-professor bond spans 40 years

When Robert “Bob” Polito ’86 retired from his job as senior vice president at Webster Bank in 2019, he found he had a bit of time on his hands. COVID-19 exploded a few months...

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Ed Osborn

Students pitch business ideas in 'Shark Tank'-style competition
Budding entrepreneurs win big at Big Idea Pitch Competition

Eastern students showcased their entrepreneurial skills at the College of Business’s third annual Big Idea Pitch Competition on Dec. 1 at the J. Eugene Smith Library. The “Shark...

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Noel Teter '24

New course supports Spanish-speaking businesses
Spanish students foster community ties

Eastern's Department of World Languages and Cultures and the Latino Chamber of Windham recently hosted a special event celebrating a semester of community partnerships and hands-on learning....

Posted on December 02, 2025 by Darlene Orozco '28

Villanueva advances global wine research
Study of ‘a social beverage’

Emiliano Villanueva continues to be a global authority on the business of wine. The business administration professor and department chair was recently appointed as an assistant editor of the Wine...

Posted on December 01, 2025 by Kyle Berson '26

Local entrepreneurs attend Eastern’s first Small Business Academy
Collaborative series offered through new Small Business Resource Center

Eastern Connecticut State University hosted a series of business courses for local entrepreneurs this fall 2025 semester. The inaugural session of the Small Business Academy (SBA) was offered by...

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Noel Teter '24

Business faculty Coyne and Ferraro present on agritourism and DEI

Two College of Business faculty members recently presented research and insights during an industry panel discussion and academic webinar. Business administration Professor Matthew Coyne presented...

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Kyle Berson '26

Willimantic businesses rally behind new Small Business Resource Center

Eastern Connecticut State University hosted a community networking event on Sept. 22 at the J. Eugene Smith Library for its recently formalized Small Business Resource Center (SBRC). Launched in...

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Darlene Orozco B. '28

Kane to publish third edition of leadership textbook
‘Sports Leadership in the 21st Century’ to be published in December

Business administration Professor Gregory Kane will release the third edition of his textbook “Sports Leadership in the 21st Century” on Dec. 8. The book is co-authored by Laura J....

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Kyle Berson '26

‘Social Spark’: Recent graduates design app to streamline ‘going out’ experience

A group of several students and recent graduates from Eastern and the University of Connecticut recently launched an app intended to help college students make the most of a night out....

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Noel Teter '24

Business professor bikes to fight hunger
Chatterton leads community effort to benefit Connecticut families

Eastern business administration Professor Charles Chatterton recently spearheaded a charity event utilizing biking and lacrosse on Aug. 22. The Rockville High School/North Central Connecticut...

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Elisabeth Craig

Business students gain experience via summer internships

This summer, dozens of students from the Business Division at Eastern gained professional experience through a myriad of internships. Each student exercised various professional skills they learned...

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Elisabeth Craig

Eastern partners with Liberty Bank, Town of Windham to boost local businesses
Partnership will develop small business resource center on campus

Eastern Connecticut State University, Liberty Bank, and the Town of Windham formalized a partnership on Aug. 19 to establish a small business resource center (SBRC) in Willimantic. During the...

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Noel Teter '24

Grandhi appointed AAC&U senior fellow

Sukeshini Grandhi, professor of business administration at Eastern Connecticut State University, has been appointed a senior fellow with the American Association of Colleges and Universities...

Posted on August 05, 2025 by Noel Teter '24

Research institutes delve into data analytics, DNA sequencing, picture books

Eastern Connecticut State University began its summer session with three week-long summer research institutes, culminating in a final presentation on June 6 in the Student Center Theater. Students...

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Elisabeth Craig

Eastern hosts regional business conference

Will artificial intelligence (AI) help reduce government corruption? What roles does the virtue of honor play in American law? These were some of the questions explored by three Eastern Connecticut...

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Kyle Berson '26

Business pitch competition showcases 'big ideas'

Eastern students showcased their entrepreneurial abilities at the second annual Big Idea Pitch Competition on March 5. Held in the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Community Conference Room of the J. Eugene...

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Darlene Orozco B. '28

Sport management students get inside look at CT venues

During the fall 2024 semester, Eastern Connecticut State University business students went on tour throughout Connecticut’s most renowned arenas and athletic complexes. From the Bushnell...

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Kyle Berson '26

Business alumni share professional experiences at networking event

Eastern Connecticut State University alumni returned to campus on Nov. 20 to participate in a networking event for the Department of Business Administration. The event showcased a range of career...

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Darlene Orozco B. '28

College of Business spotlights new HR minor at networking event

Eastern Connecticut State University’s College of Business promoted its new minor in human resources (HR) on Nov. 11 at a career and networking event. The event brought together students and...

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Kyle Berson '26

First-year student among the first to receive new national scholarship

Abby Dreyer, a first-year student majoring in business administration, is one of 10 students nationwide to receive the inaugural Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Scholarship.

Posted on September 03, 2024 by Elisabeth Craig

Student videographer creates Olympics ad for Eastern
Ryan Reid: "Hopefully it reaches who it needs to reach."

Eastern Connecticut State University may not have sent any student athletes to the 2024 Paris Olympics, but one student still found a way to spread the University’s message to viewers during...

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Noel Teter

E.O. Smith high schoolers learn about big data at Eastern
NASA-CT-funded project exposes students to STEM

This summer, Eastern Connecticut State University hosted 11 students from E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield to conduct research on hospital data at Eastern for the second year in a row. The...

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Elisabeth Craig

Business students glimpse health care industry at local agency

A group of business administration students from Eastern learned about the business and operations of the health care industry at a local agency in Willimantic this spring semester. The hands-on...

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Elisabeth Craig

Eastern inducts hundreds into honor societies in spring 2024

More than 20 academic programs and departments at Eastern Connecticut State University recognized student achievements this spring 2024 semester during honor society inductions and award ceremonies.

Posted on May 16, 2024

International conference tracks the business of wine production

Business and economics researchers who follow the global wine industry recently attended a two-day conference at Eastern Connecticut State University to discuss surveys of wineries in 24...

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Elisabeth Craig

Business students prepped to share financial literacy tips with community

Business students taking the "Financial Literacy and Our Community" course at Eastern will share what they learn about credit, debt, financial fraud and how to buy a home in a series of...

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Lucinda Weiss

Eastern students pitch entrepreneurial proposals in inaugural competition

Entrepreneurial students at Eastern Connecticut State University pitched their projects to judges at a recent Department of Business Administration competition, with junior Kush Patel winning first...

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

4 advanced graduate programs move fully online this spring

Four accelerated online graduate programs designed to meet the needs of working professionals will begin at Eastern Connecticut State University in the Spring 2024 semester, with master’s...

Posted on December 06, 2023 by Cindy Weiss

Learning the business firsthand
Students tour sports facilities and meet alumni who manage them

The Business 340 class in facility design in sport management taught by Charles Chatterton, associate professor of business administration, includes a half dozen field trips a semester to highlight...

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

A Love of Numbers
Accounting students explore career prospects at 19th annual fair

The common denominator at the 19th Annual Accounting Career Fair at Eastern Connecticut State University was a love of numbers.

Posted on October 05, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

Yoga reduces college students’ stress, new research confirms

Yoga courses are a significant stress and anxiety reducer for college students, a population that ranks high in self-reported anxiety and depression, according to a recent paper co-authored by...

Posted on October 05, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

Students recall summers abroad

Eastern Connecticut State University offers countless opportunities for students to grow as intellectuals, professionals and people. Over the summer, students had the chance to travel outside the...

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Marcus Grant

Students reflect on summer 2023 internships

While summer may be a time for rest and relaxation, many Eastern students take it as an opportunity to gain work experience via internships, allowing them to apply lessons learned in the classroom...

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Marcus Grant

New College of Business brings together business majors
Communication, Film and Theatre also merge

Students majoring in business subjects will now be part of the College of Business at Eastern Connecticut State University. The move is part of a rebranding this past spring that includes the...

Posted on July 05, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

High school students explore STEM in research at Eastern

Fourteen students from E.O. Smith and Windham High Schools delved into data research at Eastern Connecticut State University this past spring in a NASA Space Grant Consortium project led by faculty...

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

Eastern student wins Gilman Scholarship to study in Spain

Amirah Foster, a junior majoring in business administration at Eastern Connecticut State University, won a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State...

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

Eastern again cited as a ‘College of Distinction’

Eastern Connecticut State University is a “College of Distinction” for the 2023-24 academic year, a designation given by an organization of the same name that evaluates undergraduate...

Posted on June 06, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

2 professors win Board of Regents awards for teaching, research

Two Eastern Connecticut State University faculty were recognized for excellence in teaching and research by the Connecticut Board of Regents in its annual faculty awards.

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

Student volunteerism recognized at annual CCE Expo

Community service was on display at the annual Center for Community Engagement (CCE) Expo at Eastern Connecticut State University on April 10, where students collected awards for their service and...

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Lucinda Weiss

High school students recruited for STEM program this spring at Eastern

Twelve area high school students will be recruited to conduct healthcare management data research at Eastern Connecticut State University this spring under a NASA grant awarded to faculty members...

Posted on February 01, 2023 by by Lucinda Weiss

Longer hospital stays reduce readmission rates, say Eastern researchers in new analysis
Congestive heart failure patients showed a 24% readmission rate

A study by Eastern researchers of hospital readmission rates for patients with congestive heart failure shows that longer initial hospital stays reduce the risk of readmission, a finding that could...

Posted on January 04, 2023 by by Lucinda Weiss

Chatterton exposes business students to sports industry throughout fall 2022

Over the course of the fall 2022 semester at Eastern, Professor Charlie Chatterton has organized several events for his classes in the business administration department that have entertained his...

Posted on December 13, 2022 by by Noel Teter

Villanueva presents research on Argentine wine exports at Latin American Studies Conference

Emiliano Villanueva, associate professor of international business and chair of the business administration department, presented his research on Argentine wine exports at the New England Council...

Posted on December 13, 2022 by by Noel Teter

Dean Niti Pandey and Management and Marketing Professors Emiliano Villanueva, Fatma Pakdil and Sukeshini Grandhi

Management and Marketing Department attends AACSB Conference

School Education and Professional Studies Dean Niti Pandey and Management and Marketing Professors Emiliano Villanueva, Fatma Pakdil and Sukeshini Grandhi attended the Association to Advance...

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Noel Teter

Pakdil and Beazoglou ’21 published in Journal of Healthcare Management

Eastern Connecticut State University Management Professor Fatma Pakdil and alumna Hannah Beazoglou ’21 have recently been published for their collaborative research titled “Monitoring...

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Molly Boucher

Students complete summer 2022 internships

This summer, several students at Eastern Connecticut State University gained real-life experience and learned about themselves through internships. They left their internships in fields such as...

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Noel Teter

Students participate in SRIs at Eastern.

Research institutes examine big data, political ideology and literary scholarship

Eastern hosted three Summer Research Institutes (SRIs) at the conclusion of summer break. Occurring from Aug. 22 – 26, the weeklong institutes engaged 29 students in the fields of English,...

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

Eastern named a 2022-23 College of Distinction

Colleges of Distinction has recognized Eastern Connecticut State University for a variety of distinctions in its 2022-23 rankings, including badges of distinction for Public Colleges, Connecticut...

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

Eastern launches new sport-related programs for fall 2022

Eastern Connecticut State University will offer two new academic concentrations and one new minor this coming fall 2022 semester. Students majoring in Health Sciences can concentrate in Exercise...

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

Students reflect on spring 2022 internships

Eastern Connecticut State University students participated in both on-campus and off-campus internships during the spring 2022 semester. Internship locations ranged from Eastern’s Office of...

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Jacob Blain and Bobbi Brown

Nancy Gonzalez presents on vaccine supply chains at regional conference

Health Sciences major Nancy Gonzalez ’22 presented research at the Northeast Decision Science Institute’s (NEDSI) 51st annual conference in Newark, NJ, on April 7–9. Representing...

Posted on May 03, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

Students reflect on STEP/CAP experience

This past summer, 52 students from towns and cities across Connecticut enrolled in Eastern Connecticut State University’s STEP/CAP program -- Summer Transition at Eastern Program/Contract...

Posted on April 08, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

‘A product for the masses’
Emiliano Villanueva explains the rise of wine

Wine runs deep for Emiliano Villanueva. The son of two generations of Italian winemakers, Villanueva grew up in Mendoza, Argentina — the wine capital of South America — where he spent...

Posted on February 08, 2022 by Michael Rouleau

Professors Pakdil and Muchiri examine hospital readmission rates

Management and Marketing Professor Fatma Pakdil of Mansfield and Steve Muchiri of Columbia, assistant professor of economics and finance, recently teamed up with a Rochester Institute of Technology...

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Dwight Bachman

Students 'test the waters' via internships in fall 2021

Eastern Connecticut State University students have immersed themselves into real-life practice through internships during the fall 2021 semester. Ranging from work with probation officers to...

Posted on December 01, 2021 by Molly Boucher

Campus Briefs

Zuzu Acrobats perform thrilling Kenyan acrobatics on campus; Baseball remains unanimous no. 1 in New England; Students and faculty awarded for research and mentorship at CREATE conference; Physical...

Posted on May 06, 2021

“Turn on the Light” by Karla Pacheco-Sahagun

21st CREATE conference available online
Virtual symposium showcases the best of student research and creativity

Eastern Connecticut State University’s 21st annual CREATE conference is being presented online for the second year in a row. CREATE stands for “Celebrating Research and Creative...

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Michael Rouleau

Gomez-Stafford and Beazoglou named 2020-21 Barnard Scholars
2 graduating seniors poised for careers in genetic counseling and healthcare management

Two graduating seniors from Eastern Connecticut State University are recipients of the Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Awards this 2020-21 academic year. The award is the highest undergraduate...

Posted on April 08, 2021 by Michael Rouleau