News & Stories
In other news: September 2026
Faculty promotions
As the new school year ramps up, we have faculty promotions to share:
Professor Stephen Glaeser has been promoted to professor of accounting. His research examines how accounting information, regulation and tax policy shape firms’ innovation and other economic decisions.
Professor Fei Long has been promoted to associate professor of marketing. Her research focuses on incentive design and contracting in digital marketing, examining how firms and platforms can align incentives in increasingly complex environments like AI-enabled markets.
Professor Nur Sunar has been promoted to professor of operations. Her research spans sustainable operations and energy, as well as information-driven management of innovative products and services.
Thought leaders
- Dean Mary Margaret Frank (BSBA ’92, MAC ’92, PhD ’99) spoke at Investicon with David Gardner (BA ’88), co-founder of The Motley Fool and chair of the Fool Community Foundation, while in Ireland for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. She spoke on how taxes affect investing, as well as the importance of proactively talking about finance with daughters at an early age.
- Brent Tollison (BA ’95) has been named the next chair of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Board, following Jeff Allred’s (MBA ’80) term as interim chair. A North Carolina native and proud Tar Heel, Tollison serves as chief people and public affairs officer at Coca-Cola Consolidated, the nation’s largest Coca-Cola bottler.
- A new working paper by Finance Professors Greg Brown and Christian Lundblad reviews two decades of hedge-fund activism research and argues that activists have quietly become the market’s main answer to that gap.
- Professor Elad Sherf joined Meikles & Dimes to discuss why confidence should not always be a signal to move forward without input. Sometimes, confidence should be the trigger to ask, “What am I missing?”
Tar Heel Business Academy
This year’s Tar Heel Business Academy brought rising high school juniors and seniors from across North Carolina and 22 states to summer sessions in Charlotte and Chapel Hill.
UNC Kenan-Flagler professors taught business concepts and how to apply them through case studies and group projects during the weeklong programs.
“This week gave me a hands-on look at what it actually takes to build a business plan from the ground up,” high school student Bodie Novitsky shared on LinkedIn.
“Before this experience, I thought great businesses started with a perfect idea. Instead, I learned that strong ideas are built through action, feedback and continuous improvement,” another student, Srushti Biradar, shared.
UNC Kenan-Flagler also created a special session for Chatham County Schools students in July. Students presented ideas to the Chatham Park YMCA and explored practical strategies to prepare for success in the college classroom and future careers.
Standout students and alumni
- Eddie Smith Jr. (BA ’65), owner and CEO of Grady-White Boats, was featured by The New York Times for his decision to pledge all future profits to charity, including causes for conservation, healthcare and education. Over the years, the Smith family has made significant donations across Carolina, including to UNC Kenan-Flagler.
Smith Jr. featured by The New York Times
- Hillary Salo (BSBA ’02, MAC ’03) was appointed the next chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations that follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
- A team of students in the STAR (Student Teams Achieving Results) Program partnered with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to increase awareness and utilization of pharmacist-prescribed hormonal contraception in North Carolina.
- Mary Esposito (BSBA ’26) was featured in The News & Observer for growing an initial investment of $2,500 — which came from profits from her craft business, Purple Pear — into a six-figure portfolio.
- Amy Hall (BSBA ’96) was named Wake Technical Community College’s next vice president and chief human resources officer after more than 20 years of HR leadership experience across higher education, nonprofit organizations and the corporate sector.
A team of students in the STAR (Student Teams Achieving Results) Program partnered with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Spotted on social
- Professor Ric Colacito recently attended San Diego Comic Con and said the highlight of the experience was getting both the Italian and American editions of the same comic book signed by the author.
- Professor Ivonne Chirino-Klevans shared her experience at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, where she launched a micro-community of researchers and practitioners focused on leadership through sports.
Professor Ric Colacito at Comic Con
- Leaders from Target spent the afternoon with a small group of UNC Kenan-Flagler marketing students, where they spoke about how the company’s role in retail is evolving, the career pathways available and the back-to-college shopping journey.