COBI Faculty members assume new leadership roles

This summer COBI Dean Gary Insch named three faculty members to new positions within the college.

Dr. Hassan HassabElnaby, Chair of the COBI Accounting Department, was named Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research, following the retirement of Executive Associate Dean Dr. Anand Kunnathur. Dr. Diana Franz was named Chair of the Accounting Department, and Dr. Marc Simpson was named Chair of the Finance Department.

All appointments were effective in July.

“I want to express my most sincere thanks for the remarkable leadership and an amazing commitment to the UT College of Business and Innovation to Dr. HassanElnaby for his service as Chair of the Accounting Department and to Dr. Ozcan Sezer for chairing the Finance Department in recent years,” Dean Insch said.

“I also want to publicly thank Dr. Anand Kunnathur who served the college, our faculty and thousands of students with great devotion and integrity for the many years during his term as Executive Associate Dean, and we are appreciative that he will continue to serve in the dean’s office working on special projects and teaching classes.”

“Dr. HassabElnaby has done an amazing job Chairing the Accounting Department in recent years, including leading our successful efforts to obtain a separate Accounting accreditation from the AACSB, an achievement obtained by less than 2% of business colleges around the world, Dean Insch added. “His academic and administrative skills will enhance our delivery of our graduate programs as well as other key areas throughout COBI.”

Dr. HassanElnaby has served as Director of the Ph.D.  program in Manufacturing and Technology Management;  was the UT faculty representative of the University Board of Trustees’ Audit Committee; coordinated the UT Master of Business Administration (MBA) program American Chamber of Commerce-Egypt; the Bachelor of Business Administration with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime, Egypt; UT programs with King Saud University and the COBI-UT MBA program with the American Chamber of Commerce Egypt. He has published his research in several journals and presented his research at numerous international, national and regional conferences.

Dr. Franz has taught at the University of Toledo since 1992, and has previously served as Department Chair of the Accounting Department. She has obtained three distinctive certifications: Data Visualization with Advanced Excel; Problem Solving with Excel; and Data-driven Decision Making. She is active with Beta Alpha Psi, an honor organization for financial information students and professionals.

Dr. Marc W. Simpson, CFA, obtained his Master of Arts and his Doctor of Philosophy at Fordham University; taught at Marshall University and the University of Texas – Pan American; and was chairman of the Department of Finance at Northern Illinois University. Prior to being named Finance Department Chair at UT COBI, Dr. Simpson was the John B. and Lillian E. Neff Endowed Chair in Finance at UT for four years.

Dean Insch said, “I know that Drs. HassabElnaby, Franz and Simpson are dedicated and well-respected members of our COBI faculty. I am confident that their service to our university, college and our students through their latest expanded responsibilities in these critically important positions will have a positive, meaningful impact on many lives and careers.”