Top business students were inducted into Elon’s international honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International.
The Elon University chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) inducted 47 Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students during a May 10 ceremony held in LaRose Digital Theatre.
Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society that serves business programs accredited by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.) BGS membership provides the highest recognition a baccalaureate or graduate business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International.
BGS’ mission is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to cultivate and celebrate leadership and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members. Raghu Tadepalli, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, advises Elon’s chapter.
The chapter honoree and keynote speaker was Eileen Claussen, founding president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and executive-in-residence for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Claussen gave a speech on professional ethics titled, “Honesty, Accountability and Humility and the Path to Success.”
As a Love School of Business Executive-in-Residence, Claussen advises students on career options in sustainability and the public sector, and shares insights from her career. Additionally, she advises the school on its sustainability curriculum. Claussen has had an illustrious career receiving many honors and awards for her work. She was instrumental in negotiating and implementing the Montreal Protocol, a treaty curbing the production of ozone-depleting CFCs. She served as assistant secretary of state for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, where she led U.S. diplomacy on issues such as global warming, biodiversity, forest management, oceans, desertification and trade and the environment, as well as on the environmental and sustainable development efforts of the multilateral banks and the United Nations.
The 2016 Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of the Year award was presented to Steve DeLoach, professor of economics. Current BGS members selected the award recipient according to 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
- Supports the advancement of business thought and practice to encourage lifelong learning.
DeLoach has had more than 20 papers published in peer-reviewed journals and presented multiple times at top international conferences. He is a recipient of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Excellence in Teaching, as well as the Elon University Distinguished Scholar Award. DeLoach has mentored more than 50 undergraduate research projects that resulted in presentations at national and regional conferences, and serves as the faculty advisor for the undergraduate research journal in economics Issues in Political Economy. He received doctoral and master’s degrees in economics from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska.
The 2016 BGS inductees are:
Juniors
Michael Bernetti
Ramon Brandt
Holly Brueggman
Clay Bruning
Christina Byrd
Benjamin Davidson
Anna Dellicker
Sarah DeVries
Amanda Feldman
Jonas Fries
Owen Gaffney
Max Heinrich
Benjamin Kalra
John King
Anette Koehler
Erin Kost
Andrew Lilley
Kristen Lober
Sara Machi
Charles May
Luz Mendoza
Ariel Mittleman
Clayton Murphy
Grace O’Hara
Caroline Perry
Barang Phuk
Lauren Ray
Patrick Ryan
Kiley Shannon
Mason Stalph
Casey Wagner
Seniors
Alex Bicknell
Martin Enssle
Rebecca Herring
Nicholas Massey
Justin Morin
Allison Nylen
Andrew Van Hoof
MBA/Master of Science in Management
Roger Dugas
Mike Griffin
Lawson Hodges
William Jennings
Robert Martin
Cale Murray
Richard Palmer
Brett Patterson
Thomas Revelle
Outgoing BGS Vice President
Allison Weiler
Incoming BGS Vice President
Allison Nylen