Stetson’s School of Business Administration has announced the addition of six new faculty members and the appointment of three new program directors for the Fall 2019 semester.

“Our new faculty colleagues bring to Stetson business classrooms tremendous academic training and professional experience that will further enhance the relevance and rigor of the preparation of our students to lead lives of significance,” said  Neal Mero, PhD, dean and professor of management in the School of Business Administration.

Sara K. Gramata, MBA, joins Stetson as an assistant professor of practice and has been named the director of the sport business program. In addition to serving as an assistant professor of practice in marketing, Gramata will use her 25 years of experience in marketing and academia to help ensure the program continues to grow and thrive. The sport business program teaches students to manage, market and monetize the unique aspects of the sport product by engaging fans via traditional and emerging media for the key revenue streams in sport: ticketing, sponsorship, media and licensing. 

Gramata’s career began as a member of the team responsible for launching the milk mustache campaign. She has worked for numerous sports related organizations including Sports Illustrated, Fila, Nike and The North Face as well as leading corporate brands such as Chrysler, Hewlett Packard and Banana Republic. Most recently, Gramata taught undergraduate and graduate level marketing and sport business courses at Loyola University of Chicago. She holds an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree in journalism from Ohio University.

Prasad Nanisetty, PhD, professor of practice in finance has been appointed as the interim Roland and Sarah George Professor of Investments to teach advanced finance classes and lead the day-to-day activities of Roland George Investment Program (RGIP). Nanisetty has 25 years of Wall Street industry experience in quantitative analysis and risk management. He has held positions of leadership at Indus Capital, Artio Global Management, Jennison Associates and Prudential Investments, among others.

Matthew Hurst, PhD, associate professor of finance, has been appointed as the interim director for the Roland and Sarah George Investments Institute overseeing the administration of the institute and related program. He has taught a range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, and he obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Accredited Business Valuation (ABV).  

Maria Rickling, PhD, associate professor of accounting, has been named director of the M.E. Rinker, Sr. Institute of Tax and Accountancy, which serves students in accounting, accounting information systems or consulting. The institute offers an intellectually challenging undergraduate and graduate education that will facilitate the development of Stetson students as successful accounting professionals. 

“This is an exciting time for our business school as these new faculty and program directors will continue to build programs and experiences that allow business students who complete our undergraduate or graduate programs to have a distinct competitive advantage in business,” Mero said. 

Juanne V. Greene, DBA, joins the School of Business Administration as an assistant professor of human resources management. Greene comes from Kennesaw State University where she served as director of Kennesaw’s PhD program. Prior to her career in academia, Greene worked as a change management/human performance consultant for Accenture. She also worked in human resources for GE Capital. In addition to her DBA in management, she holds a Master of Labor and Human Resources from Ohio State University.

Previously a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Patrick McNamee joins Stetson University as an assistant professor of practice in accounting. A former Jeopardy! champion, McNamee brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. He has served on the audit standard-setting staff of the American Institute of CPAs, the United States Government Accountability Office, the advisory board for Rutgers University’s Continuous Auditing and Reporting Lab, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board which sets accounting principles for the U.S. Federal Government.

“I love that Stetson grounds students in liberal education, with particular focus on ethics, critical thinking, and social responsibility, all of which are essential to be a true accounting professional,” McNamee said. “The small class sizes create the opportunity to interact meaningfully with each student and to influence the students’ preparation for their own professional careers.”

The School of Business Administration also will welcome additional faculty this fall, including Erin Nickell, assistant professor of accounting; Matthew Imes, assistant professor of finance; and Jay Stryker as a visiting professor of business systems and analytics.