Chapel Hill, N.C. – The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise has awarded the 2009 Rollie Tillman Jr. Award for Outstanding Leadership to Kenan-Flagler Business School MBA student and MBA Liaison Suzanne Zweben.

"Suzanne has been an enthusiastic partner to help students get involved in the education, research and global outreach work of the institute," said Kenan Institute Director John D. Kasarda in presenting the award. "She has been especially committed to promoting the Center for Logistics and Digital Strategy, working closely with center Director Noel Greis and the Kenan-Flagler Global Supply Chain Management Club to develop a new competition that will give students experience in China and exposure to the key challenges facing businesses there."

Zweben also coordinated the institute’s Business Across Borders program on India this year, assembling a distinguished panel of experts for the keynote address and panel discussion. She frequently represented the institute at recruiting, alumni and student events, with visiting dignitaries, business people and partners, and at MBA group discussions.

The Tillman award is named for Kenan-Flagler professor emeritus of marketing Rollie Tillman Jr., who served as the Kenan Institute’s first director. It is given each year to a graduating MBA Liaison in recognition of superior contributions.

The institute selects four liaisons each year that help link Kenan-Flagler MBA students’ skills, talents and ambitions to institute opportunities through which they can demonstrate and further develop their leadership, entrepreneurial and problem-solving competencies, as well as apply their course work to real-life situations in some of the world’s most dynamic markets. The institute offers opportunities for on-site practica, applied research projects, independent studies and internships, both domestic and international, and access to networks of innovative people and organizations around the word.

Kasarda announced Zweben’s award at the annual dinner honoring the liaisons who served during the past academic year. The other 2008-2009 liaisons were: Patrick Bentle, Enrique Bolanos and Michelle Lally.

For more information on the MBA Liaisons Program, contact Kenan Institute Outreach Director Lingmei Howell, who directs the program, at (919) 962-2686 or lingmei_howell@unc.edu.

The Kenan Institute pursues research, educational programs and public policy initiatives in the areas of entrepreneurship, economic development and global competitiveness. For more information, visit www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu or call (919) 962-8201.