The Value of Excellent Faculty

One of the top priorities laid out by Dean Anne Massey during her first year at Isenberg was sustaining faculty excellence—the school’s top-notch faculty members have been a vital part of the story of Isenberg’s growing reputation as a top business school, through both their impressive and groundbreaking academic research and also their evidence driven, empathetic instructional strategies.

Attracting and retaining the most impressive faculty members requires more than good will though. To compete with peer institutions for professors who publish in premium journals and earn strong student followings, the dean has focused on raising funds to support the establishment of titled positions.

While the highest levels of titled positions—endowed chairs and professorships—have long been important for supporting the work of established faculty members, Isenberg has more recently increased its focus on offering positions called fellowships, which are significant because they help retain newer faculty members who might otherwise be tempted to move to other institutions as they advance in their teaching and research. The first endowed fellowship will be established by John F. Kennedy, who earned a master’s degree in accounting from Isenberg in 1976.

The John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellowship’s first recipient, Emily Heaphy (right), is an associate professor of management who joined the Isenberg faculty in 2018. Her research focuses on how work relationships, emotions, and the human body affect human flourishing, and she teaches human resource management to undergraduate and graduate students. She won the 2021 College Outstanding Teaching Award as well.

“Retaining faculty members during the more formative years of their academic careers is essential,” says Dean Massey. “Faculty like Emily Heaphy are publishing really new and influential research, and they’re sharing their fresh perspectives with our undergraduate and graduate students. We can’t afford to lose them to other institutions that see how valuable they are.”

An even newer faculty fellowship, the Charles J. Dockendorff Faculty Fellowship, will be ready for assignment in 2023. “I hope that this donation will continue to attract the best and brightest professors to the Isenberg school and give others the opportunity I was given,” Dockendorff says.

The fortified effort behind hiring and supporting up-and-coming academic stars included the designation of five fellowships during the fall of 2021, including Heaphy’s award. Other recipients included:

G. Bradley Bennett, Ronald C. Mannino Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Accounting (left)

Jeremy Bentley, Richard Dieter ‘66 MS & Susan C. Dieter Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Accounting

Matthew Katz, Dean’s Research Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director for the McCormack Department of Sport Management

Mila Getmansky Sherman, Judith Wilkinson O’Connell Faculty Fellow, Professor of Finance

“These fellowships publicly affirm our faith in the quality and potential of our wonderful faculty members,” Massey says. “The supplementary funds that come with their titles can go toward research and travel, doctoral students, and more, helping Isenberg hold onto these world-class scholars.”

Increasing the availability of endowed positions for more senior faculty members remains a priority for Isenberg as well. For example, a new endowed professorship—the Lisa Pike Masteralexis ‘87 Endowed Professorship in Sport Management—has been established as part of this year’s 50th anniversary celebration of the McCormack Department of Sport Management. Funded by a number of alumni and the McCormack family with a large funding match from Douglas ‘71 and Diana Berthiaume, the professorship is named in honor of Senior Associate Dean Lisa Masteralexis (right), who has been a sport management faculty member since 1990 and who served as the department’s longest-tenured chair, enhancing McCormack’s reputation and playing a special role in the lives and careers of its students and alumni. The faculty recipient of the award will be named in 2026.

Another position, the James P. O’Connell Endowed Professorship in Accounting, was awarded this spring to Elaine Wang. The position—named after a beloved faculty member who taught at Isenberg from 1965 to 1994—is made possible by the generosity of the Isenberg family; Paul Kelliher ‘74, ‘75 MBA and Joanne Kelliher; and John N. Spinney Jr. ‘87 and Erin Spinney ‘06.

And the school’s total number of endowed professorships will soon be increasing even more: In the past few months, three new endowed professorships have been announced.

Douglas ’71 and Diana Berthiaume have committed to funding two new titled positions, which they committed to as part of a program allowing Isenberg and UMass to access state matching funds toward faculty and student support. While the exact details have not yet been finalized, the endowed professorships will support two outstanding faculty members, allowing them to further their contributions in teaching, research, and public service. The funds provided will support research and travel, doctoral students, offsetting teaching loads, and more. Doug Berthiaume, who graduated from Isenberg with an accounting degree, has been a long-time supporter of the school—the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship is named for him and his wife in recognition of the $10 million gift they gave in 2014, and they already support several faculty positions.

In September, Robert Epstein ’67 committed to funding an endowed professorship in honor of UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, who plans to retire in 2023 after a decade of exceptional service to the university. The position is likely to support a faculty member in the

Hospitality & Tourism Management Department—Epstein hopes to help ignite more interest in the field, which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Epstein, who majored in marketing at Isenberg, is co-owner and president of the Horizon Beverage Group and former chairman of Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America—he has worked with more than 15,000 retail and restaurant customers.

“I have been inspired by the innovation and growth UMass and Isenberg have seen under Chancellor Subbaswamy’s leadership,” Epstein says. “The university is attracting students of the highest caliber who are eager to make a difference in their chosen fields; and faculty scholarship has had a considerable impact both in the commonwealth and on the national stage. It is an honor to contribute to this upward trajectory with a gift that will further bolster academic excellence in the Isenberg School of Management.”