Three faculty members of Ball State University’s Miller College of Business were selected
as inaugural inductees of the Father Kenneth M. Molinaro, CSC Faculty
Fellowship Program in a recent ceremony held in the Molinaro Hall of Fame Room
of the Whitinger Business Building.
Dr. Seo-Young Byun,
assistant professor of Management; Dr. Reza Houston,
assistant professor of Finance and Insurance; and Dr. Alan Yen,
associate professor of Hospitality Innovation and Leadership, were selected by a
faculty committee based on: research productivity, teaching effectiveness,
service, and career potential.
“This
new program provides support and recognition of our most promising faculty,” said
Dr. Stephen Ferris, Bryan Dean of the Miller College of
Business. “It will allow them to undertake path-breaking research while
developing the new courses that will prepare our students for the workplace of
tomorrow.”
The faculty fellows are selected for a three-year
appointment, after which, upon review, they can be renewed for another two
years. Each fellow will provide an annual update describing their
accomplishments in teaching, research, and service. They will receive a summer
stipend and funds to allow for course innovation and research.
The fellowship
was made possible from a donation made by Dan Molinaro, ’68, and his wife,
Barbara. The fellowship program is named in honor of Mr. Molinaro’s brother,
Father Kenneth M. Molinaro, CSC.
“Father Ken's
devotion to the education and training of young people will be a constant inspiration
to the faculty we recognize today. And those we will recognize in the future,”
said Dean Ferris.
The Molinaros’
gifts also support the Molinaro Hall Fame Conference Room, named for Mr.
Molinaro’s parents, Salvatore and Patricia; and a George and Francis Ball Scholars Fund scholarship established in honor
of Dan’s brother, Joe, ’75, and sister-in-law, Mary, ’76, both of whom are Ball
State graduates.
In his remarks
during the ceremony, Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns recognized the generosity of the
Molinaros.
“Through your actions and through your gifts, you both
personify the enduring values that I think are truly distinctive about Ball
State,” President Mearns said. “Today, we celebrate the many ways in which your
leadership and your generous philanthropy continue to make an impact on the University
and, most importantly, how they continue to change the lives of our students,
faculty, and our staff.”