UT professor selected as one of three finalists for $250,000 national teaching award

A leadership scholar at The University of Toledo is a finalist for a prestigious national teaching award.

Dr. Clinton Longenecker, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the UT College of Business and Innovation, is one of three finalists selected for Baylor University’s 2018 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching.

The other finalists are Dr. Heidi Elmendorf, associate professor of biology at Georgetown University, and Dr. Neil Garg, professor of chemistry at UCLA.


The Cherry Award is the only national teaching award — with the single largest monetary reward of $250,000 — presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching.

“To be selected as one of three finalists for this prestigious award is an absolute honor, and I’m very proud to represent The University of Toledo on this national stage,” Longenecker said. “I’ve considered my entire career to be a privilege, an opportunity to make a difference, and a blessing to be able to teach adult learners how to improve their skills and career trajectory.”

As Cherry Award finalists, each professor will receive $15,000, as well as $10,000 for their home departments to foster the development of teaching skills. Each finalist will present a series of lectures at Baylor during fall 2017 and also a Cherry Award lecture on their home campuses during the upcoming academic year.

The Cherry Award winner, which will be announced by Baylor in 2018, will receive $250,000 and an additional $25,000 for his or her home department and will teach in residence at Baylor during fall 2018 or spring 2019.

COBI recognizes outstanding alumni from each department within the college

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation held its first Departmental Alumni Recognition event on April 13 to honor an outstanding alum from each department within the college.

Recognized during the ceremony were: Accounting – Adele Jasion; Finance – Darren Munn; IOTM – Otto Steele; Management – Christine Menard; and Marketing and International Business – Russell Ely.

“Each of these individuals is a tremendous representative of our college,” noted COBI Dean Gary Insch, “We established this new award to thank them for their commitment to the UT College of Business and to congratulate each of them on their professional success…all built upon what they learned here at COBI.”

The department chair from each represented area introduced the recipient, who spoke about their favorite memories of their time at UT and about their business success.

“This recognition is an incredible honor for me," Adele Jasion said. "I am truly humbled and appreciative of the acknowledgement of my professional, community and personal achievements. I remain connected to the UT College of Business because I know the students there today will succeed with the same type of support, encouragement and motivation that I received during my days as a UT College of Business student.”

The ceremony was held in the atrium of the Savage & Associates Business Complex.

Learn about the recipients here:

Adele Jasion

Adele Jasion 
Adele Jasion is a proud graduate of the University of Toledo with a BBA in accounting and systems. While at UT, Jasion was active in Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Gamma Sigma and Delta Delta Delta sorority. She was also a student Pacemaker award recipient.

Jasion is a founding partner of Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM). With over 100 professionals, GJM is one of the area’s largest public accounting firms. Jasion specializes in auditing and risk advisory consulting services. Prior to the establishment of GJM in 1996, she started her public accounting career at EY. Jasion works with clients in the public and private sectors in a variety of industries, including manufacturing and distribution, construction, health care, not-for-profit and service industries. She is also in charge of overseeing the firm’s system of quality control and is a quality reviewer in the AICPA’s practice monitoring program.

Jasion is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). She is a Past-President of the Toledo Chapters of the OSCPA and IMA. In addition to holding a CPA certificate, she also has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) and is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Jasion is committed to supporting the local community. She has been active on many local Boards, and is a past 20 Under 40 recipient. Currently, she is involved on the Boards of the Toledo-Lucas County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Library Legacy Foundation, the Stranahan Theatre and the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union, along with the Metroparks Audit Committee. Jasion is also a survivor of a rare cancer known as PMP and is actively involved in a patient support group (PMP Pals) for patients with this cancer. She travels around the country on behalf of the organization to help raise awareness and educate those affected.

Darren Munn

Darren Munn
Darren Munn is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Camelot Portfolios, LLC and its’ sister companies: Munn Wealth Management, Camelot Funds, & Camelot Advisors. Munn founded what would become Munn Wealth Management when he started his practice in 1998 and created Camelot Portfolios in 2008 as fellow advisors sought out his investment management expertise. He is the Lead Portfolio Manager for two mutual funds started and advised by Camelot Funds: Camelot Premium Return Fund and Excalibur Small Cap Income Fund.

Munn graduated Summa Cum Laude from the UT College of Business in 1999 with a major in finance and a minor in business law. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2002.
Munn’s passion is to make an impact in the lives of others, especially in the areas of financial stewardship, developing young people, and helping those in need. He serves dozens of ministries and organizations with gifts of time, talent, and treasure.

Munn’s greatest area of impact is his family. He and his wife Erin have 9 children and 1 grandchild, and he is happy playing with, teaching, training, and mentoring them. Darren and Erin love to travel together and hope to visit one new country plus one new state each year.
Munn enjoys competitive volleyball and softball; loves to listen to music and wishes he could dance. He also enjoys watching Ohio State football, watching movies, and relaxing by a fire.

Otto Steele

Otto Steele
Otto Steele is a Global Components Supply Chain Optimization Leader who works at Owens Corning, where he helps to enable its supply chain to provide exceptional customer experiences while utilizing their world class capabilities.

Steele has a passion for inspiring the careers of students at the University of Toledo. Over the past ten years, he has mentored past and current COBI students through speaking engagements, offering career services and recruiting for Owens Corning. Through his recruiting efforts, he has helped start the careers of many University of Toledo COBI supply chain students.

Steele has worked at Owens Corning for the past thirteen years in all areas of supply chain. Through the years, he has been involved in sales and operations planning, material planning, warehousing, sourcing, production scheduling, customer operations, inventory management and multiple ERP deployments.
Steele is a strong advocate for education and personal development. He has been an active member of Toledo APICS chapter for over 20 years; has led APICS CPIM certification review courses and instructed part-time at the University of Toledo.

Steele holds a bachelor’s degree in business in operations management and information systems from the University of Toledo. He is CPIM certified through APICS and is CPM certified through ISM, and he is the professional chair of the University of Toledo’s Supply Chain Advisory Board.

Christine Menard

Christine Menard
Christine Menard has almost 15 years of HR experience including over a decade in the financial industry (primarily global asset management, institutional and real estate investment). Prior to joining Oppenheimer Funds in 2013, Menard spent most of her career at UBS Global Asset Management starting as a HR Manager in New York and Connecticut serving the global real estate investment business and then as Director of HR Performance, Reward & Analytics in London, England, where she led a global team of HR officers to deliver the division’s performance management, talent, compensation and promotion cycle. She has also worked in recruitment and HR management at GE Commercial Finance in California, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and Danaher.

At OppenheimerFunds, Menard began in Colorado as a HR Relationship Manager for the Transfer Agent and Global Operations, where she drove and aligned business initiatives with HR strategy among various HR functions (Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, HR Operations, etc.). She now serves Technology and Global Operations through Organizational Development & Learning. In this role she advises and serves in areas such as leadership, transformation, talent, and performance management.

As Vice President on the TIED (Talent, Inclusion, Engagement, Diversity) board of directors, Menard focuses on diversity and inclusion business challenges and solutions to positively impact employees, markets, customers and shareholders. TIED is a global diversity leadership roundtable that engages organizations with a Colorado presence in collaborative dialogue about diversity, inclusion, employee engagement, business resource groups, recruitment, retention, and career/leadership development initiatives. She is also an active volunteer with the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT), which prepares the visually impaired and the employers who hire them for success in the workplace.

Menard was recognized by ICC in 2015 as a HR Disrupter and was given the opportunity to challenge a room full of 300+ HR professionals to put the “human” back in HR. She has received her Senior Professional in HR certification (SPHR) and holds a Bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Toledo in human resource management and organizational development with a minor in marketing.

Russell Ely

Russell Ely
Russell Ely is currently Director of Business Development for Palmer Conservation Consulting, an energy conservation consultancy, where he has been for five years. Prior to that he was an analyst, OEM at Libbey Owens Ford (now NSG/Pilkington); K-12 marketing manager at Siemens; and branch manager, Toledo, at Johnson Controls.

Ely obtained a certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Accredited Professional (LEED AP); from the US Green Building Council (USGBC); is a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP) from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).

While at UT he was a VP of Student Government; freshman camp director at the University YMCA; VP of Inter Fraternal Council; active with Sigma Phi Epsilon; a faculty advisor (as MBA Intern to Sonny Ariss & Bill Ruud) to Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (ACE).

Ely served as the College of Business Alumni Affiliate President in the late 1980’s; served on the UT Alumni Association Board in the 1990’s, including as president in 1996-97; and hosted the UT Alumni Association’s first international alumni event celebrating the UT Sailing Club’s successful competition in the International Collegiate Sailing Regatta, La Rochelle, France, 2015.

His volunteer work includes: at UT: being a mentor with the UT Chapter of National Science Foundation’s I-Core Program; the UT Foundation Development Committee. In his profession he has volunteered with US Green Building Council (USGBC) Toledo Chapter, Founding Member; Energy Services Coalition (national board); the Society of Automotive Engineers, Detroit Section Vice-Chair; Automotive Marketing Research Council (national board member); and Sales and Marketing Executives, Detroit. In the community he has volunteered with the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, FOCUS (Family Outreach Community United Services) and the Boy Scouts of America.

UT College of Business and Innovation presents the 2017 Student Pacemakers

Abdul Faiz Ahmed

Abul Faiz Ahmed
Abul Faiz Ahmed is the recipient of this year’s EMBA Student Pacemaker Award.  He graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade point average and considers himself to be an entrepreneurial physician.  He is involved with patient care, teaching, research and was a television program producer at one point.  He is the CEO of a start-up, Tranzamon, and was a participant in this year’s College of Business and Innovation’s Advanced Leadership Academy.  He is by profession a physician, but admits that by heart, he is a musician, a composer and a songwriter. He writes original poetry in three languages - Bengali, English and Japanese and has to date published 8 books in Bengali.  Manuscripts of two English novels and one English short story book are in process.  Dr. Ahmed’s future goal is to become a social engineer, bringing change in society through entrepreneurial  activities and innovations. He has a strong interest in leadership development to serve our community.

Abdulmonem Alfadhel

Abdulmonem Alfadhel
Monem is a senior with a double major in Information Systems and Supply Chain Operations Management.  He currently has a 3.93 grade point average, has been actively involved in APICS and AITP.  He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and has consistently appeared on the Dean’s List and President’s List.  He will be interning with Fiat Chrysler this summer, for the third time, showing that has demonstrated the right leadership and business skills to apply what he has learned at UT.  Prior to enrolling at UT, Monem directed and monitored projects and activities for major banking, telecom, and manufacturing corporations in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Elizabeth Bates

Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth, a first generation student, is a senior majoring in both Finance and Accounting and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.656.  She has been active in the social sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, where she has served as Vice President of Finance and Fundraising Chair. She is a member of Beta Alpha Psi and has been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma.   Elizabeth is a peer mentor for the College’s career courses and has been an attendant for UT’s Online Blackboard Help Desk.  She is a recipient of the Rocket Scholar Award, a Gruenberg Scholarship, a Tillotson Award, a Molter Scholarship and the Sullivan Scholarship.   In addition, she was a shift leader at Hardee’s and the Statistician/State Advisor for the Genoa Wrestling Club. This summer she will be an Audit Intern at Rehmann.  

Malachi Benesh

Malachi Benesh 
Malachi has been awarded the Masters of Science Accounting’s Student Pacemaker Award.  He has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and has served as a graduate assistant this year.  He was a co-valedictorian at Belmont College and graduated summa cum laude from Ohio University Eastern.  While at OU Eastern he organized the first OUE Shark Team and was a student assistant to the Bachelor of Science in Applied Management Coordinator.  He was twice an accounting/tax intern at William Knox, CPA.  He is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Tau Sigma Honor Society and was named the Outstanding Applied Management Student Award Recipient at OUE.  Malachi is a member of the College of Business and Innovation’s Advanced Leadership Academy.  He was born in a small town along the Ohio River in the Appalachian foothills and someday plans to open his own firm, explore other entrepreneurial ventures and eventually return home and become a leader in the community.  

Dana Breese

Dana Breese
The Accounting Department has chosen Dana Breese as a Senior Student Pacemaker.  She has a current grade point average of 3.670 and is involved with Alpha Kappa Psi, where she has been Vice President of Membership and is the current President of Beta Alpha Psi.  She was a member of the inaugural Klar Leadership Academy, has been a student planner for a “Meet the Accountants” event and is involved with the Accounting Mentor Program.   Dana has been an intern at Gilmore Jasion Mahler and Pricewaterhouse Coopers and has volunteered with the Toledo Food Bank, the VITA Tax Preparation Program and Food for Thought.  She is a recipient of the Rockets Scholar Award, a UT Legacy Award, a CFMA Scholarship and has consistently appeared on the College’s Dean’s List.

Hala Abou-Dahech

Hala Abou-Dahech
Hala was selected by the Management Department as one of its student Pacemakers.  She is majoring in Human Resources and has a double minor in Marketing and International Business with a grade point average of 3.99.  She is actively involved in SHRM and is currently the president of that organization.  In addition she is a Searles Ambassador, and a member of this year’s Klar Leadership Academy, a member of UT’s Muslim Student Association, and UT’s FAA.  She has been involved in Drives for Syrian Refugees, is the Founder of Young Women for Change, a volunteer professional development facilitator and has done refugee tutoring.     She is a recipient of the Top Junior Student in HR, the Jefferson Award for Public Service and the Roger Elrod HR Scholarship.  In addition she is a recipient of the Valerie Napieralski Leadership Award, a Huntington Bank Scholarship, a Fifth Third Bank Scholarship, a UT Honors Award and the Shousher Arab American Scholarship and has consistently appeared on the President’s and Dean’s Lists.  Hala has been employed by ProMedica since 2014 and has been promoted from intern to HR Assistant.  In 2015, she received ProMedica’s Give Them a Hand Award, in recognition of excellence in HR.

Grant Horlamus

Grant Horlamus
Grant is a Junior with a major in International Business and Marketing and a minor in Information Systems Technology.  He currently holds a 3.82 grade point average, is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, Pi Kappa Alpha, the American Marketing Association, the International Business Association, Lift-off UT, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.  His service activities include being a basketball coach for the Special Olympics program, participated in a church service trip, the Y.E.S. Project and was a marketing director for the German American Festival.  Grant has appeared on the President’s List and consistently shown up on the Dean’s List, is a recipient of the Regents Scholar Award and the Patricia Ann Sullivan Award.  He was a National & Global Partnerships Intern in Washington, D.C., a customer service rep at Dana and currently can be seen distributing samples at Costco in Perrysburg.

Jessica Knepper

Jessica Knepper
Jessica Knepper is a senior major in Accounting with a minor in Information Systems and has a grade point average of 3.988.  She has been the Secretary and Social Chair of the Institute of Management Accountants, a Tutor for Student Athlete Academic Services and the Treasurer of 1girl.  Jessica is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, has consistently appeared on the President’s List and will be inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma this Sunday.  She has been a volunteer tax preparer and is a current Tax Intern at Gilmore Jasion Mahler.  She is also employed by Harshman Home Services in a position which allows her to put the skills she has learned at the College of Business and Innovation into practice.

Gabriella LeMaster

Gabriella LeMaster
Gabrielle LeMaster is a senior with a dual major in Professional Sales and Marketing.  She boasts a 3.857 cumulative grade point average, has appeared consistently on the Dean’s List and has been heavily involved with volunteer activities such as Job Fair Volunteer, Volunteer Note Taker, Judges Room Volunteer for the National Sales Competition, Feed my Starving Children, Elderly Care, and Volleyball Coach and Athlete.  Gabriella was a Junior Sales Competitor, a semi-finalist in the UT International Sales Competition in 2016 and plans to participate in the 2017 National Sales Competition.  She has served internships as a 3M Frontline Sales Intern and also as a Frontline Marketing Intern. Interestingly, as a 10 year old, Gabriella was on a dance team that was selected to go to Washington, DC and perform in front of George W. Bush, his staff and the ambassadors of other countries.

Jesseca Perkins

Jesseca Perkins
Jesseca, is an Honors Student, is a junior in Human Resources, minoring in Marketing with a 3.8 grade point average.  She has been an officer in the International Business Association, and is the founder and president of High Impact.  She participated in a Clearwater Beach Summer Mission and is a two-time NRHH Nominee.  At UT, she was a peer mentor and a Resident Advisor.  Currently, she is interning at the Toledo Zoo as an HR Recruiting Coordinator.

Teresa Rodriguez

Teresa Rodriguez
Teresa was chosen by the Department of Applied Organizational Technology as their Student Pacemaker.  She carries a grade point average of 3.81 and is specializing in the field of business management technology.  Teresa was a member of the Latino Youth Summit Committee, the Ballet Folkolorico Imagenes Mexicanas, was a cheerloading coach at Whiteford High School and is a board member of the Northington Condominium Association.  Following many years of working in the University’s Counseling Center, she now works in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at The University of Toledo, where she is a member of the Leadership Team.

Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan
This year the recipient of the Dean’s Student Pacemaker Award is Patrick Ryan.   Patrick holds a 3.96 grade point average and is pursuing a double major – professional sales and supply chain management.  He is the current president President of Sigma Phi Epsilon, is heavily involved in Pi Sigma Epsilon, the Bridge, the Student Wellness Awareness Team, is a presidential ambassador, a Sales School Ambassador and a member of the Order of Omega.  He has participated in the PSE National Convention, the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute, Future’s Quest, the Quicken Loans Sales Competition and Tent City.  He has been awarded the Traqos Quest to Greece, second place at internal Sales Competition, the Dean Parks Outstanding Commitment to Service and was the Mortar Board Underclassman of the Year.  Patrick has internshipped with Owens-Corning, 3M and Seelio.  His list of volunteer activities is extensive and includes the Cherry Street Mission, RockeTHON, the BIG event, Champions are Readers, Boys and Girls Club of Toledo, Relay for Life, Food for Thought and Wrap-up Toledo, to name a few.

Jordan Spellis

Jordan Spellis
The Finance Department has chosen Jordan Spellis as its Junior Student Pacemaker of the Year.  Jordan is double majoring in Finance and Accounting and has a grade point average of 3.679.  He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a recipient of the Charles Sullivan Scholarship, the Rodger Skilliter Scholarship and an Honors Award.  He has internship experience with Max Dorfmeister & Co. and Northwestern Mutual.  He is a Springfield Youth Baseball Coach, has been involved with Ohio DECA and is a member of the College’s Student Managed Portfolio team.  He is employed at Art Van Furniture where he received the honor of the Art Van X-Factor Award by demonstrating great work ethic and customer service.

Brad Spelman

Brad Spelman
Brad is a senior double majoring in Information Systems and Accounting.  His grade point average is 3.73 and he is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the current president of the Association of IT Professionals, a member of the Ball State IS Competition Team, and the UT Football Team where he serves on the Leadership Council.  He was a member of the inaugural Klar Leadership Academy last year.   He is also involved with College Christian Creed, Campus Bible Fellowship and the Church Volleyball League.  Brad was a nominee for the Wuerfell Trophy given by the NCAA, was a member of the All State AFCA Good Works Team, is an Academic All MAC, on the Commissioner’s List for the MAC and received the James Findlay Community Service Award in 2016.  He has served an internship at Owens-Corning, was a site coordinator for United Way’s free tax preparation program and is an active participant in many community service outreach events in Toledo.  This summer he will be an IS intern with Owens-Illinois.

Alejandro Vera

Alejandro Vera
Alejandro is this year’s MBA Student Pacemaker.  He holds a perfect 4.0 grade point average and is double majoring in Marketing Salesforce Leadership and Information Systems.  He received his BBA from UT also and was very active on campus, being involved in numerous honor societies and greek organizations.   He received many awards, including the  Multicultural Leader of the Year, the Big Man on Campus Award and the Brother of the Year Award.  In 2016, Alejandro served as the Assistant Team Coach for the Sales School’s National Collegiate Sales Competition where he coached both the individual and the team that were awarded First Place.  He is a graduate of the College’s Advanced Leadership Academy.  In 2016, he participated in the National Collegiate Sales Competition where he was awarded First Place in the Individual category at the Grad level and also was a member of the Grad Team that placed first in this same competition.  He recently was an Assistant Team Coach for the team that won the UT Invitational Sales Competition.  During the summer of 2016, he participated in an AFLAC Summer Internship on Wall Street in New York.  Prior to that he was a B2C Sales Intern with the Sherwin-Williams Company.  In the summer of 2014, Alejandro rode a bicycle for 850 miles, across the entire State of Florida, to raise awareness for people with disabilities.