Fully Decorated
The 2024-25 academic year was full of achievements for Lindner students, faculty, staff and alumni. Join us in commemorating these accomplishments.
Power in Partnership
Rusty Myers, Bus '82, (center) with Lindner dean Marianne Lewis (right) and UC President Neville Pinto (left).
The 40th annual Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards (CBAAs) celebrated Lindner’s ties to students, alumni and the community.
Honored at this year’s event:
- Rusty Myers, Bus ’82, Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement Award
- Liz Keating, Distinguished Service Award
- Fifth Third Bank, Business Partnership Award
- Lucien Kidd, Bus ’15, ’22, Outstanding Young Alumni Award
- Anne Heuker, Bus ’26, Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Award
- Marissa Riehm, Bus, LHP ’26, Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship
Staff, Faculty Represent Lindner at the University Level
Lindner faculty and staff members received university-wide recognition for their contributions to reserach, teaching and advising students.
Staff Excellence Award: Lauren Thomas, Associate Director, Lindner Academic Advising
The Staff Excellence Award recognizes those who go above-and-beyond in their dedication and commitment to the university community.
Faculty Excellence Award: Steven Jones, Assistant Professor-Educator of Operations, Business Analytics, and Information Systems
The Faculty Excellence Award highlights faculty members from each college who demonstrate excellence in all forms, from teaching to research.
Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award: Rashmi Adaval, PhD, Professor of Marketing
The Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award celebrates faculty members who show an unwavering commitment to mentoring faculty at various stages of their careers.
Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award for Staff: Nick Castro, Assistant Dean, Office of Lindner Community Engagement
The Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award for Staff is awarded to an individual who equips students, faculty and/or staff to excel in a global society.
Students Shine Bright
Lindner students scooped up a range of recognitions from the university and nationally competitive awards.
Introducing Mr. Bearcat
2025 Mr. Bearcat Awardee Evan Phelps dons his gown for graduation.
Evan Phelps, BBA, LHP ’25, received the 2025 Mr. Bearcat designation awarded by the Sigma Sigma honorary fraternity. Since 1949, the Mr. Bearcat award has been bestowed upon a graduating senior man who has attained academic success, demonstrated leadership and made a significant contribution to UC, all while displaying “Bearcat spirit.”
Phelps not only demonstrates Bearcat spirit, but also embodies Lindner’s mission of empowering business problem solvers. Phelps’ lengthy list of accomplishments and achievements includes Lindner Business Honors, five co-op experiences, nine executive-level roles with various campus student organizations, and four study abroad experiences.
Welcome to the Fellowship
Jack Luu, a doctoral student in the department of operations, business analytics, and information systems, received the Digital Futures Graduate Fellowship, which supplies dedicated research support to students conducting bold, interdisciplinary projects that drive transformative discovery. Luu is also a recipient of the Dean's Dissertation Completion Fellowship.
National Competitors
Sunil Kollipara, BA, LHP ’25, was recognized as a semifinalist for the Fulbright Binational Business Award in Mexico. Alongside Kollipara, Perry Li, an undergraduate student pursuing his BS in Medical Sciences and a BA in Economics and Liberal Arts, achieved semifinalist status for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program in Taiwan. Li will also participate in the Japan Exchange and Teaching program.
Double Decked Out
Zachery (Ziqi) Ma was recognized with the Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship, an award designed to strengthen the pipeline of accounting faculty by supporting PhD candidates who plan to pursue academic careers.
For nearly 70 years, this program has awarded fellowships to 10 top accounting PhD candidates across the U.S. to help cover expenses during the recipients’ final year of coursework and the subsequent year to complete their doctoral dissertation. Each year, accounting doctoral students from more than 100 universities are invited to apply for the fellowship. A selection committee composed of respected accounting educators chose this year’s recipients, who were nominated by accounting faculty at their institution.
Ma also received the Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship for the 2025–26 academic year. He was selected by the University of Cincinnati Graduate College’s award committee from a highly competitive pool of nominations from across the university.